AI Adoption Is No Longer the Advantage – Execution Is, Finds New Responsive Study

2026 State of Strategic Response Management Report reveals widening AI divide as a nine-point revenue growth gap separates leaders from novices

BEAVERTON, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AI has moved from promise to proof and companies are now under pressure to show results. That’s according to the 2026 State of Strategic Response Management (SRM) Report, released today by Responsive, the leader in Strategic Response Management, in partnership with the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP).

Based on insights from more than 1,100 decision-makers and practitioners, with half being in a revenue or executive leadership function across industries and regions worldwide, the report shows that more organizations are linking AI adoption in their strategic response processes – bids, assessments, and questionnaires such as RFPs, security questionnaires, due diligence requests, and other ad-hoc exchanges – to real business outcomes and stronger employee satisfaction. Nearly two-thirds of companies now report achieving positive ROI from AI in SRM within the first 12 months, up from fewer than half of organizations last year.

However, a widening gap is emerging between organizations experimenting with AI and those operationalizing it. Companies classified as “SRM Leaders” – the top 20% in maturity – are significantly more likely to translate AI into revenue outcomes, including higher growth from strategic responses (73% vs. 60%) and faster sales cycles.

These SRM Leaders are also:

• More advanced in AI adoption and value realization, with 81% using AI for SRM compared to 60% of less mature organizations, and 6 in 10 reporting that most or all AI tools deliver positive ROI
• Applying AI to drive higher-quality decisions, making them 16% more likely than novices to use AI for go/no go decisions and to analyze win/loss data for insights and trends
• Driving higher sales velocity (83% of Leaders) and efficiency (88% of Leaders) when they centralize knowledge through self-service hubs, versus virtually no uplift for novices
• Reporting stronger employee satisfaction (83% vs. 53% of less mature organizations)

“The market has shifted from AI curiosity to AI accountability,” said Ganesh Shankar, CEO of Responsive. “The organizations pulling ahead aren’t just using AI to draft responses—they’re operationalizing it across the business to shape the decisions that drive wins, from which deals to pursue to why they win or lose. That’s what’s fueling outsized growth and meaningful revenue impact.”

The report introduces the industry’s first SRM Maturity Index, a new framework for evaluating how organizations capture, govern, and activate institutional knowledge to drive faster, more effective responses across the revenue cycle. Organizations with higher SRM maturity, or “SRM Leaders,” are significantly more likely than less mature organizations to translate AI into tangible results.

Many leading organizations are also connecting AI, data, and human expertise into a single operating model, disproving the premise that AI investment is a tradeoff between technology and people. Among Leaders, 43% are investing across technology, people, and training—not as separate initiatives, but as interdependent levers of performance. These organizations are going beyond AI adoption, building the conditions that allow those tools to deliver real outcomes.

These capabilities are increasingly critical in today’s buying environment. As highlighted in Responsive’s 2025 B2B buyer decisions report, Inside the Buyer’s Mind, buyers expect faster, more personalized, and more accurate responses throughout the purchasing process. Organizations that operationalize knowledge and AI effectively are best positioned to meet these demands, accelerating time to revenue while improving the overall buying experience.

To support this evolution, the report includes a practical framework for advancing SRM maturity, including a 12-month roadmap for improving knowledge management, AI integration, and response workflows.

Download your copy of the 2026 State of Strategic Response Management Report.

About Responsive

Responsive is the global leader in Strategic Response Management (SRM), transforming how organizations share and exchange critical information. The AI-driven Responsive Platform is purpose-built to manage strategic responses at scale, empowering companies worldwide to accelerate growth, mitigate risk, and improve employee experiences. More than 2,000 companies have standardized on Responsive to manage RFPs, RFIs, DDQs, ESGs, security questionnaires, ad hoc requests, and more. Responsive is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with offices in Kansas City, Missouri; Dallas, Texas; and Coimbatore, India. For more information, visit https://www.responsive.io.