State of Observability 2026

AI ambition is advancing. Observability must establish that AI works reliably, securely, and as intended.

AI can be available and responsive without delivering the right outcome. As AI and agentic systems move deeper into production, observability must establish evidence of its quality, reliability, security, cost, governance, and business impact.

Built on global survey data of enterprise technology leaders, the State of Observability 2026 report examines how AI is changing the technology estate, where visibility and execution gaps remain, and what observability must deliver to understand AI in context and manage reliability, security, cost, and business impact across the enterprise.

What the data reveals:

• AI portfolios are broadening: 49% now report running 6–25 production AI projects, up from 42% a year ago
• AI is increasing resource costs: 81% report increased compute and infrastructure spending from AI workloads
• Agent decisions expose an evidence gap: 43% consider visibility into agent decisions an important observability requirement, but only 27% currently address it