2026年全球生成式人工智能并购报告

GenAIinM&A

2026PulseSurvey

Deloitte,snewGenAIinM&APulseSurveygaugestheattitudesandactivitiesofcorporateandprivateequity(PE)organizationssurroundingtheuseofGenerativeAIinM&A.Thesurveylooksspecificallyatopportunitiesfor

scalingGenAI,susageacrossthedeallifecycle,waystodrivegreatervaluecreation,andbarrierstobusinessadoptionnowandinthefuture.

Methodology

Thesurveyof500US-basedPE,portfoliocompany,andcorporateM&AleaderswasconductedonlinebyanindependentresearchcompanyMay14–27,2026.Respondentsincluded253C-suiteand247non-C-suiteexecutivesrepresentingtheconsumer;energy,resources,andindustrials;financialservices;lifesciencesandhealthcare;andtechnology,media,andtelecommunicationsindustries.

2

3

Toptakeaways

GenAIinM&Ahascrossedtheadoptionthreshold.Nowleadersneedtomakeittrustworthy,connected,anddeal-ready.

Fullintegrationremainslimited,andhumanreviewisthetoprequirementfororganizationstotrustGenAIinhigh-stakesdeployments.Fivefindingsrevealhoworganizationscanmovefromexperimentationtoimpact:

Adoptioncontinues

Usecasesexpand

Thepathforward

Advisory-ledoperatingmodelsandgoverneddataenhanceGenAI’sattractiveness.

Integration

challengespersist

Fragmentedtoolsand

datalimitvaluecapture.

Trustremainsimperative

GenAIinM&Aisnow

Automateddoesnotyetmeanautonomous.

active,notexperimental.

Momentumismovingfromdiligenceinto

closeandintegration.

90%

ThemajorityofcorporateandPEorganizationsreportusingGenAItosomedegreeintheirM&Aoperations.

24%

Surveyedleaderssaidthetop

requirementforrelyingon

GenAI-generatedinsightsatcriticalmomentswashumanreview.

52%

MorethanhalfofPE-backed

portfoliocompaniessaycombiningGenAItechnologywithadvisory

57%

Buyerdiligenceacrossfragmenteddatasourceswasthemostcited

sourceoffrictionthattechnologybringstotransactions.

52%

MorethanhalfoforganizationsuseGenAIforpost-closeintegration.

supportistheirrecipeformostvalue.

Morethanone-third(37%)useitinmultiplelifecyclestages,andonly6%reportnoGenAIuseorplans.

Adoptionisnolongerthequestion.Thenextfrontierisscaledorchestration.

Deloitte’s2025GenAIinM&AStudy

revealedtheuseofGenAIwasprimarilyinearly-stagepartsoftheM&Alife

cyclesuchasdiligenceandvaluation.

OrganizationsarealsoturningtoGenAIfordealclosing(49%)—a20%increaseoverlastyear’ssurvey.

Datasecurityremainsarecurringissue,butrespondentsalsocitedoutput

validationandaccountabilityforerrorsasmajorbarrierstoplacinggreater

trustinGenAI.

GenAIadoptionisbroad,butmost

organizationshavenotyetembeddedGenAIintoafullyconnectedM&A

operatingmodel.Overall,M&Aleaderssaidasystem’sabilitytointegratewithapproveddealdatasourceswasthe

mostimportantcapabilityofanM&Atechnologysolution.

Morethanone-third(35%)ofM&Aleadersareactivelycombiningthird-partyGenAItoolswithadvisory

support,and20%prefertoreceiveGenAIbenefitsthroughfully

managedsolutions.

Acloserlook

04

Integration

challengespersist

Thepathforward

01

Adoptioncontinues

05

02

Usecasesexpand

imperative

06

Conclusion

andcontacts

03

Trustremains

4

4

01

02

03

04

Adoptioncontinues

GenAIinM&Aisnowactive,notexperimental.

05

06

5

Allrespondents(n=500)

6

01

CurrentuseofAIintheM&Aprocess

02

03

Overall,theuseofGenAIinM&Aprocesseshascrossedathresholdintoactivedeployment.AmajorityoforganizationsareapplyingGenAItorealusecases,andmorethanone-thirdareusingitacrossmultipleM&Alifecyclestages.

04

Question:Whichofthefollowingbestdescribesyourorganization,scurrentuseofAI(includingGenerativeAI)inM&Aprocesses?

ActivelyusingAIacrossmultiplestagesoftheM&Alifecycle

UsingAIinlimitedorspecificusecases

(e.g.,diligence,research)

05

37%

WhatM&Aleadersshouldconsider

90%

activelyusingorpiloting

06

33%

LeverageGenAItoacceleratetheM&Aprocessacrossthedeallifecycle,andtobuildastructuraladvantage,versusthosestillonthesidelines.

20%

ExperimentingorpilotingAIinM&A

4%

NotcurrentlyusingAI,butactivelyexploring

6%

NotusingAIandnocurrentplans

01

BenefitsrealizedfromAI

02

03

Byreducingmanualeffort,automatingreports,andacceleratingdocumentationtasks,GenAIisalreadydeliveringtangibleproductivitygainsfortwo-thirdsormoreofM&Aorganizations,evenifmorecomplexdeploymentsremainahead.

Question:WhatbenefitshasyourorganizationrealizedfromusingAIinM&A?

04

Reducedmanualeffortindiligence,synergytracking,orstakeholdercommunications

Acceleratedcreationofcharters,workplans,reports

Automatedstatusreporting/dashboards

Decisionsupportthroughscenarioanalysis/riskmodeling

Streamlinedcross-functionalcoordination

Improvedonboarding/knowledgetransfer

Other(pleasespecify)

71%

05

66%

06

66%

60%

51%

32%

1%

RespondentsexcludingAInon-users(n=465)

WhatM&Aleadersshouldconsider

Tangibleproductivitygains

fromAIposeanewchoice

forleaders:wheretoreinvestthetimethey,vesavedto

divedeeperandbuildkeysourcesofdealvaluewithmorecertainty.

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8

Allrespondents(n=500)

OutcomesusedtoevaluateAIimpact

InevaluatingGenAI,scontributionstoM&A,organizationsarefocusedlessonmoreonfunctionsthathavethepotentialtoreininoverallcosts.

rawspeed

01

and

02

Question:WhichoutcomeswouldyouusetoevaluatewhetherAIimprovedM&Aexecution?

03

WhatM&Aleadersshouldconsider

First-orderbenefitssuch

asprocessingspeedget

theheadlines,butGenAI

investmentsshouldfollow

thevalueinbusinessprocessimprovement.

ShorterdiligencecycleFewerdiligencesurprises

ReducedinternalresourceburdenImprovedbidconfidence/valuationconfidenceFastersynergy/dis-synergyrealization

38%

38%

38%

04

05

32%

30%

06

24%

22%

21%

17%

15%

14%

12%

ImprovedseparationreadinessHigherproceedsorbetterpurchasepricediscipline

ReducedstrandedcostsReducedTSAdurationorcomplexity

Lowercost-to-achieveFewerabandonedtransactionsShortertimetosigningorclose

01

02

03

Usecasesexpand

Momentumismovingfromdiligenceintocloseandintegration.

04

05

06

9

RespondentsexcludingAInon-users(n=465)

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01

LifecyclestageswhereAIisused

02

EarliersurveysfoundGenAIusefocusedmostlyonearlyexploratorystagesofthelifecycle,butnowabouthalfofM&AorganizationsalsoreportusingorpilotingGenAIfordealclosureand

03

integration.Onlyone-thirduseitforjudgment-intensivenegotiatingsteps,however.

04

Question:AtwhichstagesoftheM&AlifecycleisAIcurrentlyusedorbeingpiloted?

WhatM&Aleadersshouldconsider

Don,tfeelconfinedtoearlylifecyclestagesforGenAI,butbemindfuloftheplaceswhereautomationcan,tfullyreplacejudgment.

74%

05

61%

52%

49%

47%

41%

06

33%

26%

Portfolio

strategy/target

ordivestiture

candidate

screening

DiligencePost-close

integration

Sign-to-close/Day1readiness

Cross-deal

portfolio

management

Transactionreadiness/separationpreparation

Negotiationandsigning

Separation,

TSAexit,or

transformation

Allrespondents(n=500)

11

01

Highest-valueAIusecases

02

M&AorganizationsseethemostpotentialvaluefromGenAIinareaslikediligencerisk

03

identification,programgovernance,workstreamtracking,anddocumentreview—areaswhereapplicationsareestablishingstrongtrackrecords.

04

Question:WhichofthefollowingAIusecaseswoulddeliverthemostimmediatevalueinyournexttransaction?

WhatM&Aleadersshouldconsider

TheareaswhereGenAI

deliversvaluearelikelyto

keepgrowing.Asnew,high-valueusecasesemerge,keepafocusonreturnsyoucan

understandandmeasure.

49%

05

45%

37%

Identificationofdiligencerisks,redflags,andopenissuesProgramgovernance,workstreamtracking,andexecutivereportingVDR/documentreviewanddiligencesynthesis

23%

06

Integrationplanningoracquiredcarve-outstabilization

20%

20%

20%

Portfoliosensingandidentificationofacquisition,divestiture,orpartnershipcandidates

Carve-outfinancialanalysisandstand-alonecostmodelingTSAscope,pricing,governance,andexitplanning

18%

17%

Contract,customer,supplier,consent,andchange-of-controlmappingStrandedcostidentificationandRemainCooptimization

13%

13%

13%

Market,competitor,andstrategicrationalesynthesis

12%

Buyer-specificvaluestoryandmanagementpresentationsupportSeparationperimeter,operatingmodel,andDay1readinessplanningLegalentity,tax,andregulatoryissuemapping

01

02

03

04

Trustremainsimperative

Automateddoesn,tyetmeanautonomous.

05

06

12

Allrespondents(n=500)

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01

RisksandlimitationsinGenAIgovernance

02

TeamsnowbetterunderstandhowandwheretoapplyAI,buttechnologyintegrationandsecurityremaintopconcerns.

03

04

Question:WhatrisksorlimitationshaveyouobservedinusingGenAIfordealgovernance?

05

WhatM&Aleadersshouldconsider

RememberthatbecauseGenAIprocessesarenot

70%

Security/complianceconcerns

67%

06

UnclearaccountabilityforAI-generatedcontent;inaccurateorinconsistentoutputs

highlyvisible,practicesandmechanismstoverifyits

outputsareessential.

62%

Weakplatformintegration

42%

Limitedunderstandingofwheretoapplyit

26%

Resistancefromgovernanceteams

1%

Other(pleasespecify)

Allrespondents(n=500)

14

Challengeswithcurrenttools

morelikelyto

Whenaskedaboutchallengesinvolvingsolutionsincurrentuse,M&Aleaderswerecitetoolintegrationandthepersistentneedformanualoutputvalidation.

01

02

03

04

Question:Whatarethetop3biggestchallengesyoufacewithcurrenttoolsusedinM&A?

WhatM&Aleadersshouldconsider

Inadditiontovalidating

GenAIoutputs,plan

deploymentsandchoosetoolsinwaysthatpromoteinteroperability.

59%

57%

05

42%

32%31%

30%29%

06

21%

Outputsrequire

significantmanual

validation

Toolsarenotwellintegrated

Switchingbetween

toolsslowsdown

workflows

Datasecurityconcerns

Collaboration

acrossteams

isdifficult

Limitedtrustin

AI-generated

outputs

Difficulttoscale

beyondspecific

usecases

Toolsdonot

reflectrealM&A

workflows

Allrespondents(n=500)

15

01

RequirementstorelyonAIinhigh-stakesdecisions

02

BeforeM&AteamswillrelyfullyonGenAI,theysayhumanoversightandreviewisatoprequirement.Datasecurityisalsoasignificantrequirement.

03

04

Question:WhatwouldberequiredforyourorganizationtorelyonAI-generatedinsightsinhigh-stakes

transactionsdecisions?

WhatM&Aleadersshouldconsider

Don,tallowrelianceonGenAItogrowfasterthanitsactualreliability,anddefinethe

stepsnecessarytoreachthedesiredleveloftrust.

24%

05

17%

06

16%

Humanreviewbyfunctionalexperts Abilitytohandleconfidentialinformation, PII,andcompetitivelysensitivedataIntegrationwithapproveddealdatasources

13%

11%

7%

SecureapprovedenvironmentSourcecitations/audittrailModelvalidation

6%

4%

Role-basedaccess/clean-teamprotocolsRegulatory/legal/taxreview

3%

Datalineage

01

02

03

Integrationchallengespersist

Fragmentedtoolsanddatalimitvaluecapture.

04

05

06

16

RespondentsexcludingAInon-users(n=465)

17

01

Toolsintegration

02

03

Fewerthanone-thirdofM&AorganizationshaveachievedfullintegrationofGenAItoolsacrossthelifecycle.AsteamsmovetowardGenAI-enableddealorchestration,though,morethanhalfsaytheyhaveachievedpartialintegration.

04

Question:HowwouldyoubestdescribehowthesetoolsworktogetherinyourM&Aprocess?

05

WhatM&Aleadersshouldconsider

29%

Fullyintegratedintoaconnectedworkflow

06

PrioritizeAIarchitectureandapproved-dataconnectivitybeforeaddingmorepoint

Partiallyintegratedacrosssomestages

58%

solutions.

13%

Mostlyusedasstand-alonetools

0%

Notintegratedatall

01

02

03

Thepathforward

Advisory-ledoperatingmodelsandgoverneddataenhanceGenAI,sattractiveness.

04

05

06

18

Allrespondents(n=500)

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01

CurrentGenAIusagemodel

02

WhileGenAIuseisgrowing,mostM&Aorganizationsaren’tgoingitalone.Morethanhalfseek

03

outsideGenAIsupport,eithertohelpimplementthird-partytoolsortoprovideadvisorysolutionsthatbuildGenAIin.

04

Question:WhichofthefollowingbestdescribeshowyourorganizationcurrentlyusesGenAIinM&Aprocesses?

PrimarilyusinginternallydevelopedAImodels

Primarilyusingself-servethird-partytoolsorplatforms

05

WhatM&Aleadersshouldconsider

16%

Don,tconflateGenAI

06

28%

adoptionwiththeneedtogoitalone.Newtoolsmayperformmoreeffectivelyinspecializedhands.

47%

Usingthird-partytoolswithadvisoryorimplementationsupport

9%

Primarilyrelyingonadvisory-ledsolutionswhereGenAItoolsarepartoftheservice

RespondentsexcludingAInon-users(n=465)

20

01

Toolsandplatformsused

02

WhilebespokeGenAImodelsarelessprevalentthangeneralGenAItoolsandspecialized

applicationsfordealflow,legal,andvirtualdatarooms,organizationsthatprefercustomtoolsare

03

morelikelytoseekthemthroughadvisoryrelationships.

04

Question:WhichtoolsorplatformsdoesyourorganizationcurrentlyuseinM&Aprocesses?

WhatM&Aleadersshouldconsider

ThemorespecializedtheGenAIapplicationsyou

areplanningtouse,themoreyoushouldconsiderthevalueofanadvisoryrelationship.

05

78%

71%

66%

64%

06

52%

39%

26%

Dealworkflowplatforms

Advisor-developedInternallydevelopedbespokeAImodelsbespokeAImodels

General

GenAItools

LegalAItoolsVirtualdataroomsDealsourcingplatforms

Allrespondents(n=500)

21

01

Transactionfrictionpoints

02

AsGenAIimplementationinM&Apicksupspeed,organizationsareencounteringcommonfrictionpointsthatrequiresupport,includingdiligencewithfragmenteddata,post-closeexecution,and

03

follow-throughstepssuchasTSAscope,strandedcosts,andRemainCoplanning.

04

WhatM&Aleadersshouldconsider

Learnfromother

organizations,experiencestoanticipateandgetaheadofpotentialdevelopmentanddeploymentchallenges.

Question:Wheredoestechnologycreate—orfailtoreduce—themostfrictionintransactions?

Buyerdiligenceacrossfragmenteddatasources Post-closeintegrationorseparationexecution

TSAscope,pricing,andexitplanning;

strandedcost;andRemainCocostreductionInternalstakeholderalignment Preparingstand-alonefinancialsandoperatingdata

Contract/consent/customer/suppliermapping

DefiningseparationperimeterandDay1model

Legalentity,tax,andregulatorymapping

Movingfromportfolioreviewtosalereadiness

46%

44%

34%

30%

27%

22%

22%

17%

05

06

57%

Allrespondents(n=500)

22

Whatcreatesthemostvalue

inthecombinationoftechnologyandthestrengthofindividualtools.

M&AorganizationsfindthepathtovalueinGenAIuseliesadvisorysupport—morethanthreetimesasimportantas

01

02

03

04

Question:Whichofthefollowingcreatesthemostvalueforyourorganization?

WhatM&Aleadersshouldconsider

05

35%

Technologycombinedwithadvisoryexpertise

Rememberthatlike