TMT Online ObServer "GLOB/CINT/TOTVS: AI displacement risk rising; IT se..."

Research evidence excerpt

TMT Online ObServer "GLOB/CINT/TOTVS: AI displacement risk rising; IT se..."

Global Research

20 May 2026ab

TMT Online ObServer Equities

Emerging MarketsGLOB/CINT/TOTVS: AI displacement risk

rising; IT services spend slightly improving, Telecommunications

but IT budgets broadly stable Leonardo Olmos,AnalystCFA

leonardo.olmos@ubs.com

+55-11-9658 7533

GLOB/CINT/TOTVS: AI displacement risk rising; IT services spend slightly Gustavo Farias

Associate Analystimproving, but IT budgets broadly stable

gustavo.farias@ubs.com

What happened: We leveraged data from the latest UBS Evidence Lab US Enterprise +55-11-2767 6154

AI survey of 139 IT executives, covering enterprise AI adoption, IT budget plans,

hiring impact, and IT services spend.

AI adoption rising, IT budget intentions mixed: The share of organizations

with AI projects in "production at scale" rose to 19% in Mar-26 (vs. 17% in Oct-

25 and 14% in Mar-25), pointing to a gradual scaling of enterprise deployments.

IT budget intentions for next year were mixed: 81% of respondents expect

spending to increase, up from 75% in Oct-25, while the share expecting a

decrease also rose to 13%, from 8%. GenAI spending intent remains firm, with a

meaningful portion still funded through reallocations from existing IT budgets.

AI hiring displacement accelerating: Past surveys showed little evidence that

AI was reducing hiring needs, but the Mar-26 results suggest displacement risk

is becoming more visible. Among respondents at companies with AI in

"production at scale", 42% now expect AI to reduce hiring/headcount (vs. 31%

in Oct-25), while those expecting an increase fell to 32% (from 40%). The

survey also showed a considerable impact on hiring in coding areas, alongside

a relevant increase in developer productivity from AI tools.