Thomson Reuters: 41% of Firms Use GenAI Actively — Only 22% Have a Visible AI Strategy

Thomson Reuters' 2026 AI in Professional Services Report found 41% of law firms now report active generative AI use (up from 28% in 2025), yet only 22% have a visible AI strategy in place. The TR analysis identifies the root cause of AI implementation failure consistently as strategic, not technological: firms buy tools, run pilots, and watch adoption plateau when AI is treated as a technology decision rather than a cultural one. The firms seeing the highest adoption have replaced generic product demos with role-specific playbooks, made AI use visible in partner communications and performance reviews, and established governance before problems emerge. The report also quantifies the execution gap: most law firm AI implementations fail because the organizational strategy is insufficient, not because the technology underperforms. For innovation leaders and managing partners, the 41/22 gap is the compliance and differentiation risk in one number — the 19% of firms using GenAI without a visible strategy are the ones most exposed when clients ask, bar associations audit, or regulators investigate.