The McKinsey 17%-EBIT-attributable-to-genAI figure, the most-cited single statistic in 2026 enterprise agentic AI procurement decisions, is a self-reported attribution from McKinsey's State of AI 2025 survey of approximately 1,491 respondents. The way it is typically read in CIO decks, as evidence that 17% of enterprises have produced 5% or more of EBIT from genAI, materially overstates what the survey supports. The figure documents 17% of survey respondents asserting that level of attribution, not 17% of enterprises producing it under audited measurement.

Claim is scoped to how the figure is interpreted, not to whether the survey itself is sound. Survey methodology is competent for what it measures (self-reported strategic attribution by senior leadership). The leak is in the downstream citation chain. 60-day review cadence. Watches: (1) audited reproductions of the figure under third-party measurement, (2) McKinsey State of AI 2026 successor publication, (3) revisions to the McKinsey methodology that narrow the EBIT-attribution definition.