CIOs under pressure to prove AI's business value

The survey found that 26% of respondents identified operationalising AI as their biggest pressure point, while 67% cited budget constraints as a major obstacle to delivering digital initiatives. AI and automation, alongside cyber security and resilience, emerged as joint top strategic priorities, each selected by 67% of respondents. Despite the focus on AI, financial and organisational constraints remain significant hurdles to implementation.

Among respondents who classified their organisations as technology leaders, AI was the leading strategic priority, followed by cyber security. Followed prioritised cyber security ahead of AI, while late adopters placed cyber security first and legacy application modernisation second.

The survey points to growing AI adoption across organisations, although deployment levels differ considerably between technology leaders and more cautious adopters. Traditional AI, including machine learning, was deployed in production to some degree by 51% of respondents.