Treating artificial intelligence and automation as strategic investments has become the defining characteristic of executive leadership in 2025, with corporate decision-makers committing unprecedented resources and personal attention to these technologies. The alignment between CIOs and CEOs demonstrates this shift clearly: 46% of CIOs and 43% of CEOs identify increased automation and AI adoption as their top priority over the next five years. This represents a fundamental change in how organizations approach technology transformation.
AI and automation have evolved from operational tools to strategic imperatives commanding unprecedented executive commitment and organizational resources in 2025.
CEOs are personally driving AI strategy implementation. Seventy-two percent position themselves as main decision makers on AI strategy, with leading executives dedicating more than eight hours per week to personal AI upskilling. Half of CEOs believe their job depends on successfully implementing AI, creating direct accountability at the highest organizational level. CEOs have committed organizational budgets beyond tech pools to fund AI investments, demonstrating that AI strategy extends beyond IT and innovation teams to reshape overall strategy and operations.
The financial commitment backing these priorities is substantial. Companies plan to double their spending on AI in 2026, increasing from 0.8% to approximately 1.7% of revenues. Tech companies and financial institutions are leading this investment surge, planning to spend about 2% of revenues on AI in 2026. More than 30% of organizations’ AI investments for 2026 are committed specifically to agentic AI—systems that can plan, act, and learn independently.
Investment resilience demonstrates long-term strategic thinking rather than short-term tactical approaches. Ninety-four percent of companies plan to continue investing in AI at current or higher levels even if investments do not generate returns within one year. This patience reflects confidence in eventual outcomes, with four out of five CEOs reporting increased optimism about AI’s ROI potential compared to the previous year. While 27% of executives expect returns within 1–2 years, most recognize that full payback will require a longer horizon, with 37% anticipating returns in 3–5 years.
Expected returns justify this sustained commitment. Approximately 90% of CEOs believe AI agents will produce measurable returns in 2026. Fully embracing agentic AI could release approximately $3 trillion in global productivity gains, equivalent to a 5% improvement in profitability globally. Industry analysts project AI will deliver exponential efficiency improvements of “10x faster and 10x better—delivered at 10x cheaper.” Leadership is selecting specific workflows where AI payoffs can be substantial rather than pursuing broad deployment, ensuring disciplined allocation of resources. A strong ITSM integration strategy that defines service request management and data sharing protocols helps capture those AI-driven productivity gains.
