CEOs Increase AI Spending

What happened

A Teneo survey of over 350 public-company CEOs indicates that 68% intend to increase AI spending in 2026, despite less than half of current AI projects exceeding cost-return thresholds. AI applications are most successful in marketing and customer service, while security, legal, and HR sectors face implementation challenges. This contrasts with institutional investor expectations, where 53% foresee returns within six months, compared to 84% of large-company CEOs anticipating longer timelines. CEOs also project AI will increase headcount across entry-level and senior leadership roles.

Why it matters

The planned increase in AI spending, despite current low return on investment and challenges in security, legal, and HR applications, introduces a significant oversight burden for procurement and finance teams. This creates an accountability gap regarding the efficacy of AI investments, particularly given the divergence in return expectations between executive leadership and institutional investors. Operational teams, including IT security and legal, face increased due diligence requirements to manage AI deployments in areas where success is currently limited, potentially increasing exposure to unoptimised or underperforming systems.