Enterprises across industries have reached a stage in their AI journey where experimentation is no longer temporary, but an indispensable part of modern business. As AI initiatives scale across the enterprise, CIOs and CTOs are developing greater resilience to risk and failure.
In response to this shift, for this research, Solvd examined what CIOs and CTOs think of AI experimentation, how they define success, how they ensure AI governance (if at all), which external resources they use to implement AI, and the primary reasons behind those choices.
The complete findings of the 2026 research address four key themes which reflect the current state of the AI market among enterprise businesses:
- AI leadership and organizational structure
- AI investment, ROI and performance measurement
- AI governance maturity and practices
- AI integration across the enterprise
Key takeaways
- 90% expect investment in experimental AI initiatives to increase in 2026
- 76% expect 50% or less of their workforce will use AI daily by end of 2026
- 72% believe it’s likely AI projects will be shut down in the next year for failing to meet KPIs
- 69% say AI is not fully embedded across key business decision
