Just 11% of CIOs have fully implemented AI

Eighty-four percent of enterprise CIOs believe AI will be as significant to their businesses as the rise of the internet, according to a report from Salesforce. 

However, only 11% say they’ve fully implemented the technology, citing an array of technical and organisational challenges, led by security and data infrastructure, that must be overcome first.

Salesforce commissioned NewtonX to administer a double-anonymous survey of 150 verified enterprise CIOs worldwide. The survey was administered between July 23 and July 30, 2024 and yielded responses across 18 countries and 17 industries.

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Findings show that CIOs feel pressure to be AI experts, with 61% of them feeling they are expected to know more about AI than they do, and their peers at other companies are their top sources of information.

Also, CIOs agree that AI is a game changer, but are cautious. Eighty-four percent of CIOs believe AI will be as significant to businesses as the internet, but 67% are taking a more cautious approach compared to other technologies.

In addition, IT is focusing on data initiatives before leaning into AI. CIOs report spending a median of 20% of their budgets on data infrastructure and management, versus 5% on AI. Security or privacy threats and a lack of trusted data rank as CIOs’ biggest AI fears.

Further, business partners must examine their AI timelines. Sixty-six percent of CIOs believe they’ll see return on investment (ROI) from AI investments, but 68% believe their line-of-business stakeholders have unreasonable expectations for when that ROI will occur.

The study also found that CIOs see a mismatch between departments when it comes to AI. While functions like customer service are seen as having the most AI use cases, they may be perceived as being the least prepared for the technology.

AI use is rapidly increasing in the workplace as business stakeholders see opportunities for increased efficiency. In fact, 77% of CIOs say they have good or excellent executive buy-in on AI’s value. 

Yet CIOs are concerned about their business partners’ urgency, with 68% believing there are unreasonable expectations of when they’ll see ROI from the technology, for example.

On the other hand, just 11% of CIOs — with their greater technical expertise and broader view of the organisation — say they’ve fully implemented AI — 18 to 38 percentage points less than their line of business counterparts.

“The adoption of mass market generative AI tools by workers is ushering a new era of ‘shadow AI’ that highlights the urgency of implementing trusted tools,“ said Juan Perez, CIO of Salesforce.

The slow pace of sanctioned, enterprise-wide AI strategies and tools can be attributed to a focus on preparatory work that CIOs must tackle first.

Given the transformative nature of AI, 67% of CIOs say they’re taking a more calculated approach to its implementation compared to other technologies. CIOs have no shortage of hurdles to consider when implementing AI, but those related to security and data are by far the most common.

Beyond the challenges of shoring up their data foundations, many CIOs are finding it difficult to define where and how AI should show up in their broader organisations. This is especially true given the novelty of AI and a lack of understanding, or even fear, of the technology across departments.

And while AI use cases may be more apparent in certain areas of the business, those departments may not be the most receptive or capable of harnessing the technology. 

For example, CIOs view customer service as having the most use cases, but also as the least enthusiastic. On the other hand, marketing is viewed as eager to use AI, but least prepared across factors like skill sets.