AI RADAR 2026: As AI Investments Surge, CEOs Take the Lead

Abstract

This report analyses the 2026 BCG AI Radar survey of 2,360 executives, including 640 CEOs, to examine how AI investment levels, leadership ownership, risk perceptions, and deployment models are evolving across industries and regions. It finds that corporate AI investment is set to double as a share of revenue in 2026, with 94% of organizations planning to continue investing even if current initiatives fail to deliver short‑term financial returns, and all major sectors reporting higher planned AI spending. While data privacy, cybersecurity, and regulatory risk remain leading concerns, leaders are increasingly focused on the dual threat–opportunity nature of agentic AI in cybersecurity and on emerging worries such as technological failure, geopolitical instability, and environmental impact. The study shows AI transformation shifting decisively from CIO‑ or CTO‑led programs to CEO‑led agendas, with 72% of CEOs now the main AI decision makers, 82% more optimistic about AI ROI than a year ago, and 50% believing their job stability hinges on getting AI strategy right. It identifies three CEO archetypes—Followers, Pragmatists, and Trailblazers—distinguished by their confidence, investment intensity, personal AI learning time, and workforce upskilling, and documents how Trailblazers allocate a much larger share of budgets to AI (especially agentic AI), devote around 60% of AI spend to upskilling, and have already reskilled about 70% of their workforce. Through case examples from Foxconn and Reckitt, the report illustrates substantial realized benefits and concludes with a five‑point CEO agenda focused on prioritizing AI and agentic AI, deepening AI literacy, investing at scale, upskilling the organization, and rigorously tracking AI‑driven ROI.​