How CEOs see AI in 2026
CEOs have moved from 'Will AI work?' to 'Are we investing enough?' Optimism is up. But so is urgency and the fear of missing out. Cisco asked 2,500 CEOs from 23 countries for their perspectives on AI in 2026.
How do you see AI right now?
Compared to a year ago, are you more optimistic or more cautious about AI?
AI has become central to how the world's CEOs think
Optimism:
of CEOs have become more optimistic on AI's potential compared to 12 months ago.
Evidence:
of CEOs say AI beat their expectations in 2025.
Restless:
of CEOs fear the business is missing out on opportunities because of lack of investment.
Understanding:
of CEOs say their understanding of AI is not a barrier anymore, up from 26% just 12 months ago.
Understanding and action aren't the same thing.
What's still standing in the way?
Barriers to AI progress
Most CEOs see AI and humans working together
AI Agent deployment is a top 3 CEO priority in 2026, following AI infrastructure upgrades and team upskilling.
of CEOs expect humans to remain accountable by 2030.
of CEOs expect almost no AI involvement by 2030. That means almost every CEO expects AI to play a role in business.
We asked CEOs about their top 5 priorities for 2026
The answers were broadly consistent across regions.
Infrastructure. Talent. Agents. Measurement. Governance.
But priorities don't guarantee progress.
We looked at the most AI-ready organizations - the Pacesetters, the top 13% in Cisco’s AI Readiness Index - to see how they are acting on these CEO priorities.
CEO Priority #1Upgrade infrastructure to handle AI workloads
Pacesetters are getting ahead of the demand.
77%
of Pacesetters are planning to build new data centers in the next 12 months - building for what's coming.
CEO Priority #2Upskill teams
Pacesetters are solving their skills gaps.
100%
of Pacesetters provide internal training, and 64% - more than double the global average - also engage external experts to accelerate upskilling.
CEO Priority #3Deploy AI agents to work alongside employees
Pacesetters are figuring out what their agents will do.
61%
of Pacesetters have already mapped out what agents will do, compared to just 32% of companies globally.
CEO Priority #4Build systems to measure AI impact and ROI
Pacesetters are already proving value.
95%
have defined metrics to measure AI’s impact, and 65% measure the impact of their AI training programs. Globally only a third do both.
CEO Priority #5Address AI security and governance gaps
Pacesetters are building trust into their systems.
62%
have fully integrated their use cases into their security and governance systems, compared to 28% globally.
Advice from CEOs from every corner of the world
CEOs from different regions think about AI in slightly different ways.
Select a region on the map to find more.
CEOs want to make AI work safely, reliably and at scale.
Globally, just 13% of organizations are there.
These Pacesetters aren’t waiting for the right conditions. They’re investing in their infrastructure, moving faster on security and governance, and treating data and talent as strategic assets.
And because of that, they’re achieving the scale and speed that creates real value.
To turn their ambitions and priorities into real business results, every CEO wants their organization to be a Pacesetter.
What does it take to become a Pacesetter?
Additional Resources
