Tech leaders reveal the state of AI

Technology leaders have shared a rare and unfiltered view on the state of AI in their organisations as part of newly published research.

Interviews with chief information officers (CIOs) and chief technology officers (CTOs) in the diginomica network reveal a gap between expectations of AI and return on investment (ROI).

Let’s explore the findings, which highlight how enterprises are using AI and the challenges they face around AI adoption.

Managing expectations at pace

The discussions with CIOs and CTOs reveal a tension between the speed of advancement and a “weight of expectation” to deliver on AI’s promises. Without the right foundation in place, technology leaders are left struggling on different fronts.

These include a fear of missing out (FOMO)—fuelled by AI hype—which may be forcing organisations to push ahead with implementing AI before they’re ready. On top of this, leaders are experiencing misconceptions of what constitutes AI by other areas of the business. The network reported that the terms around agentic AI, generative AI, and robotics are often commonly confused.

Despite this, senior leaders are expecting fast results on AI investments, even when the implementation of use cases is still in its relative infancy.

The speed at which AI is evolving has the potential to damage trust between technology leaders and the rest of the organisation. One CIO shared that a failed proof of concept from nine months ago was now possible, creating challenges around communicating that to the rest of the business and managing other stakeholders.

Find out how CIOs are exploring the AI opportunity by downloading the full diginomica network research.

Overcoming barriers to AI adoption

With AI use cases ranging from process automation to website chatbots to predictive algorithms, interviewees revealed their current AI success rates. A straw poll found that more than half see levels higher than 50% and one in five (21%) reports 80% or more. On the other hand, CIOs and CTOs acknowledged disappointing ROI around examples including automated bid tools.

Barriers to progress include poor data quality, data stored in disconnected systems, and a lack of internal AI skills. Leaders also frequently raised regulatory and compliance concerns and difficulty aligning AI with business priorities.

The findings chime with the ServiceNow Enterprise AI Maturity Index 2025, which revealed that global AI maturity has dropped in the past year as organisations try to keep pace with the speed of innovation.

The organisations leading the way on AI adoption globally, a group we call Pacesetters, are prioritising upskilling people while taking a proactive stance on AI governance. To help people use AI effectively, nearly two-thirds (64%) use AI champions and seven in 10 (71%) host AI learning events.

Change management through a new lens

The interviews highlighted fears of “history repeating itself” with AI, in relation to past technology waves that fell short of expectations. One leader shared that an organisation might see as little as 10% of the potential benefits from new technologies because of failures to properly drive education and adoption.

To fully realise the opportunities with AI, leaders must build a culture of experimentation, where people are empowered to reshape their roles with AI.

Interviewees believe AI success requires effective change management—with a focus on shifting user behaviour and reimagining how work gets done. This will involve moving the conversation on adoption from technology to people.

Employees can be sensitive to technological change. Leaders suggest helping employees understand AI so that they can realise the role they’ll play. Employee upskilling and training programmes can give people a stake in how AI improves their roles and experiences at work.

People must be at the centre

When asked what’s essential to be AI-ready, the majority of interviewees cited strong governance and compliance frameworks. High data quality and reliability, as well as clearly defined AI use cases tied to business outcomes, were also common themes.

None of that is possible without people to oversee those areas. Conversations with the diginomica network underline what’s pressing in the minds of senior technology leaders: People must be central in shaping the future of AI and how it’s implemented.

Find out how ServiceNow can help you put AI to work for people.