Chief information officers are rapidly moving from artificial intelligence (AI) experimentation to enterprise-wide implementation, with full AI deployment surging from just 11% of companies in 2024 to 42% this year, a staggering 282% increase, according to Salesforce Inc.’s second annual CIO study of 200 technology leaders worldwide, released Monday.
The dramatic shift comes as AI budgets nearly double and CIOs dedicate roughly 30% of their AI spending on agentic AI. Perhaps most telling: 96% of CIOs report their companies either use or plan to implement agentic AI within the next two years.
The transformation extends beyond technology adoption. CIOs are evolving from technical specialists into strategic business leaders, working most closely with CEOs as their roles expand in scope and importance. The shift has required developing unexpected competencies: 61% have improved leadership skills, 57% have enhanced storytelling and narrative-building abilities, and 55% have strengthened change management capabilities.
“CIOs are turning AI ambition into action and scaling agentic AI in real, measurable ways,” Salesforce CIO Daniel Shmitt said. “Embedding AI into the flow of work and building trust into every step helps everyone move faster and with more confidence.”
The confidence boost is measurable. Three-quarters of CIOs feel more assured in their roles than a year ago, and 61% now believe they’re ahead of competitors on AI, up from 43% in 2024, according to the study.
Agentic AI’s most immediate impact appears to be on customer service. Nearly two-thirds of CIOs report working more closely with customer service teams than any other organizational unit, citing the area’s strong use cases, enthusiasm, and adoption rates.
To that end, Adobe Population Health CIO Alex Waddell says the company has saved more than $1 million annually on time costs, returning thousands of hours to care teams. DeVry University, meanwhile, reported it has shaved more than 500 colleague hours yearly by embedding AI agents into academic advising and student support workflows.
“AI agents started with basic services in search and genAI, but it is reaching a point where it can take a major task and do a substantial part of the job,” Klaviyo CEO Andrew Bialecki said in an interview. He pointed to the ability of agents to do marketing plans for businesses in the retail, media and travel industries.
A spike in holiday-oriented hirings underscores “real increases in demand for AI projects” in customer service, technical support, and e-commerce development, according to Upwork Inc. chief operating officer Anthony Kappus.
Data security remains the top concern, followed closely by the lack of trusted data. Yet only 35% of CIOs report working more closely with chief data officers, and a mere 14% of IT budgets focus on data security.
Employee adoption presents another challenge. While 81% of CIOs acknowledge AI agents require closer cross-functional collaboration with departments like HR, finance, and sales, less than half currently maintain such partnerships. Confidence in employee buy-in has increased just 1% since 2024.
To address integration concerns, 61% of CIOs prefer investing in known technology vendors already embedded in their systems. As one UK retail industry CIO noted, companies need “grounding in realistic applications” amid AI hype, warning that without proper strategic alignment, “costs escalate far quicker without adding value.”
