Most AI adoption studies survey the market. Fewer ask senior executives, in their own words, what is working and what is stalling. Open Future Forum draws on first-party survey and qualitative data from its executive network to answer that. Here is what C-suite leaders are telling us about AI in 2026, drawn from the Open Future Forum research programme.
How many executives have moved AI past the pilot stage?
In the largest room we survey — finance — 71% already run at least one AI tool, according to the Executive AI Leverage Report (421 respondents across seven 2026 events). Deployment is real, but uneven: across rooms, many teams still sit in pilots, and the gap between a working use case and a stalled one is where most of the frustration sits.
What is the biggest barrier to AI adoption?
Proving ROI, not budget. 53% of executives name proving return as the top blocker to more AI spend. The pattern across CFO, CMO, and CISO conversations is consistent: the hard part is not buying the tool, it is changing the work around it.
Where is AI delivering real return?
Marketing holds the largest functional share of enterprise AI budgets of any operating function (MIT: over 50%), and finance leaders report the clearest production use. But returns are real without yet being structural: only about one in six executives funds AI from money that would otherwise have gone to headcount.
What separates the leaders from the laggards?
Across the network, the executives seeing return tend to share three habits: a named owner for AI outcomes, a small number of focused use cases rather than many, and a feedback loop that measures results. The tool is rarely the differentiator; the operating discipline around it is.
About the data
These findings come from Open Future Forum’s executive network — first-party survey and qualitative input rather than third-party panels. Open Future Forum is a global executive community founded in Silicon Valley in 2019 that convenes CEOs, CFOs, CMOs, CISOs, private equity leaders, and AI leaders, and publishes original research on how executives buy, fund, and get leverage from AI. Read the full reports on the research hub, including the CMO AI Leverage Report.
Frequently asked questions
Who was surveyed?
Senior executives in the Open Future Forum network across finance, marketing, security, and general management. The Executive AI Leverage Report draws on 421 respondents across seven 2026 events; each report states its own base.
Is the full report available?
Yes. The reports are free to read on the research hub, including role-specific cuts such as the CMO AI Leverage Report and the CISO AI Leverage Report.
How often is this updated?
Open Future Forum publishes original research on a recurring basis from its network.