Do Companies Have AI Security Budgets in 2026?

AI security is funded through several routes. Thirty-four percent report a dedicated budget line, 35 percent fund work case by case, 26 percent draw from the existing security budget and 11 percent report no AI security spending (base 151, any mention).

What this does not prove: a dedicated line is not the only form of funding, so the figure should not be treated as a measure of budget adequacy. The question allowed multiple answers, so shares can sum above 100 percent. The responses came from Open Future Forum's security instrument and were collected through September 30, 2026.

Primary sources: CISO AI Leverage Report, October 2026 and Executive AI Statistics, October 2026. Data collected through September 30, 2026 from a selective operator sample, not a probability sample.

Security leaders building the budget case find their peer data at the CISO Executive Forum.