Definition. Every operating seat names itself the AI signer more than any other seat names it. September 2026: CEO seat 70, finance 63, technology 26.
The figure, seat by seat
Each chair's claim on the signature, next to how the other chairs read it.
| CEO/Founder (80) | Finance (52) | Technology (23) | Investor (20) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Says their own seat signs | 70 percent | 63 percent | 26 percent | n/a |
| Says the CEO signs | 70 percent | 31 percent | 26 percent | 35 percent |
Source: Open Future Forum, Enterprise AI Buying and Budget Index, September 2026 editions.
Read from outside the building, the CEO's share settles lower than the CEO seat's own claim: 47 percent of 290 pooled operators, 50 percent of the August finance room, and 51 percent of 245 investors reading across their portfolios.
What changed since Edition 2
Edition 2 read the effect at 84 percent for the CEO seat, 61 for finance and 35 for technology, on seat bases of 43, 33 and 17. Edition 3 reads 70, 63 and 26 on bases of 80, 52 and 23. The pattern held as the bases roughly doubled; the CEO seat's claim moderated while finance's held.
How to read it
Every operating chair names itself the signer more often than any other chair names it. The effect matters because it means sign-off data collected from a single seat will overstate that seat, and because three seats can each believe the pen is on their own desk at the same time.
There is one exception, and it is the finding underneath the finding. The technology seat names the CFO at 30 percent and the CEO at 26, ahead of its own chair at 26. It is the only operating seat that does not name itself first, and it is also the seat reporting the most unowned decisions.
How it is measured. From the instrument questions in the application flow for Open Future Forum events, cut by the respondent’s seat from self-reported title. Bases are unique people per instrument; bases under 40 are directional. Full method: Executive AI Leverage Report, September 2026, Methodology and honesty notes.
Tracked figures. See the Trend by edition table in the current edition and the Executive AI Statistics page. Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21576019.
Why it matters. It is the reason single-seat surveys disagree with each other about who buys AI, and the reason this series triangulates the question across operators, investors and founders rather than asking one room. The series reports the current figure, the prior figure, and the change each edition.
Where it appears
Read in full in the Executive AI Leverage Report (Exhibit 3) and the CEO AI Leverage Report, with the technology seat read on its own in the AI Leaders AI Leverage Report.
Cite as. Newlands, M. (2026). The Self-Attribution Effect. Open Future Forum, Enterprise AI Buying and Budget Index. openfutureforum.com/research/definitions/self-attribution-effect
About Open Future Forum
Open Future Forum is a global executive community founded in Silicon Valley. Its network reaches tens of thousands of executives and investors worldwide. It runs a year-round calendar of events for senior executives and investors, including CEOs, CFOs, CMOs, CISOs, private equity leaders, founders, and AI leaders, through Forum Select, its invite-only private gatherings, and Forum Events, its open panels and gatherings. Beyond events, Open Future Forum convenes peer groups and executive boards and publishes original research built on first-party survey and qualitative data from its executive network.
Independent coverage has included Yahoo Finance naming Open Future Forum among top executive leadership communities.
About Murray Newlands
Murray Newlands is the founder of Open Future Forum and the host of its executive dinner series and research program. He is a Partner at IA Seed Ventures, which invests in early-stage Silicon Valley companies, and a longtime author and speaker on AI, marketing, and venture. He writes on AI, venture, and enterprise strategy at murraynewlands.substack.com. More at openfutureforum.com/about and murraynewlands.com.
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