Each line: figure · base · source report. Bases are unique people per instrument; multi-select uses any mention; bases under 40 are directional. Suggested citation: Newlands, M. (2026). Enterprise AI Buying and Budget Index, September 2026 editions. Open Future Forum. openfutureforum.com/research/
Who signs and who owns
- 47 percent of finance-lane operators name the CEO as the signer of a new AI purchase · base 290 · Executive and CFO AI Leverage Reports.
- 50 percent in the August cohort · base 54, directional · CFO AI Leverage Report.
- 34 percent name the CFO or finance; 43 percent in August · base 290; 54 · CFO AI Leverage Report.
- 16 percent name the CIO or CTO; 11 percent no single owner; 10 percent an individual business unit · base 290 · CFO AI Leverage Report.
- Business-unit sign-off fell from 12 to 4 percent between the July and August cohorts · bases 238; 54 · Executive AI Leverage Report.
- 51 percent of investors say the CEO increasingly owns the AI buying decision across portfolios; 22 percent cannot yet name the owner · base 245 · Investor AI Report.
- Self-Attribution Effect: CEO-seat respondents name the CEO at 70 percent (base 80); finance seat names the CFO at 63 (base 52); technology seat names the CIO or CTO at 26 (base 23, directional) · Executive AI Leverage Report.
- Ownership Vacuum by seat: CEO seat 2 percent, finance 15, technology 30, investor 20 · Executive AI Leverage Report.
- Sign-off archetypes: Signers 57 percent, Owners 32, Unowned 11 · base 290 · Executive AI Leverage Report.
Budgets and payback
- AI budget source: net-new money 41 percent, no clear AI budget 28, headcount money 21, reallocated from other software 20 · base 290 · CFO AI Leverage Report.
- Funding archetypes: Funders 37 percent, Unbudgeted 25, Substituters 21, Reallocators 18 · base 290 · CFO AI Leverage Report.
- CEO seat funds AI from headcount money at 34 percent; finance seat at 19 · bases 80; 52 · CEO AI Leverage Report.
- Proving ROI is the main blocker for 55 percent; 65 percent in August · base 290; 54 · CFO AI Leverage Report.
- Data readiness 21 percent, security and compliance 20, integration 20, talent 12 as blockers · base 290 · CFO AI Leverage Report.
- Expected payback under six months 54 percent, six to twelve months 23, not sure 12, twelve to twenty-four months 8 · base 290 · CFO AI Leverage Report.
- Optimism Gap: 70 percent of the CEO seat expects payback inside six months against 42 percent of the finance seat, 28 points; investors 35 percent · bases 80; 52; 20 · Executive AI Leverage Report.
- 71 percent of the largest finance room already runs Claude or another AI tool; 22 evaluating; 8 not started · base 184 · CFO AI Leverage Report.
Security
- 67 percent of senior security leaders name securing AI agents and their access as their top AI security problem; 75 percent in August · base 110; 61 · CISO AI Leverage Report.
- Data leaking into AI models 30 percent (38 in August); shadow AI 25 (21); AI-powered attacks 16 (20); nothing urgent 5 · CISO AI Leverage Report.
- Dedicated AI security budget line 35 percent (41 in August); case by case 35; carved from existing security budget 25; no AI security spend 11 (8 in August) · base 110; 61 · CISO AI Leverage Report.
- Security Funding Gap: 30 points cumulative, 34 in August · CISO AI Leverage Report.
- 41 percent of applicants to CISO rooms who answered the screening question hold the CISO or head-of-security title · base 236 · CISO AI Leverage Report.
Marketing
- 81 percent of marketing and growth leaders are past exploring agentic AI: 36 percent building agentic products, 26 piloting, 20 running in production across the business, 19 still exploring · base 230 · CMO AI Leverage Report.
- Where AI makes the biggest difference in marketing: doing the work of more people 50 percent, knowing the customer better 43, creating content faster 43, nothing measurable 11 · base 127 (August) · CMO AI Leverage Report.
- Agents named in 47 of 123 answers to “the one thing you want to walk out with”; attribution named in 20 of 96 marketing challenges · CMO AI Leverage Report.
Founders
Founder AI Pricing Index: usage-based 43 percent, outcome-based 24, flat subscription 24, per seat 20, not charging 8 · base 148, no new data in August · YC Founder AI Report.
Buying owner inside the customer: business-unit leader 39 percent, CIO or CTO 36, CFO or finance 28, individual users 11 · base 148 · YC Founder AI Report.
Fintech: usage pricing 70 percent, CFO named by 52 · base 23, directional. Enterprise software: outcome pricing 47 percent, CIO or CTO named by 55 · base 38, directional. Healthcare: finance named by 13 percent · base 15, directional · YC Founder AI Report.
Founders from 2025 and 2026 YC batches price on outcomes at 35 and 29 percent; W24 and earlier at 14, with usage at 52 · bases 23, 31, 50, directional · YC Founder AI Report.
Founders selling to the CIO or CTO price on outcomes at 38 percent; those selling to the CFO at 27 · bases 53, 41, directional · YC Founder AI Report.
Investors
- Better products 51 percent, cutting costs 35, helping customers 34, nothing measurable 16 as where AI shows up across portfolios · base 237 · Investor AI Report.
- AI Investor Conviction Index 86 percent · base 237 · VC & CVC AI Investment Report.
- Investors who name the CEO as AI owner see nothing measurable in 9 percent of portfolios; those who say too early, 41 percent · bases 118, 49 · Investor AI Report.
- Partners and GPs name the CEO as AI owner at 62 percent; principals and associates at 32 · bases 142, 19 (directional) · Investor AI Report.
By seat and by vertical
- Technology and enterprise software: CEO named as signer 63 percent, no single owner 8, payback under six months 73, headcount money 29 · base 59 · Executive AI Leverage Report.
- Financial services and fintech: CEO named as signer 50 percent, no single owner 0, payback under six months 40, headcount money 20 · base 10, directional · Executive AI Leverage Report.
- Big Tech and platforms: CEO named as signer 25 percent, no single owner 50, payback under six months 42, headcount money 17 · base 12, directional · Executive AI Leverage Report.
- Professional services and legal: CEO named as signer 47 percent, no single owner 20, payback under six months 40, headcount money 13 · base 15, directional · Executive AI Leverage Report.
- VC and investment: CEO named as signer 50 percent, no single owner 9, payback under six months 55, headcount money 9 · base 22, directional · Executive AI Leverage Report.
- Other: CEO named as signer 33 percent, no single owner 14, payback under six months 53, headcount money 23 · base 57 · Executive AI Leverage Report.
- Security, Security seat: agent access 69 percent, dedicated budget line 24 · base 29, directional · CISO AI Leverage Report.
- Security, Technology seat: agent access 76 percent, dedicated budget line 33 · base 21, directional · CISO AI Leverage Report.
- Security, CEO/Founder seat: agent access 59 percent, dedicated budget line 41 · base 37, directional · CISO AI Leverage Report.
- Security, Other seat: agent access 62 percent, dedicated budget line 50 · base 16, directional · CISO AI Leverage Report.
- Marketing, CEO/Founder seat: building agentic products 49 percent, running in production 22, AI does the work of more people 52 · bases 79 and 67 · CMO AI Leverage Report.
- Marketing, Marketing seat: building agentic products 30 percent, running in production 30, AI does the work of more people 57 · bases 20 and 30 · CMO AI Leverage Report.
- Marketing, Technology seat: building agentic products 34 percent, running in production 19, AI does the work of more people 30 · bases 32 and 23 · CMO AI Leverage Report.
- Marketing, Other seat: building agentic products 24 percent, running in production 12, AI does the work of more people 50 · bases 50 and 38 · CMO AI Leverage Report.
The network
- 4,163 registrations, 2,851 unique people, 1,766 approved, 2,250 declined, 32 exports, March to August 2026 · Network report.
- Approval rate by room: CEO dinners 19 percent, Board 24, CISO 27, CFO 27, investors 39, CMO 48, founders 52, conference side events 57 · Network report.
- 90 percent of titled approved guests at the CEO Private Dinners are C-level, founders, or partners · Network report.
- 691 people registered for two or more events; 281 for three or more; 160 answered an instrument at two or more events · Network report.
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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