CIOs must also serve as chief AI officers, according to Salesforce survey

The function of the CIO now’s far more than delivering entry to reliable, related, well timed, and impactful data — these are table-stakes necessities. 

Within the age of synthetic intelligence (AI), chief data officers (CIO) should assist stakeholders turbocharge their output. CIOs at the moment are within the enterprise of producing intelligence and work-autonomous work. CIOs at the moment are chargeable for creating a piece atmosphere the place people and AI brokers can collaborate and co-create stakeholder worth — workers, prospects, companions, and communities. CIOs should design, personal, and ship the roadmap to the autonomous enterprise, the place autonomous work is maturing at Lightspeed. Maximizing enterprise efficiency with generative AI (gen AI) requires modernizing knowledge foundations and measuring enterprise outcomes.

In keeping with a brand new Salesforce survey of 150 verified CIOs of corporations with 1,000 or extra workers, nearly all of CIOs (84%) consider AI is a sport changer, but solely 11% have absolutely applied AI techniques within the workforce. 

Listed here are some key findings from the report: 

• Corporations are on the lookout for their CIOs to be AI consultants. 61% of CIOs really feel they’re anticipated to know extra about AI than they do, and their friends at different corporations are their high sources of knowledge.
• CIOs agree that AI is a sport changer however are cautious. Whereas 84% consider AI might be as vital to companies because the web, 67% are taking a extra cautious method in comparison with different applied sciences. 
• IT is specializing in knowledge initiatives earlier than leaning into AI. CIOs report spending a median of 20% of their budgets on knowledge infrastructure and administration versus 5% on AI. Safety or privateness threats and a scarcity of trusted knowledge rank as CIOs’ greatest AI fears.
• Enterprise companions should study their AI timelines. 66% of CIOs consider they will see a return on funding (ROI) from AI investments, however 68% consider their line-of-business stakeholders have unreasonable expectations for when that ROI will happen.
• CIOs see a mismatch between departments with regards to AI. Whereas features like customer support are seen as having probably the most AI use instances, they could be perceived as being the least ready for the know-how.

Listed here are my high 10 takeaways from the CIO survey on AI adoption in enterprises: 

1. Enterprise assist for AI is excessive, however the expectations for quick ROI are increased. In truth, 77% of CIOs say they’ve good or glorious government buy-in on AI’s worth. But CIOs are involved about their enterprise companions’ urgency, with 68% believing there are unreasonable expectations of once they’ll see ROI from the know-how. AI and enterprise software program consultants consider that early adopters are deploying AI brokers within the enterprise now, with scaled adoption in 2025.
2. Traces of enterprise outdoors of IT are extra aggressive with AI adoption (that is what I name shadow AI). Simply 11% of CIOs — with their higher technical experience and broader view of the group — say they’ve absolutely applied AI — 18 to 38 share factors lower than their line of enterprise counterparts. “The adoption of mass market generative AI instruments by staff is ushering a brand new period of “shadow AI” that highlights the urgency of implementing trusted instruments,” mentioned Juan Perez, CIO of Salesforce. We all know that 1 in 3 staff use AI a number of instances every week — and so they’re shouting about it. Analysis means that “maximalists” actively encourage laggards to make use of synthetic intelligence. 
3. Each AI venture is an information and safety venture. A survey discovered that 67% of CIOs are taking a extra calculated method to its implementation in comparison with different applied sciences. CIOs don’t have any scarcity of hurdles to think about when implementing AI, however these associated to safety and knowledge are the commonest. The highest 5 CIO challenges: 1. Safety and privateness threats, 2. Lack of trusted knowledge, 3. Incapacity to establish one of the best use instances, 4. Coaching staff with required expertise, 5. Inadequate return on investments. 
4. CIOs are spending 4X on data-related tasks as in comparison with AI tasks. The survey discovered that companies should get their knowledge so as earlier than they absolutely embrace AI, CIOs are presently allocating, on common, 4 instances extra price range towards knowledge initiatives. CIOs report spending a median of 20% of their budgets on knowledge infrastructure and administration versus 5% on AI.
5. CIOs are unsure about how a lot to price range for AI tasks. Solely 47% are assured they’ve allotted the correct quantity of price range to AI initiatives. To attain determination dominance, CIOs should be AI advocates and champion scalable adoption throughout your complete enterprise. 
6. CIOs battle to establish the place to prioritize AI. The highest three greatest use instances for AI are customer support, advertising and marketing, and gross sales. Probably the most enthusiasm for AI adoption is within the advertising and marketing, gross sales, and finance industries. Moreover, probably the most prepared for AI adoption are HR, finance, and gross sales. CIOs have competing pursuits and competing capabilities, making it tough for IT to prioritize AI investments. 
7. CIOs are leveraging pilot tasks to construct AI advocacy all through the enterprise. The survey discovered that some CIOs are discovering it more practical to launch pilot tasks that showcase AI’s energy to make the case for broader implementation. In truth, 75% of respondents describe their organizations as being within the experimental stage of AI adoption.
8. CIOs are studying about AI from their CIO community. CIOs are below stress to rapidly find out about, and implement, efficient AI options of their companies. Whereas greater than three of 5 CIOs assume stakeholder expectations for his or her AI experience are unrealistic, solely 9% consider their friends are extra educated. CIOs are additionally partnering with analyst companies (Gartner, Forrester, IDC, and so on.) and know-how distributors to study extra about AI. Agentic AI is the brand new electrical energy, and almost 80% of enterprise leaders are afraid of the darkish. In keeping with Gartner, by 2028, 33% of enterprise software program purposes will embrace agentic AI, up from lower than 1% in 2024, enabling 15% of day-to-day work selections to be made autonomously,
9. CIOs function chief AI officers. Sixty-one p.c of CIOs really feel they’re anticipated to know extra about AI than they do, and their friends at different corporations are their high sources of knowledge.
10. CIOs should grow to be higher AI storytellers. In 1994, Steve Jobs mentioned: “Probably the most highly effective individual on this planet is the storyteller. The storyteller units the imaginative and prescient, values, and agenda of a whole technology that’s to return.” There isn’t any higher time than now for CIOs to steer the enterprise transformation in the direction of turning into AI-led corporations. 

Analysis exhibits that the majority companies are growing their investments in gen AI and enterprise leaders care deeply about AI.  Scaling AI adoption within the enterprise should be a precedence and CIOs are probably the most certified enterprise leaders to champion scale, velocity, and optimization of AI adoption in enterprise. CIOs who function chief AI officers are greatest suited to actually rework their corporations and ship actual worth on the velocity of want.