Community Pulse on Strategies and Challenges in Operationalizing AI

AI continues to transform the business landscape at an unprecedented pace, reshaping how organizations operate and compete. Over the past few years, we have surveyed our communities to track how C-Level executive attitudes, priorities, and challenges are evolving as organizations move from early experimentation to scaling AI across the enterprise.

After surveying our community members about the introduction of GenAI in 2023 and their progress toward AI adoption in 2024, we recently asked 750 C-level executives how they are strategizing and operationalizing AI within their organizations.
 

Where Executives Stand in Operationalizing AI

Our latest survey shows steady progress in AI maturity. Forty percent have operationalized AI in some business processes, and 38% are piloting or testing AI in select areas. Thirteen percent report that they are scaling AI after achieving measurable results, while only 8% remain in the preparation phase, focused on foundational work like data quality and governance.

This marks a notable shift from 2024, when 26% were still preparing – highlighting a clear acceleration in AI adoption.

Strategic Approaches to Operationalizing AI

Most organizations are taking a pragmatic approach to AI integration. Nearly half (48%) are embedding AI into existing processes, 20% are using AI for data-driven decision making, and 15% are creating entirely new processes or business models enabled by AI. Experimentation with agentic AI – autonomous agents – remains in the early stages, with 11% exploring this frontier.

For the 6% who selected “Other,” several respondents noted that their AI strategies vary across business units and functions. As one executive shared, “It’s a combination of preparing data, embedding AI into existing processes, and some areas in IT are experimenting with Agentic AI.” 
 

Key Challenges in AI Implementation

Despite progress, organizations face persistent operational hurdles. The most common challenges are AI governance and risk management (17%), data quality and integration (15%), and skills/talent gaps (15%). Change management and workforce adoption (14%) also remain significant.

Shifting Executive Concerns as AI Advances 

Since our last survey in 2024, the nature and intensity of executive concerns have shifted. Security and risk management remains the top concern, but only 22% cite it this year – down from 79% in 2024. Data privacy and compliance concerns dropped from 73% to 19%, and worries about internal governance and oversight fell from 71% to just 15%. This suggests organizations are becoming more adept at managing core AI risks.

Confidence in AI Governance

As concerns decline, confidence in managing and governing advanced AI systems is on the rise. More than half (56%) of executives feel “very confident” or “somewhat confident” in their current capabilities.

The Workforce Impact of AI

Despite widespread discussion about AI-driven job losses, most executives report a more nuanced reality. No executives cited a significant reduction in workforce size as a result of AI, and only 5% noted a moderate reduction. The majority (36%) say there has been no significant change in workforce size to date. Instead, 20% have seen shifts in roles and responsibilities, and 14% report the creation of new roles. Nearly a quarter (24%) say it’s too early to tell what the long-term impact will be.

Approaches to Agentic AI Adoption

Executives are increasingly exploring agentic AI. Forty-four percent are exploring use cases, 30% are piloting agentic AI in select areas, and 9% have operationalized agentic AI within business processes. Sixteen percent are not yet considering agentic AI.

Executive Outlook about AI’s Future

Executives remain overwhelmingly optimistic about AI’s potential – including agentic AI. In our latest survey, 87% describe their outlook as either “very positive” (33%) or “somewhat positive” (54%), consistent with our 2024 findings, where 87% of executives also held a positive outlook.

Look out for our upcoming comprehensive report, which will include qualitative perspectives and real-world examples from C-level leaders.

If you are a C-level executive guiding your organization through AI transformation, consider joining Gartner C-level Communities to connect with peers, share insights, and discuss both challenges and opportunities of advanced AI. If you’re already a member, sign in to the app to explore upcoming gatherings and continue the conversation with your community.

Based on 750 responses to Gartner C-level Communities’ Community Pulse Survey, June 2026.