Organizations are moving aggressively to scale artificial intelligence, but new research from CapTech finds that technology itself may no longer be the primary barrier to progress. Instead, governance, stakeholder alignment, and internal decision-making are emerging as the greatest challenges organizations face as they move AI initiatives from experimentation into enterprise-scale implementation.
Conducted in partnership with The Harris Poll, CapTech's 2026 Executive AI Research surveyed 302 IT decision-makers at organizations already running AI in production environments. The study explores how leaders navigate technology modernization, AI implementation, governance, and organizational decision-making during large-scale transformation efforts.
The findings reveal a growing disconnect: organizations are highly confident in their ability to deliver AI initiatives, yet operational and organizational challenges are preventing many from realizing AI's full potential.
Organizations Are All-In on AI
AI is shifting from an innovation initiative to a business mandate.
The study found that scaling AI use (41%) and building AI infrastructure (31%) are now the two most common technology priorities among enterprise IT leaders, significantly outpacing priorities such as talent development, technology debt reduction, and cost control. Collectively, 60% of respondents selected at least one AI-related priority among their top technology initiatives.
Organizations also face mounting urgency. Nearly four in five respondents (78%) report experiencing high or extreme pressure to implement AI-based solutions, while 61% say they are more concerned about failing to modernize quickly enough than becoming locked into a particular vendor or platform.
At the same time, leaders remain optimistic. Ninety-three percent believe AI will save money when implemented successfully, and 62% believe AI will reduce waste and rework within their organizations.
Pressure Creates Risk Alongside Opportunity
Organizations experiencing the highest AI pressure expect the greatest returns, but they also report more challenges.
Among respondents reporting extreme pressure to implement AI, 69% expect AI-related initiatives to increase revenue by at least 20%, while 70% expect savings of at least 20%. At the same time, these organizations report narrower governance participation, more unintended consequences, and greater expectations of rework and waste. More broadly, only 28% of respondents describe themselves as completely confident they will achieve their technology priorities over the next 18 to 24 months.
The findings point to a growing leadership challenge: balancing the urgency to deliver AI outcomes against the governance and decision-making rigor required to sustain them.
The Biggest Barrier Isn't AI Capability. It's Organizational Decision-Making.
The research suggests many organizations have made substantial progress building technical capabilities yet continue to struggle with organizational execution.
Eighty-six percent of respondents agree their organizations are capable of rapidly implementing AI-based solutions but say internal decision-making slows progress. More respondents point to stakeholder misalignment and decision-making challenges as modernization barriers (56%) than technical issues (44%).
In addition, 90% believe modernization decisions would improve if stakeholders developed a shared understanding of tradeoffs. The finding highlights the importance of decision frameworks that align technology, business, risk, and operational priorities early in the modernization process.
