IBM study: 76% of organizations now have a Chief AI Officer, up from 26% one year ago

IBM's Institute for Business Value published a study of 2,000 CEOs and senior leaders across 33 geographies and 21 industries showing that 76% of organizations now have a Chief AI Officer, up from just 26% in 2025. Organizations with AI-first C-suite designs scaled 10% more AI initiatives enterprise-wide and saw 5% higher return on AI investments. However, only 25% of the workforce uses AI regularly despite 86% of leaders believing employees have AI collaboration skills. The study also found 64% of CEOs are comfortable making major strategic decisions based on AI-generated input.