Gartner conducted the "2027 Gartner CEO Survey" between April and May (months 4–5) of 2026, interviewing 203 CEOs and senior executives worldwide. The results hit on an awkward reality: 44% of the surveyed leaders struggle to demonstrate to shareholders and stakeholders the financial returns that AI has brought. However, being unable to articulate the returns doesn't mean they will pull back—instead, they are even more eager to stake their AI and technology chips on redrawing enterprise operations and growth.
Spending Undiminished, Returns Hard to Prove
This has not dampened their enthusiasm. 75% of respondents plan to increase technology investment, and 62% list revenue and business growth as their top strategic priority. Technology has long ceased to be a back-office tool—80% of CEOs state outright that technology itself has become strategy, turning related decisions into core issues concerning growth and direction.
Yet the contradiction is plain to see: pouring money in on one side, unable to prove returns on the other. What's more pressing is the external shock. 93% of respondents expect economic volatility to have a high or moderate impact on their strategic goals by 2027; 79% worry about persistent conflicts, and 77% are wary of equally disruptive shocks from AI industrialization. But readiness to respond to these three pressures stands at only 24%, 11% and 20% respectively—preparation clearly lagging expectations.
Efficiency Gains Alone Aren't Enough—The Operating Model Must Change
CEOs also realize that simply having employees use AI to boost individual productivity won't produce a handsome financial ledger. 63% believe that by 2027 fundamentally redesigning the operating model will be the key move to accelerate the delivery of tangible AI returns; 52% advocate actively deploying AI agents as "employees" on the job; and 47% lean toward major business restructuring to free up and reallocate capital.
In other words, AI's ledger must shift from "tool-driven efficiency" to "organizational restructuring." With nearly half of leaders still unable to explain their return on investment, this Gartner survey may be a reminder: the real test for enterprises is not whether to adopt AI, but whether they dare to reshape their entire playbook for it.