- Two-thirds of CEOs plan to increase spending on AI in 2026, report says
- Most leaders agree that entry-level and senior leadership roles could see a boost
- Jobs are changing and a new emphasis on human-AI collaboration is emerging
Despite being widely linked to layoffs across sectors, leaders actually see AI tools as having a positive effect on jobs: Two in three public company CEOs surveyed in a recent Teneo report expect AI to increase entry-level hiring in 2026.
Initially, AI was met with great skepticism, but as the world moved from experimentation to implementation, companies are discovering exactly where artificial intelligence can play a role in the workplace – and it’s not bad news after all.
It’s not just entry-level positions that could see a boost: more than half (58%) of CEOs also expect growth in senior leadership positions.
After all, AI could lead to net job creation
CEOs generally agree that AI is reconfiguring jobs by automating some tasks and creating new ones, rather than eliminating human roles entirely. New job titles, such as decision designer and AI experience manager, are also emerging, highlighting a new era of human-AI collaboration.
“It’s not that AI is killing the workforce today, it’s reshaping it,” explained Ryan Cox, global head of AI at Teneo.
The Teneo report (via Insider business information), which found that two-thirds (68%) of CEOs plan to increase spending on AI in 2026 (a smaller increase of two percentage points from last year).
The consistency in AI spending projections, rather than a big increase, comes amid continued apprehension about its success. So far, less than half of AI projects have generated returns that exceed their costs, and only half (53%) of investors expect AI investments to pay off within six months.
Additionally, the majority (16%) of CEOs disagree that quick returns on investments are realistic, with areas such as security, law and human resources lagging behind areas such as marketing and customer service.
Companies may also be looking to spend more on AI because not even a third (31%) expect a global economic improvement in 2026, up from 51% last year, suggesting CEOs are looking to regain control of their success.
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