76% of companies already have a CAIO

In 2025, 26% of companies had a Chief AI Officer. In 2026, that number jumped to 76%. These figures come from the IBM Institute for Business Value.

This isn't a market trend. It's strategy turning into a role, a process and a measurable result.

Meanwhile, many companies still treat AI as a pilot project with no owner, no deadline and no goal. The conversation usually goes like this: "we're testing a few tools", "we have a group studying the subject", "it'll make it into next year's planning".

The problem is rarely a lack of tools. It's a lack of a role.

AI doesn't implement itself. It needs someone who understands the business, knows where it truly creates value and can turn that into a working system, with an owner and a deadline.

That's exactly what I do as a CAIO for the companies I work with, not as a permanent position (that may not make sense for your size right now), but as a strategic function: come in, diagnose, prioritize, execute and deliver AI operating inside the business.

The gap between those who already have an AI strategy and those who are still evaluating grows every quarter. And that gap turns into cost, inefficiency and a competitor getting ahead of you.

What's the biggest blocker keeping your company from taking AI out of evaluation mode and putting it into operation?

Tell me in the comments, I reply to all of them.