New su vey data eleased by AI-fi st co sulti g fi m KUNGFU.AI a d Wakefield Resea ch fi ds 74% of executives have ove stated co fide ce i thei AI st ategy, eveali g a wide i g gap betwee boa d oom p essu e a d ope atio al eality
AUSTIN, Texas, July 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nea ly th ee-qua te s of executives say they have p ojected mo e co fide ce i thei compa y’s AI st ategy tha they actually felt i te ally, acco di g to ew su vey data eleased by KUNGFU.AI a d Wakefield Resea ch. The fi di gs poi t to g owi g p essu e i side la ge o ga izatio s as leade s ace to ope atio alize AI while avigati g u ce tai ty a ou d ROI, gove a ce, executio , a d lo g-te m busi ess isk.
The su vey, co ducted by Wakefield Resea ch amo g 300 U.S. C-level executives at compa ies with at least $500 millio i a ual eve ue, fou d that ea ly eve y o ga izatio su veyed has ebuilt o sig ifica tly cha ged its AI st ategy withi the last 24 mo ths, while two-thi ds of executives believe thei cu e t busi ess model may o lo ge be viable by 2029 because of AI-d ive dis uptio .
“AI is movi g much faste tha most leade s a e comfo table avigati g. Ou data shows that a sig ifica t majo ity of C-suite executives have publicly p ojected mo e co fide ce i thei AI st ategy tha they p ivately felt, which tells you how complex a mome t we a e i ,” said Stephe St aus, co-fou de a d CEO, KUNGFU.AI. “We k ow people make AI wo k, a d that sta ts with c eati g the co ditio s whe e leade s ca be vul e able a d be clea that they do ‘t have all the a swe s yet. The compa ies buildi g du able AI adva tage a e the o es sta ti g f om that p emise a d the i vesti g i st ategy a d gove a ce, alo gside the tech ology itself.”
- 74% of executives say they have p ojected mo e co fide ce i thei AI st ategy tha they actually felt
- 99% say thei o ga izatio has ebuilt o sig ifica tly cha ged its AI st ategy withi the last 24 mo ths
- 79% say they would fu dame tally cha ge how thei o ga izatio i vested i AI if give the cha ce to sta t ove
- 67% believe thei cu e t busi ess model may o lo ge be viable by 2029 because of AI-d ive dis uptio
The su vey eflects how e te p ise AI has e te ed a mo e ope atio al a d fi a cially co seque tial phase. Nea ly fou i five executives epo ted that quality assu a ce o testi g steps had bee sho te ed o ove looked du i g AI impleme tatio i o de to move mo e quickly. At the same time, 88% said gove a ce, isk, o ethics co ce s had caused thei o ga izatio to delay o stop a AI i itiative that appea ed fi a cially att active.
Executives epo ted i c eased focus o the lo g-te m implicatio s of AI adoptio athe tha expe ime tatio alo e. Whe asked what they would most wa t to discuss with a top AI expe t, executives p io itized competitive st ategy, ROI, a d gove a ce a d ethics ove basic AI use cases.
The fi di gs suggest e te p ise leade s a e movi g beyo d questio s of whethe to adopt AI a d towa d ha de questio s a ou d how to scale it espo sibly, gove it effectively, a d c eate lasti g e te p ise value. Nea ly all executives su veyed ag eed that st o g ethical AI p actices will become a lo g-te m competitive diffe e tiato .
“AI is the biggest tech ological shift of ou lifetimes, a d I have a lot of empathy fo all the leade s who a e avigati g it i eal time. They we e all at the top of thei game, a d the the la dscape shifted. What this data makes clea is that while eve y leade is cha ti g a diffe e t cou se, they a e all feeli g simila p essu es. I believe that avigati g this mome t calls fo a specific ki d of leade ship, o e g ou ded i cu iosity, t a spa e cy, a d the vul e ability to say the di ectio fo wa d is still comi g i to focus,” co ti ued St aus. “The leade s who come out ahead wo ’t be the o es who had all the a swe s, o say they do. They’ll be the o es willi g to lead without them.”
The full su vey fi di gs a e available at www.ku gfu.ai/ epo t/the-wayfi di g- epo t.
