86% of CIOs see AI risk become larger than AI value, Gartner says

On Monday, Gartner analysts Kristin Moyer and Daryl Plummer said that 86% of CIOs see risk become larger faster than value. A CIO is the chief information officer. Gartner research shows that technology leaders spend 18 times more on AI than two years ago. The analysts told CIOs to cut waste before they cut investment.

What Gartner advises

• Audit uses and scale the ones that work.
• Buy an AI gateway that sends each task to the best model.
• Name who owns each platform, tool and model.

Plummer said governance can sit between the CIO and the CFO, with help from security and legal teams.

The numbers

Gartner says AI uses grew 400% in a year, but one in five AI projects succeeds, the same as last year. Plummer said only 16% of enterprises report better productivity. About four in 10 workers got low quality AI output last month. Moyer said the clean up costs an average Fortune 500 company about $52 million a year.

What is not settled

There is no agreed model for who owns AI. Moyer said global agreement on guardrails is unlikely. Many CIOs do not know how much agent use or access their company has.

Insight: Vendors need your use to pay for their costs

Plummer said vendors want you to use agents everywhere and buy more tokens. Gartner also said owners of data centers must get $8.5 trillion in revenue but can get $3.6 trillion. This reads as a squeeze: vendors must have your use to pay for their costs, and your own audit of value is the only brake. Connect spend to results before you sign a new contract.