85% of Financial Firms Plan AI Budget Increases

85% of Financial Firms Plan AI Budget Increases

Enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer just a technology project. It is becoming a line item with momentum.

That’s the clearest signal from “The Enterprise AI Benchmark Report: Financial Services Pulls Ahead in the Enterprise AI Race,” a new PYMNTS Intelligence study based on a March survey of 60 senior technology executives at U.S. enterprises with at least $1 billion in annual revenue. The report finds that companies across financial services and insurance, healthcare, and media and advertising are putting more money behind AI. But the reasons differ by sector.

Financial firms are funding AI to improve productivity, sharpen competitive positioning and reduce risk. Healthcare firms are still using budgets to test what works. Media and advertising firms are moving quickly, often with strong executive backing, but with less reliance on hard financial returns.

The spending pattern suggests that AI is entering a more practical phase. Like a company moving from blueprints to construction, enterprises are beginning to decide which projects deserve real capital and which still need proof.

The report also shows why budget growth alone will not decide the winners. Financial services firms have already scaled AI across more tasks than the other sectors, but 30% cite data quality and fragmentation as the top barrier to further deployment.

Healthcare firms face a double constraint, with 30% pointing to system integration and another 30% to data quality. Media and advertising firms face a broader mix of obstacles, including skills gaps, governance and leadership alignment.

Still, the outlook is constructive. Most executives do not expect AI to replace human judgment. Across sectors, 80% to 85% say AI will augment decision-making over the next five years. That points to a future where AI budgets fund better tools for people, not a handoff to machines.

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