# Egon Zehnder survey puts AI at top of CEOs’ reported challenges > In the firm’s 2026 study of 843 chief executives, 48% called AI adoption and impact an extremely critical challenge, up from 37% in 2025. - Canonical URL: https://newsverum.com/en/news/egon-zehnder-2026-ceo-response-ai-challenge-study - Publisher: Newsverum - Section: Business - Published: 2026-10-21T14:02:44+00:00 - Updated: 2026-10-21T14:02:44+00:00 - Event / data period: 2026-10-21 - Other editions: [Türkçe](https://newsverum.com/tr/news/egon-zehnder-2026-ceo-response-ai-challenge-study.md), [العربية](https://newsverum.com/ar/news/egon-zehnder-2026-ceo-response-ai-challenge-study.md), [Français](https://newsverum.com/fr/news/egon-zehnder-2026-ceo-response-ai-challenge-study.md), [Español](https://newsverum.com/es/news/egon-zehnder-2026-ceo-response-ai-challenge-study.md), [Deutsch](https://newsverum.com/de/news/egon-zehnder-2026-ceo-response-ai-challenge-study.md), [Português](https://newsverum.com/pt/news/egon-zehnder-2026-ceo-response-ai-challenge-study.md) Egon Zehnder said on 21 October that its third annual CEO Response study covered 843 chief executives worldwide. In the survey, 48% described the adoption and impact of AI as an extremely critical challenge, compared with 37% in the 2025 study. The survey also found that 50% placed AI investment among the three most important changes they were making, while 44% cited geopolitical instability and 40% economic uncertainty as extremely critical challenges. These figures describe respondents’ views in the firm’s study; they are not an objective ranking of risks across all companies. ## Data ### Egon Zehnder survey puts AI at top of CEOs’ reported challenges Methodology: Based on the source announcement; no outcomes beyond those stated are asserted. | date | label | description | status | |---|---|---|---| | 2026-10-21 | Egon Zehnder survey puts AI at top of CEOs’ reported challenges | Egon Zehnder said on 21 October that its third annual CEO Response study covered 843 chief executives worldwide. In the survey, 48% described the adoption and impact of AI as an extremely critical challenge, compared with 37% in the 2025 study. | occurred | Sources: · Download data: [JSON](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/egon-zehnder-2026-ceo-response-ai-challenge-study/data/announcement?lang=en&format=json) · [CSV](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/egon-zehnder-2026-ceo-response-ai-challenge-study/data/announcement?lang=en&format=csv) ### CEO Response survey findings These figures report participant responses in Egon Zehnder’s 2025 and 2026 CEO Response studies and the 2026 sample size; they are not an objective ranking of risks for all companies. Methodology: Respondent counts and response percentages reported in the CEO Response study. The 2026 sample contains 843 CEOs; the 2025 percentage comes from the separate annual study. This is not a census of global companies or an objective risk measure. | label | value | unit | period | basis | |---|---|---|---|---| | CEOs included in the study | 843 | people | 2026 | observed | | Respondents rating AI an extremely critical challenge | 48 | percent | 2026 | observed | | Respondents rating AI an extremely critical challenge | 37 | percent | 2025 | observed | | Respondents rating geopolitical instability an extremely critical challenge | 44 | percent | 2026 | observed | | Respondents rating economic uncertainty an extremely critical challenge | 40 | percent | 2026 | observed | Sources: · Download data: [JSON](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/egon-zehnder-2026-ceo-response-ai-challenge-study/data/survey-findings?lang=en&format=json) · [CSV](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/egon-zehnder-2026-ceo-response-ai-challenge-study/data/survey-findings?lang=en&format=csv) ## Sources - [Egon Zehnder]() (Source checked: 2026-10-21; Published: 2026-10-21) --- Cite the canonical URL above. [Editorial standards and corrections](https://newsverum.com/en/editorial)