Four trends set to shape the CIO agenda in 2026

Every new year comes with fresh challenges and opportunities, but the unprecedented rise of AI over the course of this year makes the CIO playbook for 2026 particularly challenging and unpredictable. There has, however, been enough evidence to suggest a few key areas that CIOs should put their focus on.

A general criticism of AI has been trust and substance. There have been a few high-profile mishaps in circumstances when AI has been relied upon to carry out tasks without the needed due diligence and scrutiny of humans. This — along with the slew of new AI technologies that have spawned in a short space of time — means ROI is going to be front and centre as CIOs choose where to invest their dollars to generate maximum impact.

The emergence of any technology, particularly one as generation defining as artificial intelligence, means a greater onus is required on governance and responsible use. Tech leaders within corporations and the C-suite have a significant role to play to ensure that data and AI are handled with care and innovation is done in lockstep with regulation. With responsible usage also comes the need to manage the rise of shadow AI — the new shadow IT, which requires the implementation of processes around visibility and structure to avoid AI sprawl and ensure employee use of AI tools isn’t a security threat.

But most important of all? The skills playbook within businesses is being completely rewritten — and 2026 will be the year where the importance of job titles is significantly reduced. Instead, it’ll be about matching skills to specific tasks. The result: matching skills to outcomes rather than rigid reporting lines.

Below are four trends set to shape the CIO agenda in 2026.

1. Value-driven AI adoption

Last year was all about excitement and experimentation. As we move into 2026, the conversation has matured significantly. It’s no longer about chasing every shiny object; it’s about asking where AI can truly create impact and deliver measurable business value.

Organisations are connecting AI initiatives back to their core priorities, making smarter, risk-aware decisions, and prioritising carefully selected initiatives and tools, as opposed to reacting to weekly trends, product launches, and developments in AI technology. This shift requires focus and discipline but also a level of agility. As the market and solutions available develop quickly, it’s important to be able to establish when to stay the course versus when to pivot, with a constant eye for return on investment and value creation, which should always act as your most reliable litmus test.

Success in 2026 and beyond will come from steadfastly aligning AI strategies with business objectives, as well as prioritising and resisting the urge to spread resources too thinly.

2. Governance and responsible AI use

Governance has gone from something that sits mostly in the security and policy offices to something that is firmly on the CIO’s agenda. In some cases, it’s now viewed as a strategic enabler, creating trust and transparency.

With the proliferation and democratisation of AI tools, IT’s role is shifting from having direct control of execution to influencing and educating the business on risks and acceptable practices. Governance and guardrails are central to driving responsible AI adoption when approached as a dynamic and integrated part of how work gets executed, balancing compliance with agility.

As AI agents autonomously tap into multiple sources, access controls, data sovereignty and lifecycle management become critical. It’s not just about building an agent and walking away; there’s an ongoing responsibility to monitor, maintain and ensure responsible use — similar to how we manage human staff.

Governance is the brakes and steering that lets you drive fast safely, not something that slows you down. Next year, it will be a cornerstone of every successful AI strategy.

3. Skills and workforce transformation

It’s not just attitudes to governance that are evolving. Viewing AI as an enabler, a teammate to collaborate with and not as a competitor is changing how we think about roles and skills.

It’s about augmenting or executing tasks rather than replacing entire jobs, which means breaking roles down into granular activities that require a certain set of skills, both technical and power skills like curiosity and adaptability. Developers, for example, are moving from writing code to validating and optimising AI-generated code, which is a fundamental shift in the skills needed to be successful in this role. The more detailed you can get in understanding tasks and mapping skills, both human and AI, the more flexibility you have to align talent and AI capabilities to business priorities.

This approach also breaks down silos because work becomes about matching skills to outcomes rather than rigid reporting lines. At Skillsoft, we see this as building a ‘skill force’, empowering organisations to understand, develop and deploy skills dynamically, so they can adapt quickly and leverage AI as a true partner in transformation.

4. Shadow AI management

Shadow AI is the new shadow IT, and it’s growing fast as employees experiment with tools and build agents outside formal processes and approved technologies that sit within your organisation’s systems. While you can’t eliminate it entirely, you can manage it effectively by introducing visibility and structure. At Skillsoft, we’re implementing agent registries so teams can see what exists before creating something new, along with time-boxed proof-of-concept windows to allow safe experimentation with new tools. Once an AI tool or agent becomes part of the enterprise footprint, it goes through a formal approval process to ensure security and compliance.

The goal is to strike the right balance, encouraging innovation while maintaining oversight and protecting the organisation from unnecessary risk. Education will play a huge role here because many employees underestimate the effort to get to a working product, and the potential impact of what seems on the surface like a low-risk product.

As we close the chapter on one of the biggest breakthrough years in innovation history, we open the door to another. 2025 felt like a transition period where everyone was grappling to understand and to keep up with the pace of change. 2026 will be the year CIOs focus on developing mature systems and guardrails, ensuring they are extracting true value and substance from the AI tools they use — and ensuring their technology and infrastructure fosters an environment where talent can thrive in what is an ever-evolving skills economy. CIOs are set for another rollercoaster year — but I am expecting a steadier one with more nuts and bolts and fewer bumps and dips. I’m excited for the ride.

Top image credit: iStock.com/pixdeluxe