Deloitte: Why AI Investment Will Boost Business Productivity

Digital technology and the rapid scaling of AI adoption among organisations are likely to have a significant impact on enterprise finance into 2026 and beyond. 

According to Deloitte's latest CFO survey, financial leaders expect AI to impact productivity and efficiency at a time when businesses face growing risks. 

Deloitte surveyed Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and Group Financial Directors of some of the UK’s largest companies, gauging attitudes to valuations, risk and financing. 

It found a business environment that is optimistic about tech investment and the potential for AI to boost productivity over the course of the next year, with 59% of finance chiefs feeling positive about the impact they see AI having on performance in their organisations over the next 12 months. 

This figure is up from 39% when it was last measured in Q3 of 2024. Richard Houston, Senior Partner and Chief Executive of Deloitte UK, says: “CFOs are significantly more positive about improving performance through deploying AI and remain upbeat about technology investment over the medium term. 

“We know technology was a big driver of US GDP in 2025 and we see real potential in the year ahead for AI to boost UK business performance and fuel growth. However, to realise the full value from AI, we must combine human skills with technology and upskill people, so nobody is left behind.”

What are the key business risks facing CFOs?

Deloitte finds that companies are facing several challenges, with UK business growth stalling in the second half of the year as leaders remained cautious.

Financial leaders report concern about several external risks facing their businesses, from tighter monetary conditions to higher energy costs. Geopolitics remains the number one external risk for large UK businesses in 2026 – a position it has held in Deloitte’s survey since 2023. 

Business confidence also remained low – although not as low as the previous quarter – with a greater proportion of CFOs commenting that they felt less optimistic than those who felt more optimistic. 

Despite this, corporate risk appetite has increased, with 15% of CFOs believing that now is a good time to take greater risk onto balance sheets. This may be below the average of 25%, but it does mark an increase from the previous quarter – indicative of the potential impact many CFOs see AI having on operations. 

Investment in digital technology mitigates risk

Against this backdrop, CFOs expect corporate spending in AI to rise, particularly in key software investments to reorganise operations. 

A vast majority of CFOs – 96% – expect to see a rise in investment in digital technology and assets by UK companies over the next five years. Deloitte’s survey also found that 77% of CFOS believe there will be an increase in productivity, growth and business performance over that same timeframe.

While they don’t expect these investments to significantly increase productivity over the next year they do forecast a 69% increase in growth from 2026 to 2030 – suggesting that some of these innovations will take time to truly make a significant impact 

Capital expenditure is also becoming a stronger priority for many CFOs, rising to 17% from the long-term average of 15% – a two and a half year high.

Although geopolitics remains a high external risk to UK businesses, the number of CFOs who rated their level of external uncertainty as high or very high has fallen, suggesting that these concerns could be levelling out.

Ian Stewart, Chief Economist at Deloitte UK, says: “Business sentiment is subdued but more positive than a year ago. While CFOs remain cautious about geopolitics and productivity, business confidence and risk appetite have ticked up from their autumn lows and perceptions of external uncertainty have edged lower.”