Summary
Citi's second-quarter 2026 survey of 100 IT decision makers indicates Microsoft continued to lead as the vendor CIOs are most likely to boost AI-related spending with, trailed by Amazon and Google. The poll shows a modest improvement in the IT spending outlook compared with the previous quarter, with notable acceleration in next-12-month IT budgets in both the U.S. and EMEA regions as AI remained a central investment focus.
Spending outlook and regional trends
Citi reported that forward IT budget growth expectations increased to 3.3% from 2.6% in the March 2026 survey. The bank noted that this 3.3% figure sits 0.8 percentage points above the seven-year historical average cited in the survey. Regionally, EMEA's expected IT budget growth picked up by 0.8 percentage points to reach 3.9%, while U.S. budget growth expectations rose by 0.6 percentage points to 3.0% over the same period.
Overall, the improved spending backdrop came as respondents continued to elevate AI and data analytics within their investment priorities.
Investment priorities and security concerns
Data analytics and AI remained at the top of respondents' investment lists and gained additional share as a priority. The next-ranked areas identified by the survey were cybersecurity, digital transformation and customer-facing applications. Citi highlighted that web security moved rapidly into the top-priority cohort - a shift the bank attributed to an increase in both malicious and legitimate agentic and bot internet traffic, together with broader API surface areas.
Vendor dynamics and AI budget share
While Microsoft held the top position among vendors CIOs are considering for increased AI spending, Amazon and Google were cited as the next most-considered vendors. Citi also reported that the vendors most frequently named in connection with cuts to AI spending were Cisco, Dell, IBM and ServiceNow.
On budget composition, Citi estimated AI accounts for approximately 6.5% of IT budgets. The bank reported that 69% of AI funding is coming from new or additional funding sources, a decline from 73% in the prior survey.
Labour implications
The survey revealed that 50% of CIOs expect AI to drive headcount reductions within the next six to 12 months, up from 47% in the previous survey. This reflects a growing expectation among IT decision makers that AI deployments will influence staffing levels over the near term.
Impacted sectors
- Technology and enterprise software - vendor spending preferences and cuts
- Cybersecurity and web infrastructure - rising prioritization of web security
- Corporate IT and staffing - AI-related budget allocation and potential headcount impacts