Enterprises across Asia Pacific are rapidly moving from artificial intelligence (AI) experimentation to execution, with 96% of organizations planning to increase AI investments over the next 12 months, according to the fourth edition of the Lenovo CIO Playbook 2026 – The Race for Enterprise AI, commissioned by Lenovo with insights from IDC.
On average, organisations expect AI spending to grow by 15%, covering generative AI (GenAI), Agentic AI, public cloud AI services, on-premises AI infrastructure, and AI security tools. ASEAN+ markets mirror this momentum, with 96% of organizations also planning to increase AI investments, reinforcing AI’s role as a core driver of enterprise growth and competitiveness across the region.
“When 96% of organizations are planning a 15% on average increase in AI investment, it tells us that AI decisions are now being made at the core of enterprise strategy,” said Sumir Bhatia, President, Asia Pacific, ISG, Lenovo. He added that the key differentiator will be how effectively organizations integrate AI across infrastructure, operations, and security to deliver sustained value.
As AI becomes more deeply embedded into enterprise strategy, driving revenue growth, improving profitability, and enhancing business and customer experience have emerged as the top three business priorities for CIOs in Asia Pacific.
From ROI Validation to Outcomes-Led AI
Building on last year’s focus on validating returns and business cases, the 2026 Playbook highlights a decisive shift toward outcomes-led AI adoption. While CIOs remain confident in AI’s value, there is growing emphasis on governance, operating models, and lifecycle management to ensure investments translate into sustained impact.
The study found that 88% of organizations in Asia Pacific expect a positive return on investment (ROI) from AI in 2026, with an average anticipated return of 2.8 times, or approximately US$2.85 for every US$1 invested. However, scaling AI beyond pilot projects remains a key challenge, with many proof-of-concepts failing to reach production.
AI Adoption Expands Beyond IT
AI adoption across the region is no longer confined to IT departments. Two-thirds of Asia Pacific organizations are already piloting or systematically adopting AI, while 15% remain in early stages and 19% are considering adoption. ASEAN+ shows a similar pattern, with 67% piloting or systematically adopting AI.
AI is increasingly deployed across customer service, marketing, operations, finance, and industry-specific functions. Notably, half of surveyed organizations reported that non-IT departments are now funding AI initiatives, elevating the CIO’s role as an enterprise-wide orchestrator.
Agentic AI Gains Momentum, Readiness Lags
Interest in Agentic AI is expected to double over the next 12 months. Currently, 21% of Asia Pacific organizations report significant usage, while nearly 60% are exploring or planning limited deployments, particularly in sectors such as telecommunications, healthcare, and government.
Despite growing interest, readiness remains uneven. Only 10% of organizations consider themselves ready to scale Agentic AI, with 41% requiring more than 12 months to do so. Key barriers include security, governance, data quality, and integration complexity.
“Agentic AI represents a fundamental shift in how intelligence is embedded into the enterprise,” said Fan Ho, Executive Director and General Manager, Asia Pacific, Solutions & Services Group, Lenovo. “Enterprises are taking a measured approach to ensure AI operates within core workflows, meets governance expectations, and delivers consistent outcomes.”
Hybrid AI Becomes the Enterprise Default
Infrastructure strategy is emerging as a defining decision for CIOs as AI workloads scale. The Playbook found that 86% of organizations across Asia Pacific now incorporate on-premises or edge environments as part of hybrid AI architectures, effectively making hybrid AI the default deployment model.
In ASEAN+, 81% of organizations prefer hybrid AI architectures to balance performance, security, regulatory requirements, and cost efficiency, particularly as enterprises manage large-scale inferencing and mission-critical workloads.
CIO Imperatives for 2026
The Lenovo CIO Playbook 2026 outlines three priorities shaping the year ahead: AI inferencing as the primary value engine, with inferencing costs potentially up to 15 times higher than training; rising emphasis on employee productivity through AI-enabled devices and AI PCs; and the ongoing challenge of scaling AI, with only about half of AI proof-of-concepts successfully reaching production.
Together, these findings underscore a region-wide shift toward enterprise-grade AI execution, where scale, governance, and infrastructure readiness will define competitive advantage in the years ahead.