AI Budgets Surge: 74% of Buyers Put Over 10% of IT Spend Into AI
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CHICAGO – November 05, 2026 -- The share of enterprise software buyers allocating more than 10% of their IT budget to AI rose from 23% in 2025 to 74% in 2026, according to a new West Monroe survey that also finds sellers misreading buyer behavior on build-vs-buy decisions, AI priorities and pricing.
The consulting firm's report, The New Rules of Enterprise Software & AI Spend, adds a seller perspective to last year's buyer-only baseline. It was conducted online in Q3 2026 among 300 U.S. executives. Buyer respondents represented organizations with at least $100 million in annual revenue. Seller respondents represented technology and software companies with at least $30 million in annual revenue.