Across the investment industry, artificial intelligence (AI) is well established, with nearly nine in ten organizations having fully deployed AI or embedded use cases into their business processes, according to a new study by Forrester Consulting, commissioned by BlackRock’s investment management brand Aladdin.

Despite broad adoption, most firms remain at an early phase where AI is limited to noncritical processes.

The research, which polled more than 300 senior decision-makers in May 2026 across asset managers, insurers, pension funds, banks, and wealth managers, found that 87% have fully deployed AI capabilities or established AI use cases.

Still, most organizations fall into the “Emerging” maturity stage where AI is delivering operational efficiencies and supporting analysis across selected processes, reducing manual effort and improving information access.

Only a few have actually implemented AI into decision-making, risk management, and other areas that directly shape investment outcomes, identified in the report as the “Leaders”. These are looking at AI beyond efficiency gains and using the technology to create strategic advantage.

Top challenges to AI transformation

The study also examined the main obstacles to AI transformation. Employee readiness and adoption emerged as the leading constraints, noted by 61% of respondents, followed by shortages in AI engineering and technical talent at 58%, and data infrastructure at 55%.

These findings align with the current state of AI foundations already in place or underway. The majority of organizations reported that data foundations, platform interoperability, end-to-end investment workflows and real-time portfolio visibility were capabilities not fully established, being either partially implemented or under development. This suggests that the foundations required o scale AI remain incomplete.

Such lagging infrastructure also explains the restricted use of AI. Without integrated data, interoperable systems, and connected workflows, many firms are limited to using AI for selected operational tasks rather than embedding it within portfolio construction, capital allocation, risk management, and investment decision-making.

Investment firms are aiming to shift this pattern. Over the next three to five years, 45% plan to prioritize modernizing their legacy systems for resilience and flexibility among their top technology and operations investments, with 16% ranking it first.

42% will prioritize embedding AI in investment decision-making, with 14% placing it as their top priority. Finally, 40% will prioritize using technology to improve the speed and confidence of capital allocation, ranking first for 6%.

The state of AI

Over the past decade, the AI sector has experienced dramatic expansion, with total investment growing more than thirteenfold between 2014 and 2024, according to research by the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. In 2025, global corporate AI investment continued to rise, doubling year-over-year (YoY) to reach US$581.69 billion.

In 2026, organizational adoption of AI expanded in both usage and function. According to McKinsey’s 2026 global survey on the state of AI, 89% of the more than 1,700 individuals surveyed in May and June 2026 reported using the technology regularly in at least one business function. The figure represents a 11-point increase from 78% in 2024.

Furthermore, more organizations are moving from isolated deployments to enterprise-scale adoption. In 2026, 44% of organizations reported AI scaling across their enterprise, up from 38% a year ago.

AI is also reaching more parts of the enterprise, with the share of respondents reporting use in three or more functions rising from 51% in 2025 to 56% in 2026. Like the Forrester Consulting and Aladdin/BlackRock study, McKinsey’s research indicates that AI’s influence remains focused on boosting productivity, developing new skills, and supporting employees in making better decisions.

However, these individual gains have yet to translate into broad financial impact for organizations. Only 37% of respondents reported that AI improved their organizations’ operating income, essentially unchanged from 2025, despite growth in the share of organizations scaling AI technologies. However, respondents did cite other organization-wide benefits, including stronger innovation, competitive differentiation, customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by thanyakij-12 via Magnific