How CIOs can leverage AI for their 2025 technology strategy

Learnings from a global study on the State of AI in IT conducted by Atomicwork , ITIL , and ITSM.tools aimed to help you make AI a competitive advantage for your business in 2025.

A staggering 85% of IT organizations are already using AI in their IT operations to some degree, according to the State of AI in IT 2025 report.

The message is clear — AI is no longer optional in IT. It needs to be a core component of your tech strategy and you need a deliberate plan to implement it.

So, how do IT leaders capitalize on what’s possibly the biggest technological movement of our lifetime? Let’s dive in.

1. Assess your current AI adoption maturity level

The first step is to evaluate where you stand on the AI maturity curve.?

We defined the levels of AI adoption based on technology use, org culture, and the general attitude towards AI.

Level 0 – We’re not using AI and have no plans to start anytime soon

Level 1 – We’re not using AI but would like to or are planning to start

Level 2 – We use free consumer AI tools but don’t use the AI capabilities of many of the enterprise software applications we have

Level 3 – We use some enterprise software with AI and discourage the use of free consumer AI platforms

Level 4 – We regularly use software with built-in AI capabilities, and we encourage leveraging consumer AI tools where appropriate

Level 5 – We’d started using AI/ML tools before ChatGPT made it popular [think, innovators and early adopters]

We found a normal distribution (or a bell curve), with most teams between Levels 2 and 4.

Think about where you are and where you’d like to be and define milestones to track your progress along the way, ensuring that you’re moving in the right direction.

2. Prioritize building AI trust

The study found a direct correlation between trust in AI and ROI. A high degree of trust in AI leads to a bigger investment, which in turn leads to a better ROI. The respondents who had low trust in AI invested less and saw a negative ROI.

Educating and enabling your end users is more critical than ever to build trust, both from a technical usage perspective and from a security point of view.

3. Define a clear strategy

Establishing trust also requires a long-term strategy that aligns with (and moves you closer to) the business-level goal. The strategy doesn’t need to be perfect, but you need to be deliberate about establishing it.

Once you have the strategy, communicate it with your business counterparts and bring them in on the plan.

4. Address the key barriers to AI adoption

The one barrier to AI adoption that most IT professionals reported was ‘Governance and compliance’. This was closely followed by ‘Customer data security’ and ‘Employee data security and privacy’.

Address governance, compliance, and security concerns and include AI implementation and adoption guardrails into your plan. Commit to responsible and ethical AI while focusing on security at both the individual and organizational levels.

5. Start with the core ITSM processes

According to the survey participants, the areas of ITSM where AI had the most significant impact were ‘Data analysis’, ‘End-user assistants’, ‘Knowledge management’, and ‘Incident management’ — in that order.

Since these processes are likely to already be a part of your team’s SOW, you have a great view of the gaps, the problems, and the use cases where AI’s strengths — like data analysis, knowledge synthesis, and automating repetitive level-1 support issues – can be most useful.

In conclusion

As the custodian of technology and service management, it’s your responsibility to encourage a culture of experimentation with AI tools, balanced by clear governance and security guidelines, to establish trust in these systems and drive adoption.

The good news is that according to our study, trust in AI systems has generally increased over the last 12 months — both for IT professionals and end users.

Thanks for reading. This is a truncated version of a piece originally published on Atomicwork Blog.

If you'd like to get a copy of the State of AI in IT report, download it here. If you're an AI enthusiast, look out for the gift at the end of the report :)