AI Pulse · ANZ AI Watch

New Zealand businesses are using AI, but most are not changing how the business actually runs. Datacom’s fourth annual AI Index, based on 207 NZ senior managers surveyed in late July and early August, found 91% have adopted AI in some form. Yet only 4% are using it to transform core operations, down from 8% in 2025.

That gap matters. A team using a general-purpose AI assistant to draft emails, summarise meetings or help write proposals may save time. But it doesn’t automatically improve the underlying process, customer experience, reporting cycle or decision-making. The report found 68% of businesses rely on these general-purpose assistants, while only 39% have a defined AI strategy. That is what “confetti” adoption looks like, lots of small experiments scattered across the business, with little connection to a clear operating plan.

The leadership gap is just as important. Only 13% of NZ organisations have a chief AI officer, compared with 42% in Australia. Australian organisations expect that figure to reach 63% within 12 months. You don’t necessarily need to hire a new executive tomorrow, but someone needs clear accountability for where AI is used, which processes matter first, what data is involved and how results will be measured. This is the kind of thing we build into an AI command centre, giving leaders one place to turn scattered AI activity into a managed business priority.