Open Future Forum Research Cited in Coverage of Agentic Marketing and Enterprise AI Decisions

Executive reports provide findings on who approves AI spending, what holds investment back and how security teams are funding agent oversight

PALO ALTO, Calif., September 27, 2026 - Writers covering enterprise AI are drawing on Open Future Forum (OFF) research to examine questions that cross marketing, finance, security and executive leadership.

In an article for founders https://jaxonparrott.com/blog/agentic-ai-marketing-founders-2026, Jaxon Parrott cites the CMO AI Leverage Report https://openfutureforum.com/research/cmo-ai-leverage-report while discussing what agentic marketing could mean for brand discovery. The report found that 81% of 230 respondents from OFF's marketing and growth events were past the exploring stage with agentic AI.

Single Grain https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/technical-seo-for-llm-scrapers/ uses that finding in an article about making information accessible to AI systems. It also cites a separate result from OFF's September CMO report https://openfutureforum.com/research/cmo-ai-leverage-report-september-2026 : attribution and measurement appeared in 20 of 96 open answers about marketing challenges. The two figures measure different questions and respondent groups.

A Taiwanese Sun Media article https://sunmedia.tw/news/collaborative/1EJ0S9EkdFd1sfSBeWdC4ifTiEDUJ58t04eG70jrCdwllCVsFVc7Po1PaOZA1yn5, later republished by LIFE, uses OFF's cross-functional findings to examine how executives view AI decisions. Among respondents to the relevant question, 70% in the CEO and founder seat expected measurable AI payback within six months, compared with 42% in the finance seat. OFF calls the difference the 28-point Optimism Gap.

These articles address different audiences. What connects them is the use of a specific finding to sharpen a larger question. The published pages show how the research appears in the finished work; they do not reveal the writers' searches, prompts or editorial processes.

Ten further questions the reports can inform

OFF's research gives writers starting points for stories beyond the articles published so far:

1. Who signs off on AI purchases?
CEOs were named in 47% of responses from OFF's finance events about purchase sign-off.

2. What holds back more AI spending?
Proving return on investment was the main blocker for 55% of finance-room respondents.

3. Do companies have a clear AI budget?
Twenty-eight percent of finance-room respondents reported no clear AI budget.

4. Is AI being funded in place of hiring? Twenty-one percent of finance-room respondents said this year's AI money would otherwise have gone to headcount.

5. What AI security problem leads the list?
Sixty-seven percent of 110 security-room respondents named securing AI agents and their access.

6. Is that concern matched by dedicated funding?
Thirty-seven percent of security-room respondents reported a dedicated AI security budget line.

8. Is shadow AI the leading security concern?
In the same security rooms, 25% named shadow AI, compared with 67% who named agent access.

9. Where does AI make the biggest difference in marketing?
In an August marketing cohort of 127, 50% selected doing the work of more people, 43% knowing customers better and 43% creating content faster. Respondents could select more than one answer.

10. How are AI startups pricing their products?
Among 148 founder respondents, 43% named usage-based pricing; outcome-based pricing and flat subscriptions were each named by 24%.

Can investors identify who owns AI buying in their portfolio companies? Twenty-two percent of investor respondents could not name the owner.

The findings and their methods are available in OFF's Executive https://openfutureforum.com/research/executive-ai-leverage-report-september-2026, CFO https://openfutureforum.com/research/cfo-ai-leverage-report-september-2026, CMO, CISO https://openfutureforum.com/research/ciso-ai-leverage-report-september-2026 and YC Founder https://openfutureforum.com/research/yc-founder-ai-report-september-2026 reports. The data comes from questions embedded in applications for OFF events. Respondent bases differ by question, and the selective sample does not represent all enterprises.

About Open Future Forum

Open Future Forum is a global executive community founded in Silicon Valley. Its network reaches tens of thousands of executives and investors worldwide.

The organization runs a year-round calendar of events for senior executives and investors through Forum Select, its invitation-only private gatherings, and Forum Events, its open panels and gatherings. It also convenes peer groups and executive boards and publishes original research based on first-party survey and qualitative data from its executive network.

Media inquiries: Murray Newlands, Founder, Open Future Forum. Press resources and inquiry information are available through Open Future Forum's Press & Media page https://openfutureforum.com/press.

This release was published on openPR.