NeuGroup’s 2026 Outlook Survey shows treasury teams are moving from AI exploration to practical enablement.
AI enablement has moved near the top of treasury’s agenda for 2026, a sharp rise that reflects how teams are finding practical ways to make AI useful in core treasury work. That is one of the key takeaways from NeuGroup’s 2026 Treasury Outlook Survey, according to Joseph Bertran, NeuGroup’s head of research.
In a new NeuGroup Insights video you can watch by clicking the play button below, Mr. Bertran points out that AI enablement ranked as the No. 2 priority for 2026, behind only cash flow forecasting, a perennial treasury focus.
“AI didn’t even break the top five last year,” Mr. Bertran says. Its rise to second place, he adds, shows how much effort companies are putting into building practical AI capabilities inside treasury.
Forecasting remains the top objective. Seventy percent of respondents are looking to improve cash forecasting or cash flow forecasting, which is increasingly going hand-in-hand with AI as members use machine learning and generative tools to improve forecasts.
Treasury is bringing tech talent closer. The survey found 22% of companies already have technology staff reporting directly to treasury. Another 7% plan to add tech staff to the function in the next 12 to 24 months. Among those with dedicated tech staff, the average team size is four employees.
Mr. Bertran says companies with tech specialists embedded in treasury have found more ROI from AI implementation, and are ahead of the curve compared to teams without dedicated tech staff—though he acknowledges not every treasurer will be able to add these resources.
AI adoption is moving from early tests to targeted use cases. The survey shows most respondents are now beyond the earliest stage of AI adoption, with many taking a hybrid approach that combines third-party tools with internal capabilities.
One area to watch is agentic AI, where relatively few companies have solutions in place today, but a growing share are exploring. Mr. Bertran cites one member company developing digital workers to automate steps in the FX analytics process, including a tool that now handles about 30% of the work for quarter-end close.
For members looking to dig deeper, download the full Treasury Outlook Survey Report to compare your own priorities with the aggregate results, and follow up with Mr. Bertran at [email protected].
