European companies prioritize security over growth

Cybersecurity is now considered the most important AI investment for 2026, ahead of automation, data analysis and AI-supported decision-making. This is according to the latest edition of the "Expleo AI Pulse", a monthly survey of managers in Germany, the UK and France.

Cyber security is the top priority for 35% of managers in Germany when investing in AI this year. This is followed by topics that affect efficiency, scaling and operational controllability. Automation (29 percent), data analysis and evaluation (25 percent) and AI-supported decision-making (23 percent) were mentioned most frequently. Customer experience achieved a significantly lower score of 20 percent.

"AI is becoming the central infrastructure of modern companies. It is an enormous efficiency booster, but also harbors risks," says Dr. Yusuf Erdogan, Country Lead Digital & Technology at Expleo Germany. "As a result, cybersecurity is evolving from a specialist technical topic to a strategic management task. If you want to successfully integrate AI into business-critical processes, you also need to ensure resilient structures and clear governance."

This difference in emphasis becomes even clearer when comparing the different management levels: 48% of C-level executives consider cybersecurity to be the most important investment priority, compared to just 31% of middle managers. Top decision-makers are therefore increasingly looking at AI from a strategic risk and governance perspective, while day-to-day operations tend to focus on efficiency and process issues.

"Top management is thinking more in terms of scenarios such as governance, regulatory protection and reputation protection," explains Erdogan. "In day-to-day operations, on the other hand, the focus is more on making work easier and saving time. Successful companies will be those that can bring both perspectives together and organize their systems in a secure, controllable and resilient manner. This is the next level of maturity of the AI transformation."

Sentiment index remains stable

Despite the safety debates, the general mood towards AI remains positive. The European AI Pulse Sentiment Score remained stable at 66 points in April. Germany achieved the highest AI Pulse Index score of 68 points, followed by the UK with 67 points and France with 65 points.

"The continuing positive mood also underlines the level of AI maturity that has been achieved," says Erdogan. "Trust does not come from euphoria, but from control, clear rules and resilient systems. This is precisely why topics such as cybersecurity and governance are currently gaining so much importance."

The AI Pulse study

The "Expleo AI Pulse" survey has been conducted every month in Germany, the UK and France since August 2025 and provides representative sentiment on the use of artificial intelligence in companies. The current edition is based on the ninth wave of the survey (field phase: April 2026). 200 managers are surveyed per country, with a total of 600 respondents per month. The participants come from the IT, financial services, insurance, retail, engineering and transportation and logistics sectors. The study is being conducted by the insights agency Opinium on behalf of Expleo.