AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, a specialty re/insurer, has published new research examining how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the risk environment, based on perspectives from Chief Executive Officers and Chief Information Security Officers.
In commissioning this study, AXIS Capital surveyed 500 CEOs and CISOs across the United States and the United Kingdom and found clear contrasts in how senior leaders assess AI’s risks, benefits, and implications for cyber readiness, with AXIS Capital consistently framing the findings through a risk management and insurance lens.
According to AXIS Capital, the research shows that AI is widely recognized for its ability to enhance data analytics, innovation, and operational efficiency, while at the same time introducing a fundamentally different set of exposures.
“AI is clearly a transformative force for data analytics, innovation, and operational efficiency, and it is also undeniable that AI is quickly propelling us toward an entirely new risk landscape,” commented Vince Tizzio, AXIS President and CEO. “The findings in this report underscore our new environment, where a technology that promises untold productivity gains is also creating unprecedented risk.” AXIS Capital emphasises throughout the report that this dual dynamic sits at the core of modern cyber risk.
The analysis from AXIS Capital points out that while AI strengthens cyber defense tools and supports industry-wide improvements, it also empowers cybercriminals and introduces new vulnerabilities linked to how AI is developed, deployed, and potentially misused. Threats enabled by AI, including shadow AI, model manipulation, deep fakes and social engineering, data leakage, and advanced ransomware, are described by AXIS Capital as faster moving, more adaptive, and increasingly difficult to identify and contain.
When AXIS Capital asked respondents to rank emerging threats, AI-driven attacks were most frequently cited across both countries, with 29.6% of US respondents and 20.8% of UK respondents identifying them as the leading concern.
AXIS Capital also found a pronounced generational divide, as only 23.1% of executives aged 55 and over believed AI would enhance their organization’s cyber defenses, compared with 77.4% of leaders aged 35–44. Despite these concerns, AXIS Capital’s research shows that nearly 82% of participants intend to raise cybersecurity spending over the next 12 months, even as 75.2% said they are likely to cut cybersecurity headcount due to productivity gains from AI-enabled security tools.
AXIS Capital highlights notable regional contrasts between US confidence and UK caution. While attitudes toward AI were broadly positive on both sides of the Atlantic, preparedness levels diverged sharply, with 85% of US leaders saying they feel ready for AI-related threats compared with 44% of UK leaders. AXIS Capital reported that 88.4% of US CEOs were confident AI would strengthen their company’s protections, versus 55% of UK CEOs, and that 82% of US CEOs personally trust AI tools to support cybersecurity decisions, compared with 47% in the UK.
Return on investment perceptions followed a similar pattern in AXIS Capital’s findings. In the United States, 93.5% of CEOs and 87.5% of CISOs said AI delivers ROI in cybersecurity, while in the UK that view was shared by 69.1% of CEOs and 74% of CISOs. AXIS Capital also noted differences in risk transfer strategies, with 94% of US respondents reporting they carry cyber insurance, compared with 68.4% of UK respondents, reinforcing AXIS Capital’s focus on insurance as a key component of cyber resilience.
Differences between executive roles were also central to AXIS Capital’s conclusions. CEOs generally described AI as a lever for productivity and competitive positioning, whereas CISOs were more inclined to associate AI with heightened exposure. AXIS Capital found that CISOs were less optimistic than CEOs, by 29.7% to 19.5%, that AI would strengthen their organisation’s cyber defenses. Confidence in AI-supported decision-making followed a similar pattern, with 67.1% of CEOs expressing assurance compared with 58.6% of CISOs.
Preparedness perceptions further separated the two groups in AXIS Capital’s survey. A total of 60.2% of CEOs believed their organization was better prepared than peers to respond to AI-related threats, while 50.6% of CISOs shared that view. AXIS Capital also observed that CISOs ranked shadow AI, defined as unauthorised use, as the top risk at 27.2%, reflecting concerns about unmonitored tools. CEOs, in contrast, identified data leakage as their primary AI-related threat at 28.7%, compared with 17.2% among CISOs.
Levels of concern varied slightly by role and geography, according to AXIS Capital. In the US, 31.2% of CEOs and 27.7% of CISOs named AI-driven attacks as their greatest worry, while in the UK the figures stood at 22% for CEOs and 19.7% for CISOs. Trust in AI decision-making tools among UK CEOs was mixed, with 49.6% saying they trust such tools and 37.4% saying they do not, a split AXIS Capital highlights as indicative of broader uncertainty.
Reflecting on the findings, AXIS Capital underscored the strategic tension between optimism and caution at the top of organizations. “Our survey findings indicate the impact of AI in transforming corporate defense strategies while exposing differing views between CEO’s strategic optimism and CISO’s security prudence,” added Lori Bailey, Head of Global Cyber and Technology at AXIS. “While it is now commonplace for CEOs to champion AI as a catalyst for innovation and efficiency, CISOs tend to see it as a new frontier of exposure and control.”
AXIS Capital reported that the results are based on a 23-question online survey completed by 500 CEOs and CISOs across the US and UK. In the US, participants included 138 CEOs and 112 CISOs, while the UK sample comprised 123 CEOs and 127 CISOs. All respondents represented organisations with at least 250 employees, and the research was conducted by an independent firm between October 22 and October 29, 2025, with AXIS Capital overseeing the study design and interpretation.
