Emburse, the company defining expense intelligence through AI-powered travel and spend orchestration, has released new data that shows business leaders using AI as a “Trojan horse” to get their software purchases approved. In a survey of 1,500 corporate decision-makers in the U.S. and the U.K., 58% said it’s easier to approve the purchase of AI tools compared to non-AI tools, while 62% admit to framing purchases as AI initiatives to secure funding.
The new report reveals how the pressure to appear “AI-ready” is impacting tightening budgets and vendor consolidation across companies of all sizes. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of business leaders report being instructed to reduce their number of vendors, cut total spend, or both. Most (88%) are being pushed by leadership, IT, or procurement to use specific vendors. And nearly a third (31%) say they lack the budget to purchase AI tools despite pressure to use them.
Business leaders report strong discipline in SaaS spending decisions:
- 95% of business leaders look at their team’s usage data when making software renewal decisions.
- 77% of respondents report that senior leaders in their company often or always make software purchasing and vendor consolidation decisions together.
- 93% say that their company has a corporate contract or corporate rate with its vendors.
Yet, when it comes to AI adoption, these best practices often fall short. The mandate to keep budgets tight while maintaining an appearance of AI readiness has created a loophole for employees to adopt or keep tools by framing them as AI, even when they are not.
“Tying tech spend to AI initiatives may have helped teams push purchases through in the past, but that approach won’t withstand today’s budget pressures,” says Marne Martin, CEO of Emburse. “Organizations are becoming more selective about where they place their AI bets, and by 2026, every AI investment will face the same rigorous ROI and value scrutiny as any other software purchase. With AI costs varying wildly, especially under consumption-based models, leaders need real-time visibility into who is spending, on what, and why.”
