Dive Brief:
- Sixty-five percent of city leaders view AI as a key competitive and economic driver for their cities, a Thoughtlab survey of 526 city leaders across 215 global cities found.
- Data management and infrastructure management are the top uses of AI — both reported by 80% of respondents — and 76% said they use AI for cybersecurity and data privacy.
- Six of the 37 cities identified as demonstrating AI leadership are in the U.S.: Austin, Texas; Boston; San Francisco; San Jose, California; Seattle and Washington, D.C.
Dive Insight:
ThoughtLab, which conducted the survey in July and August 2026, benchmarked AI leadership among cities based on best practice pillars, including designing AI around human-centered needs, strengthening governance, cybersecurity and developing AI-ready data and talent.
Nearly 85% of respondents cited long-term or unexpected costs as a top barrier to AI adoption, and 82% said limited AI skills and talent is a barrier.
Public trust and acceptance of AI is also among the largest barriers to adoption, cited by 69% of survey respondents. The report highlights San Antonio as a city taking steps to build public confidence in AI by establishing clear goals and policies around its use.
“AI surfaces information; city staff make decisions,” Geoffrey Urbach, product and partnerships lead, emerging technology for San Antonio, told ThoughtLab.
“Leaders who treat these concerns as a communication challenge rather than a governance issue will erode the trust they’re trying to build,” Urbach said.
Most cities surveyed are moving from testing to executing AI, according to ThoughtLab’s analysis. Nearly 60% of respondents said their city had established an AI lead, and 45% reported a citywide AI governance body.
However, only 27% of respondents said they had an integrated, citywide AI strategy.
"You need the foundation, plumbing, and electricity in place, along with accountability, before you adopt AI,” Memphis CIO Eric Keane told ThoughtLab. More than 75% of survey respondents said siloed data is a challenge for adoption, and 68% said having no clear AI roadmap made it difficult to scale.
Cities cited as AI leaders prioritized human-centered design, offering staff training and transparency, according to ThoughtLab.
“City leaders see AI as a way to reinvent how government processes work, how services are delivered, and how cities anticipate and respond to residents’ needs,” ThoughtLab CEO Lou Celi said in a news release. “What’s most encouraging is that they are using AI in a way that strengthens public value, trust, and social equity.”
