Cities Lag on AI Strategy Despite Growing Adoption
A ThoughtLab survey of 526 city leaders finds cost, talent, and public trust are the main barriers to citywide AI programs.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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ThoughtLab surveyed 526 city leaders across 215 global cities in July and August 2026 and identified 37 cities demonstrating AI leadership, including six in the United States. The survey reports on adoption and attitudes, and is research findings rather than a shipped product or policy.
Why it matters
City governments are moving from pilot projects toward citywide AI use, but most lack an integrated strategy, which the survey finds is the gap separating leaders from the rest. The findings show that cost, talent, and public trust, rather than technical capability alone, are the main brakes on municipal AI adoption.
The survey measured adoption and barriers rather than performance, so the figures describe leader sentiment and reported use, not verified results. Among respondents, 80% use AI for data and infrastructure management and 76% for cybersecurity and data privacy, while 85% cite long-term or unexpected costs as a top barrier. The survey does not report measured efficiency gains or costs for any deployment.
The players
ThoughtLab
A research and advisory firm that benchmarks digital and AI maturity across industries and cities, using survey data from senior leaders worldwide.
Austin, Texas
A Texas city cited as one of six U.S. cities identified as AI leaders in the survey.
San Antonio
A Texas city the survey cites as building public confidence in AI.
The details
ThoughtLab benchmarked AI leadership against best-practice pillars: human-centered design, governance, cybersecurity, and AI-ready data and talent. Cities scoring as leaders prioritized human-centered design, staff training, and transparency, which the survey treats as the practical markers of a mature program. The benchmark is a scoring framework applied to survey responses, so it reflects reported practices rather than independent audits of city systems.
Timeline
- ThoughtLab fielded the city leader survey in July and August 2026.
- The survey findings were published on November 3, 2026.
The Tech Race
Cities are competing to set AI standards on governance and public trust, with the ThoughtLab benchmark positioning six U.S. cities as leaders among 37 worldwide. The gap between the 60% of cities with an AI lead and the 27% with an integrated citywide strategy marks where municipal AI competition is currently concentrated.
Residents of cities moving toward citywide AI programs may see changes first in data management and cybersecurity, the two uses most cited by respondents. The survey's barriers, including public trust cited by 69% of respondents, suggest that transparency and staff training will shape how those changes reach daily city services.
The takeaway
Watch whether cities that report an integrated citywide AI strategy, currently 27% of respondents, grow in future ThoughtLab benchmarks. The survey's next iteration is the measurable test of whether leadership is spreading beyond the cities already identified.
Further reading
For broader context on how governments are approaching these tools, explore our Artificial Intelligence coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Smart Cities Dive.
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