'A scramble for visibility and control, as spend surges': Less than a third
of organizations know what their AI software spend is

Date:
Thu, 25 Jun 2026 10:45:00 +0000

Description:
Companies don't have much visibility over their AI software, with three in five saying wasted AI spend has risen in the past 12 months.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Only 31% of companies say they have accurate AI software visibility 36% for overall IT visibility AI is complex to track because it's a layer that sits across existing categories IT leaders are also under pressure to prove AI ROI New data revealed in
Flexera's State of ITAM report has revealed that only 31% of companies have accurate visibility into their AI software an area of IT spend that
continues to grow as new use cases emerge and models develop.

This comes as nearly three in five (59%) reveal wasted AI spend has increased over the past year, with increasingly complex software stacks being blamed
for an overall drop in visibility. Flexera found that complete visibility across IT assets has fallen to 36% only slightly ahead of AI visibility thanks to complex and intertwined SaaS, public cloud and hybrid environments. Latest Videos From Watch full video here: IT stack visibility is getting worse, not better According to the report, ITAM professionals now spend more of their time optimizing software (32%), but audit response (22%) also takes up a considerable amount of their time.

As for AI, Flexera believes it's difficult to track because it doesn't occupy its own category. Instead, models, agents and platforms sit across multiple systems as an additional layer. You may like Many firms don't know what their workers are sharing with AI tools Most businesses say they've been caught out by unexpected high AI bills More and more businesses are struggling to deal with 'uncontrolled' AI

"What were seeing is a familiar pattern of rapid adoption followed by a scramble for visibility and control, as spend surges," Chief Product Officer Becky Trevino wrote.

But ironically, Flexera also found that AI promises to automate some ITAM work, including processing software contracts, purchase orders, licences and renewals. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

With IT professionals under more pressure to prove AI ROI, the next steps
move beyond identifying which AI tools are being used to consider how they're being used, how much they cost and what data they access. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/a-scramble-for-visibility-and-control-as-spend-s urges-less-than-a-third-of-organizations-know-what-their-ai-software-spend-is


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