State CIOs are elevating artificial intelligence — including generative AI and agentic AI — to the top of their strategic agenda for 2026, according to a new State CIO Top 10 report by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO).
The two-page report ranks AI/GenAI/agentic AI/machine learning as the No. 1 priority, framing work around governance and policies, security and privacy, workforce skills, data quality, ethical use, and overall adoption.
Cybersecurity and risk management sit at No. 2, with NASCIO highlighting governance, resource requirements, security frameworks, data protection, training and awareness, insider threats, third-party risk, and “whole-of-state cybersecurity.”
Budget, cost control and fiscal management rank No. 3 — a sign that state IT leaders are planning for tight financial conditions and continued scrutiny of technology spending. NASCIO’s priority description points to managing budget reductions, managing federal funding, strategies for savings, and dealing with inadequate funding and budget constraints.
Rounding out the top five are modernization (No. 4) and digital government/digital services (No. 5). For modernization, the report emphasizes enhancing, renovating or replacing platforms and applications, along with business process improvement and governance. On digital services, NASCIO points to frameworks for portals, identity management, privacy and security, cross-agency collaboration, accessibility, and cost-benefit analysis.
Accessibility appears as its own stand-alone priority at No. 6, with NASCIO calling out making state services, policies, websites, communications, publications and tools as accessible; building accessibility into procurement; and complying with Justice Department rules. Identity and access management ranks No. 7, followed by data management and analytics at No. 8. Consolidation/optimization is No. 9, and cloud services closes out the list at No. 10.
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NASCIO Ranks State Government Top Technologies
The report also includes a separate ranking of 2026 Priority Technologies, Applications and Tools, led again by artificial intelligence. Here is the full list:
- Artificial intelligence
- Application modernization/renovation
- Cloud solutions
- Identity and access management
- Software as a Service
- Security enhancement tools
- Enterprise resource planning
- Data management
- Data analytics
- Networking
Together, the priorities underscore an IT agenda that pairs fast-moving AI adoption with foundational work on security, modernization and digital identity — all while balancing costs and keeping government services accessible to residents.
This report marked the 20th year of the Top 10 and includes responses from 51 state and territory CIOs, NASCIO says.
