CFOs step up investor relations as AI tools reshape IR

Chief financial officers are spending more time on investor relations as institutional investors adopt AI tools for research and analysis, according to Gartner.

Gartner said the change has increased the volume and pace of investor communications. It has also raised expectations for faster responses from corporate management teams.

A survey of 146 CFOs found that 35% or more of respondents reported an increase in the volume, frequency and time sensitivity of investor communications and engagements in 2025 compared with 2024. Gartner conducted the survey from October through December 2025.

Gartner linked the shift to wider use of AI tools among institutional investors. It said many investors now use these tools, or evaluate them, as part of investment research and decision-making.

Dymah Paige, Director Analyst, Research in the Gartner Finance practice, said CFOs face a different information environment. She said organisations will struggle to manage investor perceptions through manual methods alone.

"It is going to become increasingly difficult for organizations to control their narrative and influence investors with manual methods alone," said Dymah Paige, Director Analyst, Research in the Gartner Finance practice..

Rising expectations

Gartner described a cycle in which faster investor research results in faster investor outreach. It said corporate finance and investor relations teams then face more frequent engagement and tighter timelines.

That can change how CFOs allocate time between market engagement and internal priorities such as planning, forecasting and capital allocation. It can also increase the pressure on finance teams to align messaging across earnings communications, investor presentations and ad-hoc queries.

Paige said CFOs should consider private AI solutions. She described a shift in how finance leaders think about investor relations tools and workflows.

"To keep pace, CFOs should be considering private AI solutions available on the market today that can help them to spend more of their time and effort on higher impact priorities," said Paige.

Public AI risks

Gartner also pointed to risks that it associated with the growing role of public AI-powered search and answer tools. It said CFOs and investor relations teams have to respond to investor questions that reflect AI-generated interpretations of company information.

In that context, Gartner said finance leaders need communications strategies that address both human investors and AI-driven channels that shape how information gets surfaced.

"Many institutional investors are using or evaluating AI tools in their investment and research processes," said Paige. "If CFOs want to communicate to the markets effectively, while protecting their organizations against the hallucinations of public AI-powered answer engines, they must adapt their investor communications strategies to AI, as well as humans."

Using AI internally

Gartner said finance teams can use similar AI methods to those used by investors. It said these tools can be applied to investor relations work. Gartner pointed to off-the-shelf products that companies can deploy in private and contained environments.

It said these environments can be traceable. That can matter for internal governance and compliance processes around market disclosures and investor communications.

"Companies can leverage these tools off the shelf and start to deploy right away, but in private, contained, and traceable environments. Some of the world's biggest companies are already using these tools in their IR activities," said Paige.

Gartner said its research identifies four use cases for AI in investor relations. It did not detail those use cases in the announcement.

The firm said Gartner clients can read more in a report titled Instant Impact With Investors: How CFOs Use AI to Compete in Capital Markets. It also referenced The CFO Report for non-clients.

Gartner also highlighted its Gartner Finance Symposium/Xpo 2026 events in Sydney, National Harbor and London. It said attendees will join Gartner experts to explore AI value in finance, operating models, capital and growth decisions, and organisational culture in finance.