ChatFin Research · Q3 2026 edition

Most finance AI research measures adoption. This one measures the distance between wanting it and running it.

A sector can look adopted and still have nothing running in the close. A headline adoption rate tells a CFO very little.

Every market, platform, function and sector scored on demand and on production separately, with the gap between them reported.

34 geographies · 12 ERP platforms · 11 finance functions · 9 industries · revenue $100M to $5B · Aug 2024 to Jul 2026
+20.7point gap between demand and production across the twelve ERP platforms, the widest cohort mean in the series.
+18.6across the eleven finance functions, measured independently on a different cohort.
+18.2across the nine industry sectors. Three separate cuts, and the gap barely moves.
The finding that holds everywhere

Whichever way the market is cut, about a fifth of demand has nowhere to land

Three cohorts, built from different data, produce cohort mean gaps of 20.7, 18.6 and 18.2 points.
The gap is widest on platforms where the vendor ships nothing, and narrowest where governance forces a deployment to finish.
In production against unmet demand
ERP platforms43
unmet demand+20.7
Finance functions53
unmet demand+18.6
Industry sectors52
unmet demand+18.2
Green: in production Amber: demand with nothing running
How the index is built

One score, four inputs, and the gap between demand and adoption.

Each entity is scored 0 to 100 on four sub-indices. Demand carries most weight because it is the most reliably measurable.

Momentum carries the least, on purpose. Growth from a small base flatters a cohort that has not started.

Demand · 40%

Search interest across eight keyword groups, chained to a constant anchor and rebased across the cohort.

Adoption · 30%

Share of the cohort with a finance AI workflow in production rather than in pilot.

Readiness · 20%

Data, integration and control readiness. API surface and audit model for platforms, data structure for sectors.

Momentum · 10%

Growth in demand across the 24 month window, rebased across the cohort.
The diagnostic
Intent to Deployment Gap = Demand minus Adoption. A high gap means people are searching for something they have not bought.
The four reports

Four cuts of the same index, each with its own diagnostic.

Report 01 · Geography

Asia Pacific is now the largest single source of finance AI interest

34 geographies ranked by share of measured intent. The driver is language rather than licensing.
Read the geography report Report 02 · ERP platform

Demand is highest where the vendor cannot deliver it

12 platforms ranked, with a native coverage heatmap across all 11 finance functions.
Read the ERP report Report 03 · Finance function

Demand and delivery run in opposite directions across the calendar

11 functions ranked, plus an autonomy ceiling for each. One function has a negative gap.
Read the functions report Report 04 · Industry

The sector last on the index is first on momentum

9 sectors ranked, with the ERP readiness each one inherits from its platform mix.
Read the industry report
Method

Measured and modelled figures are reported separately, never blended into one number.

Where a measured Google Trends pull agrees with the modelled index, the report says so. Where it does not, it says that too. Full method on each report page.

Work it out for your estate

What finance AI costs in year one

The index tells you where a cohort sits, not what closing your own gap costs.
The AI Cost Estimator takes four answers and returns a year one range across the three ways teams build this.
Open the AI Cost Estimator
AI Cost Estimator for the CFO Office showing four inputs and a year one cost range

Four inputs: level of finance AI, ERP complexity, industry and annual revenue.

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This index measures where finance AI demand sits and how little of it is running.

ChatFin is built for the half that converts first: reconciliation, cash application, AP matching and close.

Every action runs through your existing ERP and lands in a log a controller can sign off.

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Source: ChatFin CFO Office AI Intent Index, Q3 2026 edition. Measurement window August 2024 to July 2026. Revenue segment $100M to $5B. Panel of 412 finance organisations. CAII = 0.40 Demand + 0.30 Adoption + 0.20 Readiness + 0.10 Momentum. Figures are directional and refreshed quarterly.