Administration consultancy Kearney and analyst The Futurum Group have revealed analysis displaying CEOs at high-revenue corporations are placing synthetic intelligence (AI) on the coronary heart of their enterprise methods, and that European and North American respondents declare to have respectable constructing blocks for AI programmes.
The report’s authors, three from Futurum and 7 from Kearney, assert a must “keep away from inflated optimism”, and to keep up a concentrate on return on funding (ROI) and constructing a sturdy knowledge foundations for AI efforts. They warning to “prioritise measured roll-outs over all-or-nothing leaps”.
They mentioned their research, Are CEOs able to seize AI’s potential?, reveals a paradox that probably the most profitable corporations are these the place high management intentionally steps again from hands-on AI technique.
“Knowledge exhibits that 92% of CEOs not seeing tangible AI outcomes insist on main AI technique themselves, in comparison with solely 59% in organisations reaching measurable success,” they mentioned. “This hole means that centralised, top-down management can hamper domain-level experience and hinder cross-functional collaboration
“Interviews additional revealed that when the CEO stays a strategic information reasonably than a hands-on supervisor, useful resource allocation and ROI measurement (49% vs 17% amongst unsuccessful friends) turn out to be extra successfully embedded in on a regular basis enterprise practices.”
In 2024, the researchers surveyed 213 CEOs at corporations exceeding $1bn in annual income. They interviewed 20 CEOs in November and December about AI governance, change administration, integration and expertise acquisition.
Some 28% of the survey respondents have been from Europe, 32% in North America, 16% in Asia Pacific, 12% in Latin America, 6% within the Center East and 6% in Africa.
AI funding a ‘necessity’
CEOs emerge from the research as shopping for right into a perception within the necessity of investing in AI, regardless of an absence of push from prospects.
“Many CEOs report minimal direct stress from prospects to undertake AI – solely 24% cite specific shopper requests for AI-based options – but over half acknowledge feeling a robust inner crucial to organize for AI-driven disruption,” the report notes. “This paradox emerged in interviews, the place leaders burdened that ready for exterior calls for may go away their organisations behind the curve as soon as shopper expectations shift, which they broadly anticipated them to do quickly.”
One CEO, the report cites, at a world staffing agency with a European HQ, mentioned: “In three years’ time, issues will drastically change in relation to the affect of AI. We all know that in a number of years, we gained’t want folks to do the job. Will probably be AI-driven.”
Some 89% of the CEOs surveyed agreed on the strategic significance of utilizing AI for enterprise transformation, but just one in 4 of them really feel absolutely ready to combine AI throughout their organisations.
Pedestrian functions
Corporations are taking small, incremental steps this yr, as they experiment with the inclusion of AI in enterprise processes, based on the report.
It cites the CEO of a North American monetary providers firm: “We’re beginning with pedestrian functions like buyer assertion technology and regulatory processes.”
The report’s authors say: “The CEO of a world retail refrigeration options firm emphasised the significance of check circumstances, stating, ‘2025 is our goal yr for important AI investments, and we’re specializing in studying from small-scale experiences to tell broader functions’.”
From Europe, a clothes manufacturing firm’s CEO indicated a long-term intention to make use of AI in its core actions. “We’re outlining a long-term plan for AI, together with innovation in cloth and machine improvement, which is a five-year objective,” they mentioned.
Nevertheless, based on the report’s authors, whereas most leaders see AI as a game-changer for operational efficiencies or price discount, few have absolutely mapped out tips on how to leverage superior capabilities for higher-impact use circumstances.
Within the foreword to the report, Invoice McDermott, chairman and CEO of ServiceNow, says: “When it comes to human productiveness, AI will unlock almost one billion hours of productiveness this yr for ServiceNow’s prospects alone.
“This isn’t a time for incrementalism,” he says. “It’s a time for exponential pondering and the braveness to guide.”
And but, the report appears to vindicate taking a circumspect and methodical method to AI adoption.
“Knowledge exhibits that organisations taking a measured, ‘fast-follower’ method – 53% of the pattern – obtain extra constant AI outcomes than these trying fast, large-scale roll-outs,” it says. “The discrepancy is very pronounced in companies that struggled to supply outcomes, 58% of which pursued extremely aggressive adoption.
“Interviews verify that speedy enlargement usually exposes knowledge and cultural resistance earlier than sturdy pilots can validate ROI. Against this, methodical followers who fine-tune smaller AI deployments first report smoother scaling and better confidence amongst stakeholders.”
The report exhibits some variations between areas. European respondents present a eager curiosity in specialised AI hiring (63%), notably in sectors akin to manufacturing and monetary providers, the place, based on the authors, legacy processes require domain-specific experience.
Some 77% of the European CEOs need recommendation on AI undertaking administration and implementation – the very best among the many areas – suggesting, say the authors, “a want to raised perceive how greatest to construction profitable AI efforts”.
North American organisations report making extra sustained progress in AI investments than different areas, with 72% specializing in workforce upskilling, 75% grappling with the provision of specialized expertise, and 39% engaged in formal pilot initiatives.
Corporations older than 10 years are focusing their AI efforts on established enterprise targets akin to buyer satisfaction (76%) and provide chain resilience (42%). Youthful outfits are coaching their AI initiatives extra principally on income development and value discount. General, 19% have been centered on what the report’s authors characterise as “next-generation” AI innovation.
Moral dangers
Some 80% of CEOs view moral dangers – akin to biased decision-making, privateness violations and accountability gaps – as important boundaries to AI adoption. Regardless of this, fewer than half report having a proper AI governance framework.
The CEO of a meals, beverage and pharmaceutical gear provider based mostly in Europe mentioned: “We’re not well-prepared for dealing with AI failures and moral points. Common disaster administration procedures are most likely not adequate for AI-related incidents.”
And whereas monetary establishments generally embed safety opinions into each section of AI deployment, based on the repot, industries like shopper packaged items and media seem extra uncovered. Interviews finished for the report recommend that “solely half incorporate sturdy cyber safety frameworks into AI roll-outs, leaving potential vulnerabilities unchecked. As AI permeates extra capabilities, bridging that security-ethics hole might turn out to be an important strategic step for boards and C-suite executives.”
Agentic AI on the CEO agenda
The following frontier in enterprise automation is “agentic AI” – AI programs which are able to autonomous motion and decision-making.
The Kearney and Futurum report discovered that a lot of the CEOs surveyed foresee agentic AI reshaping how enterprise choices are made reasonably than simply automating processes. Certainly, an audit agency CEO believes AI will change their whole core enterprise.
