AI investment is growing and adoption is nearly universal, but real business value remains elusive.
Accenture’s quarterly C-suite survey, Pulse of Change, shows that organisations are struggling to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) beyond day-to-day efficiency to unlock enterprise-level transformation, but leaders are confident those investments will pay off soon.
Accenture surveyed 3,000 C-suite leaders and 3,000 employees globally between April and June.
Despite hurdles, leaders continue to see value in AI. The majority (82%) are increasing AI investments, and 55% are confident that agentic AI initiatives will deliver “board-reportable” business outcomes within the next year, the survey said.
While nearly all leaders in the survey reported at least some measurable value from AI implementation, just 23% described it as “widespread and sustained business value across the organisation” — down from 32% earlier this year.
However, those reporting at least “moderate value in specific business areas” increased from 82% at the start of the year to 86% in the most recent quarterly survey.
Accenture emphasised that organisations looking to transform their business with AI must focus on role reinvention, not just deployment.
But reinvention looks different to employees than it does to leaders. While 78% of leaders said they expect employees’ roles to change in the next 12 months, over half of employees (57%) believe that change has already occurred. The gap suggests a disconnect between how leaders and employees perceive the pace and extent of AI-driven workplace transformation.
Increased productivity continues to be the core benefit of AI adoption. While value creation is a mixed bag for leaders, most employees (81%) said AI tools have increased their productivity, and 71% said their overall job satisfaction has increased since the tools were introduced.
Leaders echo this sentiment. The survey found that seven in 10 leaders said the impact of agentic AI has been greater than expected on employee productivity.
Stuck in the middle: Manager skills gaps drive entry-level demand
Skills gaps continue to hold organisations back from unlocking AI’s full potential, and AI proficiency is lowest among middle managers.
“The skills gap has concentrated in middle management, with C-suite leaders and employees (both 36%) identifying it as the organisation’s largest AI capability gap,” the report said.
As a result, leaders are planning to increase entry-level hiring and create new AI-focused roles to plug skills gaps. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of leaders expect their organisations to create new entry-level roles focused on AI over the next two years, and 52% expect to hire more entry-level talent due to AI.
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.
