More than half of corporate executives say their companies have seen no financial return from artificial intelligence (AI) investments, according to PwC’s latest global CEO survey of 4,454 business leaders across 95 countries.
The survey reveals a stark reality check for the AI industry: 56% of CEOs report neither increased revenue nor reduced costs from their AI deployments. Only 12% have achieved both lower costs and higher revenue, while 26% saw cost reductions offset by equally common cost increases elsewhere.
PwC’s findings also highlight a temporal paradox facing modern executives. CEOs spend 47% of their time on issues with horizons under one year, three times more than the 16% devoted to five-year-plus planning. This short-term focus may explain why two-thirds report stakeholder trust concerns in at least one operational area over the past year.
The findings, which are sure to spur debate over whether AI’s business benefits remain elusive, mirror a controversial MIT study last year that concluded just 5% of enterprises successfully implemented AI at scale. Another study last week showed AI chatbots saved insurance agents merely three minutes daily.
AI adoption rates remain surprisingly low even in supposedly optimal use cases. Demand generation leads at 22% extensive deployment, followed by support services at 20% and product development at 19%. A previous PwC study found only 14% of workers use generative AI daily.
Despite the desultory figures, PwC maintains companies need more AI investment, not less. The consulting firm argued that “isolated, tactical AI projects” fail to deliver value, advocating instead for enterprise-wide deployments aligned with business strategy. Critics might question this advice to scale up after pilots fail, though PwC emphasizes the need for “strong AI foundations” including proper technology infrastructure, clear roadmaps, formalized risk processes, and organizational culture changes.
The survey captured broader economic anxiety among corporate leadership. CEO confidence has fallen to a five-year low, with only 30% expressing optimism about revenue growth over the next 12 months — down from 38% last year and 56% in 2022. The decline reflects mounting concerns about geopolitical instability, cyber threats, and macroeconomic volatility.
Trade policy uncertainty looms large as the Trump administration pursues an unpredictable tariff strategy. Nearly one-third of CEOs expect tariffs to squeeze profit margins in the coming year, with 22% of U.S. executives reporting high or extreme tariff exposure.
Interestingly, while near-term confidence wanes, CEOs are simultaneously pursuing long-term reinvention. More than 40% report that their companies have entered new sectors within the past five years, and among those planning major acquisitions, 40% expect to pursue deals outside their current industries.
PwC warns companies delaying major investments due to geopolitical uncertainty underperform peers by two percentage points in growth and three points in profit margins, suggesting that despite the challenges, standing still may be riskier than moving forward.
