Dive Brief:
- The C-suite is prioritizing investments in technology, including generative AI, over cost-cutting, according to a PwC report published last week. The professional services firm surveyed 673 U.S. executives in May.
- Nearly three-quarters of C-suite leaders say they’ll use generative AI adoption to change their company’s business model. The percentage of companies investing in generative AI reached 51%, up from 46% in PwC’s August pulse survey.
- More than half of executives say they fear they’ve fallen behind the competition in adopting new technologies, an increase from 48% in August 2023, PwC found. Leaders ranked costs as the top internal challenge on the road to adoption.
Dive Insight:
At the half point of the year, CEOs and other executives are turning to new technology and efficiency gains to drive major business changes. CIOs are leading the charge, often seen as the most effective member of the C-suite, according to PwC’s survey.
“The combination of tech investment and operating model reorganization may signal that companies are moving beyond headcount cuts of the past and looking for ways to improve worker productivity,” PwC said in its report. “This basically equates to doing more with less, but it will likely require continued tech investment to make it possible.”
Silos in the planning process hold back organizations. Cloud, data and AI should be intertwined, PwC said, rather than implemented as isolated technologies.
Other challenges prevent enterprise progress as well. Tech teams are working to wrangle data and erect guardrails, but most organizations lack the technical maturity to scale AI initiatives. Even so, workplace usage of the technology is growing, and without the right guidance, employees are unlikely to gain the full benefits.
