Sixty-two percent of companies view AI as a powerful shift that will change business, 38% view it as still holding some degree of hype, and 9% view it with a substantial degree of uncertainty.
Despite varying views, the technology will have a profound influence on media buying and advertising this year as companies prepare to compete through automation. Measurement will become one of the more identifiable benefits.
New revenue, cost savings, and other quantifiable benefits take time. Most CEOs expect to see results within three years, and nearly 8% believe it will take longer.
The most successful companies, however, are those where top leadership deliberately step back from hands-on AI strategy approaches.
The data released Tuesday by the The Futurum Group, in partnership with Kearney Research, delves into ways CEOs of $1 billion or more B+ rated companies interact with AI.
AI will have a nearly $20 trillion global impact by 2030, predicts research firm IDC, and every $1 spent on AI solutions and services will generate nearly $5 in value to the global economy.
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Research from The Futurum Group and Kearney Research looks at the readiness of companies and challenges these CEOs face with AI adoption and integration, and how they're using the technology to help make business decisions.
AI's impact on global business strategies uncovered an "alarming gap" between CEO optimism and real-world AI readiness, pitfalls of implementation and adoption that leads to erosion of value, and emergence of AI systems that make critical business decisions independently.
Some 23% of CEOs have focused on internal costs versus the ongoing total cost of ownership (TCO) when considering the financial viability of an AI investment.
The lack of people skilled with AI is the biggest hurdle. Some 71% are concerned with not having enough skilled talent for acquisition and development, 65% cite talent and skill availability as a major hurdle, 57% are concerned with talent and skill available as well as internal training, and 35% cite talent and workforce adoption.
Speed without sufficient pilots, governance, or return on investment safeguards commonly leads to oversights and shortfalls. Gradual, proof-of-value rollouts backed by change management often yield more lasting results, the report states.