Nine out of 10 CEOs say that AI will grow revenue this year

Eighty-six percent of CEOs believe that artificial intelligence will help maintain or grow company revenue this year and next, according to Gartner. 

However, CEOs are vague as to how AI will actually achieve this, pointing to improving customer experience, increasing workforce productivity and enhanced data capabilities and analysis.

Ominously, the next biggest way AI is going to grow company revenue is by letting go of staff, say CEOs.

And 87% of CEOs agree that the benefits of AI to their business outweigh the risks. 

Commenting on the survey, Gartner vice-president David Furlonger said that CEOs in particular tend to be optimistic and bullish when asked about any novel area they hope and intend their company to make progress in.

Thirty-six percent of CEOs believe that AI will increase company productivity by more than 15% over the next two years. 

In its latest CEO survey, Gartner asked chief executives what is going to disrupt their business next after digital, and AI romped home by a country mile. 

Thirty-four percent flagged AI, with operational efficiency and agility coming a distant second, with just 9% of CEOs flagging it. 

Six out of ten CEOs say that AI will significantly disrupt their industry over the next three years.

By comparison, other once-hot technologies including blockchain, augmented and virtual reality and the much-vaunted Internet of Things scraped just one per cent each. Perhaps world-weary CEOs have had to listen to cleverly marketed attempts to nebulous concepts such as blockchain and the metaverse to the corporate world, but clearly do not see much value in them.

45% of CEOs already using generative AI

CEOs however have personally embraced generative AI in particular, with three quarters of them using ChatGPT in the first half of 2023, and 44% using it in their jobs.

This chimes with the latest Fortune/Deloitte CEO survey - a snapshot of 800 US CEOs surveyed in June - with one in five CEOs regularly using generative AI in their job. That said, 12% of CEOs said that they have once gone near it. 

However, when it comes to whose job it is to define and spearhead this change from generative AI, CEOs are divided.

Half of CEOs expect their CIO, CTO or CDO to spearhead the implementation of generative AI, with just 13% shouldering the responsibility themselves.

It's still all about sustainability  

However, increased adoption of AI may be a short-term change driver. The longer term play is still all about sustainability.

According to this year’s EY CEO survey, 47% of respondents see investing in technology, including AI, as their number one priority over the next 12 months. Decarbonizing the business model and operations to achieve net zero is the key business driver over the next three years.

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