Many AI companies are touting artificial intelligence as the next-level, game-changing tool that will propel businesses to new height of productivity paired with lower costs. However, a recent survey by professional services network PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) revealed that, out of 4,454 chief executives surveyed, only 12% saw the complete benefits of increased revenue paired with decreased spending.
A good 13% of those surveyed reported saw a decrease in costs without a change in revenue, while another 8% received an increase in earnings without seeing a change in expenses — meaning at least a third of the enterprise AI users gained some value from their deployment of the tech.
There’s also a remaining 12% which either saw lower costs paired with lower revenues, or higher proceeds matched by higher expenditure, thus canceling out the advantages brought by AI.
However, PwC noted that this inconsistency in results could be because enterprises aren’t prepared to use the technology yet. Mohamed Kande, its global chairman, said: “Companies that invest in data readiness, clear AI roadmaps, responsible guardrails, and a culture that enables adoption see better outcomes.”
The report suggests that companies should apply AI more extensively across “their products, services, and experiences” to achieve “both additional revenues and lower costs from AI,” as what the 12% that gained the most advantage from their AI tools reported.
Furthermore, PwC further says that only 14% of the workforce use generative AI daily in their workflow, meaning there’s a good chance that they might not understand or even be aware of the risks and benefits of using AI services. With such a small proportion of workers using these tools, the potential for growth in the enterprise seems high.
Because of this apparent need for for deeper deployment to realize the best results, it seems that many businesses will continue to increase their investments in AI. And delivering real value to customers is important to drive that spending. J.P. Morgan recently projected that the AI industry needs to deliver $650 billion in revenue just to get a 10% return on the firm's current AI investment, which amounts to $34.72 from every current iPhone user or $180 from every Netflix subscriber.
In any case, this report reveals the potentially precarious state that AI services are in right now. Industry leaders may want to go all-in on the technology, but the wide range of results on bottom lines in this survey suggests that bridging the gap between hype and business results is a problem yet to be solved.
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