AI is being integrated into business operations on a larger scale than ever before, according to a new survey of over 800 senior leaders across a wide variety of companies and industries.
The bottom line: AI workplace integration is increasing exponentially as confidence in its value grows amongst senior leaders. Skill gaps, culture, and employee trust have emerged as bottlenecks for successful AI adoption.
Everyday AI, everywhere: The annual survey, conducted by the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and GBK Collective, shows a major spike in everyday generative AI usage by business leaders and their companies.
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Management of Gen AI adoption is increasingly being led by the C-Suite.
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46% of surveyed leaders now use Gen AI daily, while more than 80% use it at least weekly.
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Familiarity or comfort with everyday Gen AI use jumped by nearly a quarter from the previous year.
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While AI was previously more prevalent amongst smaller enterprises with a tech focus, large company (classified as having at least $2b in revenue) adoption of AI jumped nearly a quarter in the last year.
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Adoption and use prevalence varies considerably by organizational area—unsurprisingly, IT departments lead the way, while marketing and management lag behind.
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HR was an early adopter, but year-over-year growth has slowed relative to other areas, such as operations or legal. Yet, daily HR AI use is on par with purchasing and finance.
ROI confidence grows: Even while measurable impacts to profits remain elusive (particularly as AI adoption is still most commonly at the individual level), more and more business leaders have a growing belief in AI’s organizational ROI.
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70% expect AI to have a “major or revolutionary impact” on their industry in the coming years.
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80% expect positive returns within two to three years, while nearly 75% report already seeing positive ROI.
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Positive ROI outcomes are more frequently reported by smaller firms; larger companies were more likely to report “too early to tell.”
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More and more companies and business leaders are tying AI strategy to positive financial outcomes, as opposed to one-off pilot programs.
Aligning talent, training, and trust: The survey highlighted organizational readiness, leadership alignment, workforce skills, governance, and change management as essential for effective AI workplace integration.
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Survey respondents were largely split on whether Gen AI will create more or fewer hires within their departments within the next few years (49% predict more intern hires vs. 40% more hires for mid-level and above).
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Morale, change management, and cross-functional coordination were identified as persistent barriers.
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While most emphasized the importance of training and upskilling, the survey found that investment in training decreased from previous years (by 8%), and 43% of leaders warn of “skill atrophy”.
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Large organizations are building more guardrails – including data privacy, ethical use, and human oversight – as they scale up AI in the workplace.
HR leaders at the forefront: The report emphasizes that AI adoption “is as much about cultural readiness as technical know-how,” underscoring the key role CHROs can play in successful integration. Organizations will need to focus on building transparency and trust and rely on leaders to “effectively navigate their organization through change management” – all areas in which CHROs can lead.
