Most CEOs find their C-suite lacks much-needed 'AI-savvy'

Getty Images / Teera Konakan / ZDNET

Since AI first surged in popularity, the question for enterprises has gone from "should we implement it?" to "how can we implement it to maximize results?" Yet, CEOs aren't sure that business leaders have what it takes to lead the charge. 

On Tuesday, the research firm Gartner released the results of the Gartner CEO and Senior Business Executive Survey of 456 CEOs and other senior business executives worldwide. The survey found that only 44% of chief information officers (CIOs) were considered "AI-savvy" by CEOs. 

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Furthermore, CEOs perceived even chief information security officers (CISOs) and chief data officers (CDOs) as lacking AI savviness despite their inherently technology-savvy roles. 

Yet, a majority (77%) of CEOs view AI as ushering in a new business era, highlighting the disconnect between their goals and their perception of having the talent to carry out the necessary digital transformation. This disconnect is not new, as a 2019 survey revealed that at the time, CEOs viewed their C-suite as lacking the tech-savviness required for the digital era.

Gartner

"AI is a step change in how business and society work. A significant implication is that, if savviness across the C-suite is not rapidly improved, competitiveness will suffer, and corporate survival will be at stake," said David Furlonger, distinguished VP analyst and Gartner fellow.

CEOs attributed the top two limiting factors impacting AI deployment to the inability to hire adequate numbers of skilled people and the inability to calculate the technology's value or outcomes.

Despite companies heavily investing in AI, there is a lack of hard evidence around the ROI for AI deployment; as a result, business leaders are having trouble charting their strategies. A McKinsey report found that across all industries, C-level executives reported limited returns on enterprise-wide AI investments, with only 19% saying revenues have increased more than 5%. 

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