McKinsey senior partner: Why AI’s easiest wins are misleading CEOs

David Pralong is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company and leads its Transformation Practice.

What’s the difference between 89 and 6?

McKinsey’s latest research finds that adoption barely moved this year: 88 percent of organizations used AI in at least one business function a year ago, versus 89 percent now. High performers, who attribute at least 5 percent of earnings before interest and taxes to AI and report value from its use, held flat at 6 percent both years. Adoption is spreading, yet returns aren’t catching up. Thirty-seven percent report some positive effect on earnings, but the gap between broad use and legitimate payoff isn’t closing. 

Leaders need to align incentives, improve change management, and strengthen their data foundations, but the value gap remains because executives keep mistaking some of AI’s clearest successes for a playbook they can apply anywhere.

Consider the examples executives cite most often. A study of ~5,200 customer-support agents found that AI assistance increased issues resolved per hour by 15 percent. Randomized trials involving ~4,900 software developers found that those given an AI coding assistant completed about 26 percent more tasks. These are meaningful gains. Neither finding establishes that adding AI to any business process will improve a........

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