So… what are we doing with AI? Innovating in an age of caution

It is a situation many CEOs are familiar with. Seated at that most intimidating of tables, fixed by the steely glare of their board members, faced with the question: “So…what are we doing with AI?” 

Artificial intelligence has gripped the business community’s attention like few technologies before, but the payoff is far from guaranteed. More than half (56%) of CEOs participating in PwC’s latest Global CEO Survey said their AI investments have yet to produce any meaningful financial benefits, with only 12% reporting both cost efficiencies and revenue gains.

When new technologies promise solutions to persistent problems, leaders are faced with a difficult choice. They must find ways to explore these options without sacrificing short-term performance. 

This tradeoff is harder than ever. PwC’s study also showed that only 30% of CEOs say they are confident about revenue growth in 2026—the lowest this number has been in five years. In a time of geopolitical instability, committing to major investments can feel extremely risky. 

Nevertheless, “if you don’t innovate, you could die,” says Joe Petyan, U.K. CEO of WPP-owned advertising agency VML. The challenge for leaders today is not whether to innovate—but how to experiment without destabilizing the very business they are trying to transform.

Disagreements with the board are a routine part of C-suite life, but the transformative potential of AI—and the speed at which successful companies are moving from experimentation to application—has intensified the pressure significantly. 

“What I’m hearing a lot more from industry peers is, ‘The board has gone from being interested to being demanding when it comes to AI,’” says Ronan Harris, president of EMEA at Snap Inc. “‘I need to show up with demonstrable results, but I’m also being told I can’t sacrifice my targets.’”

Despite this urgency, most companies........

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