CEOs Report Zero Return on AI Investment: PwC Study

More than half of CEOs report seeing neither increased revenue nor decreased costs from AI, despite massive investments in the technology, according to a PwC survey of 4,454 business leaders. The findings pour more cold water on the hyperbole surrounding AI and the benefits it supposedly brings to business, although the report cautions that "clearly, we're in the early stages of the AI era." Only 12 percent reported both lower costs and higher revenue, while 56 percent saw neither benefit. Twenty-six percent saw reduced costs, but nearly as many experienced cost increases. AI adoption remains limited. Even in top use cases like demand generation (22 percent), support services (20 percent), and product development (19 percent), only a minority are deploying AI extensively. Last year, a separate PwC study found that only 14 percent of workers indicated they were using generative AI daily in their work. Despite the CEOs' repsonses, PwC concludes more investment is required. It claims that "isolated, tactical AI projects" often don't deliver measurable value, and that tangible returns instead come from enterprise-wide deployments consistent with business strategy. However, pilot projects are by their very nature typically small scale and isolated in order to demonstrate the viability of a concept before risking an enterprise-wide rollout. Is PwC advising clients not to worry if an AI pilot project fails, and push ahead with a large-scale deployment anyway? The report then goes on to explain that scaling up demands "strong AI foundations," including a technology environment that enables AI integration; a clearly defined roadmap for AI initiatives; formalized risk processes; and "an organizational culture that enables AI adoption." So if your AI projects fail, you clearly just don't believe enough. Experiment suggests AI chatbot would save insurance agents a whopping 3 minutes a day AI's $3T infrastructure binge continues despite lack of clear profits Virginia's datacenter tax breaks cost state $1.6B in 2025 AI datacenter boom could end badly, Goldman Sachs warns This follows MIT research in August which found only 5 percent of enterprises have successfully implemented AI tools at scale, while the other 95 percent saw zero return from their AI efforts. A study out last week concluded that using an AI chatbot saved insurance agents just three minutes a day. In terms of the broader picture, PwC says it found CEO confidence has hit a five-year low, with only 30 percent optimistic about revenue growth (down from 38 percent last year). This points to growing geopolitical risk and intensifying cyber threats, as well as uncertainty over the benefits and downsides of AI. Unsurprisingly, concern remains over tariffs as the Trump administration continues its erratic approach to policy, with almost a third of company chiefs saying tariffs are expected to reduce their company's profit margin in the year ahead. In the US, 22 percent indicate their corporation is highly or extremely exposed to tariffs. PwC warns that companies avoiding major investments due to geopolitical uncertainty underperform peers by two percentage points in growth and three points in profit margins. ®