UK CEOs ahead of global peers on GenAI adoption – 93% have adopted it to some extent in the last 12 months vs 83% of CEOs globally
- However, the UK is behind on seeing this translate to greater revenues or profit.
- More than half (53%) of UK CEOs report that GenAI has already enhanced employee efficiency.
- The UK surpasses Germany, China and India to become the second most important destination for investment for global CEOs after the US.
Nine in ten (93%) UK CEOs say their businesses have adopted GenAI to some extent, according to PwC’s 28th Annual Global CEO Survey. This proportion has more than doubled from the 42% who said so in the previous survey, published in January 2024. In addition, UK CEOs are ahead on GenAI adoption compared with their global counterparts, where the figure is 83%.
However, the UK trails on expectations of profitability gains with 36% believing GenAI will increase profitability in the next 12 months, compared with 49% of global CEOs. This may be based on the experience so far – only 14% of UK business leaders have seen profitability improvements from GenAI over the last year, compared to 34% of CEOs globally.
Looking at other countries, 48%, 54% and 35% of US, French and German CEOs, respectively, expect GenAI to increase profitability in the next 12 months. Despite this, UK CEOs remain committed to investing in technology, 55% are planning to invest in AI, GenAI, cloud, data and analytics to drive transformation over the next 12 months.
Marco Amitrano, Senior Partner of PwC UK, said:
“While many UK businesses have adopted GenAI to some degree, those degrees will vary enormously. There is a big difference between letting employees experiment with AI and embedding it into core business processes. UK business has begun to move beyond the initial hype of GenAI to the reality of making it work – but that shouldn’t detract from its huge unrealised potential. That more than a third of business leaders expect to see some financial gain from GenAI within the next year is very significant, and indeed encouraging.”
Umang Paw, Chief Technology Officer, PwC UK said:
“With more than half of UK CEOs already seeing enhanced employee efficiency through GenAI, the potential boost that the tech can provide to the country’s economy is huge. However, our survey suggests that UK CEOs have not seen GenAI adoption translating into the same revenue or profitability improvements as their global or US counterparts.
While this could reflect the current high levels of investment, it also points to the untapped potential of that investment. In order for the UK to keep pace in the global race for AI leadership, it is essential that UK CEOs continue to develop and build AI literacy and proficiency within their businesses.
“Our AI Jobs Barometer research shows that the most AI-exposed business sectors see a fivefold increase in the rate of productivity growth, and UK employers are willing to pay a 14% wage premium for jobs that require AI skills. What we as businesses should be doing now is leveraging AI as much as possible in the workplace, in the most safe and responsible way.”
UK CEOs see GenAI efficiency gains
More than half (53%) of UK CEOs report that GenAI has already enhanced employee efficiency compared to 56% of CEOs globally, and 57%, 62% and 38% of US, French and German CEOs. Meanwhile, 40% of UK CEOs say GenAI has improved their own time management compared to 53% of CEOs globally, and 46%, 58% and 33% of US, French and German CEOs.
When asked to what extent they personally trust having AI (including GenAI) embedded into key processes in their company, 60% of UK CEOs replied that they do to a moderate or large/very large extent, slightly lower than the global average of 67%. Notably, there is a greater proportion of UK CEOs who are less trusting of AI, with 37% saying they trust AI being embedded into key business processes not at all/to a limited extent, compared to only 29% in the global average.
These findings come after PwC’s Global Investor Survey found that 60% of global investors expect companies to deliver productivity, revenue and profitability gains from GenAI within the next 12 months.
Umang Paw adds:
“Nearly half (47%) of UK CEOs have cited a workforce skills gap as the largest single challenge to adopting emerging technology in the next 12 months. It is therefore crucial for business leaders to continue building AI muscle within their organisations.
There is already an incredible engine there to drive growth, and continued government investment in skills and infrastructure can help UK businesses truly reach their potential. This is a business project, a change management project, not just a technology project.”