Eight in 10 (81%) chief executives are prioritising investment in technology, AI and data, but only 21% report revenue growth from AI over the past year, according to PwC survey findings published yesterday (19 January).
Analysis of PwC’s 29th CEO Survey shows that AI and data investment has become the top priority for business leaders, up from 60% last year. However, most CEOs say that returns on that investment remain limited: 30% report cost reductions as a result of investing in AI.
A quarter (25%) of CEOs expect the domestic economy to decline over the next 12 months, nearly double the 13% recorded in 2025, despite the UK maintaining its global ranking.
Further, half (50%) of CEOs say they are unsure whether their organisations are moving fast enough to keep pace with technological change.
Refat Ametov, co-founder and CEO of software company Devstark, said that the PwC data reveals a pattern he is seeing consistently: “Organisations invest heavily in AI technology while underinvesting in the people and processes needed to extract value from it.”
The real skills gap isn’t technical AI expertise, it’s measurement capability and change leadership, Ametov added. “Before automating anything, organisations need baseline metrics; you cannot measure AI return on investment if you don’t know your current performance.”
When investing in upskilling, organisations need to go back to basics and rethink how they deliver change, Rob Machin, chief people and locations officer at Endava, a software company.
AI investment is not just about which tools to pick; it’s about what the people using it can maximise from the technology, he added.
“As chief people officer, I play a critical role in ensuring that AI actually delivers impact for our employees, and make sure that everyone has the capabilities to succeed,” Machin said.
He explained that he is involved in every aspect of shaping and executing Endava’s company-wide strategy to become AI native, working closely with their chief technology officer to drive this transformation. “It’s a genuinely collaborative, integrated approach which more HR and tech teams should be adopting, if they want to move both fast, and forward,” he added.
“HR’s involvement shouldn’t start at implementation,” Ametov said. Outcomes improve when HR helps shape strategy and define success, with leaders actively involved in transformation rather than leaving it to new hires, he suggested.
The gap between financial investments in AI and the time and training investment in people is hindering businesses from seeing a return on investment with AI, Machin added.
He advised organisations to empower employees to take on broader decision-making responsibilities as they work with agentic AI at speed and scale, noting that this requires greater confidence and capability across the workforce.
“This [kind of strategy] will require significant investments from businesses into AI skills development,” he said.
Management consultancy PwC surveyed 4,454 CEOs in 95 countries and territories from 30 September to 10 November 2025.
