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RESEARCH REPORT

Accenture Pulse of Change

Are C-suites and their employees ready for the impact of change? Are they going all-in on AI? What do they think the barriers are to getting value from the technology? Explore this and more in our latest survey.

10-MINUTE READ

January 16, 2025

Are organizations ready to change?

C-suites anticipate less change vs. 2024

Compared to the change experienced in 2024, what are your expectations for the level of change in 2025? 

Yet they feel less prepared to respond to it

To what extent is your organization prepared to respond to any changes in your business environment heading into 2025?

However, their employees anticipate even less change and are even less confident in their ability to act on it

To what extent is your organization prepared to respond to any changes in your business environment heading into 2025?

What are C-suite leaders investing in to get ahead of change?

A clear signal: 2025 will be the year of increased AI investment

86%

feel prepared to up their investment in gen AI in 2025 

60%

expect their gen AI solutions to be scaled across their organization (up from 36% in 2024)

83%

claim their experience with gen AI over the past year allowed them to see ‘greater potential for positive business impact,’ compared to 70% of employees

IT is generally the top function planned for AI investment

What do you expect the primary focus of your organization’s generative AI investments to be in 2025?

New products and services are generally where C-suite leaders plan to focus

What are the areas of focus for gen AI investment?

What’s getting in the way of organizations scaling gen AI in 2025?

Value, tech infrastructure and tool availability are key barriers to adoption

26%

of C-suite leaders reducing investment in gen AI point to 'lack of clarity on ROI' as their top concern

20%

gap exists between C-suite leaders and their employees on their understanding ‘to a great extent’ of the potential value of gen AI (54% vs. 35%)

28%

of C-suite leaders identify 'limitations with data or technology infrastructure' as the biggest hurdle to implementing and scaling gen AI

68%

of employees report their employer does not provide ‘full, unrestricted access’ to gen AI-based tools for their work (despite 3 in 4 employees claiming to be using gen AI tools for work)

There is also a notable disconnect between C-suite’s AI talent strategy and their employee’s ability to benefit from it

20%

difference exists between C-suite leaders and employees on whether their organizations are trained to use AI/gen AI efficiently (92% vs 72%) 

55%

of employees say comprehensive training and clear guidelines on responsible use would boost their confidence in using gen AI tools

While more employees are quickly adopting new tools, closing the AI skills gap still needs more focus and investment from the C-suite

12%

of C-suite leaders cite 'improving workforce skills' as the top reason for increasing investment in AI/gen AI in 2025 

67%

of C-suite leaders believe AI will replace entry-level skills, compared to 58% of employees in the next 5 years

64%

of employees expect AI to impact their roles, ranging from requiring new skills, to task adjustments or significant reskilling

Methodology

Accenture surveyed 3,450 C-suite leaders and 3,000 non-C-suite level employees from the world's largest organizations (with revenues greater than $500 million) across 22 industries and 20 countries. The surveys were fielded between October and December 2024 and then compared. They gather information on topics such as the top drivers of disruption, levels of preparedness to respond to change, and emerging technologies such as AI/gen AI and their impact on the current state of the business environment. The global C-suite sample has a margin of error of +/- 1.7% while the employee sample has a margin of error of +/- 1.8%.

C-suite roles:

  • Chief Executive Officer
  • Chief Financial Officer
  • Chief HR Officer
  • Chief Marketing Officer
  • Chief Sales/Customer Officer
  • Chief Experience Officer
  • Chief Operating/Supply Chain & Operations Officer
  • Chief Production Officer/R&D lead
  • Chief Strategy Officer
  • Chief Innovation Officer
  • Chief Technology Officer
  • Chief Information Officer
  • Chief Data/Analytics Officer

Employee Breakdown/Levels: 

  • White Collar
  • Blue Collar
  • Full-time 
  • Part-time
  • VP / Senior Manager
  • Manager
  • Below Manager – Non-Administrative
  • Below Manager – Administrative
  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • Canada 
  • China 
  • France 
  • Germany 
  • India 
  • Ireland 
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Netherlands 
  • Singapore
  • South Africa
  • Spain
  • Sweden 
  • Switzerland 
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • Aerospace and Defense
  • Airline, Travel, Transport
  • Automotive
  • Banking (Retail)
  • Capital Markets (including Investment Banking)
  • Chemicals 
  • Communications, Media, and Entertainment
  • Consumer Goods
  • Energy 
  • Health 
  • High Technology
  • Industrial Goods and Equipment
  • Insurance 
  • Life Sciences
  • Natural Resources
  • Public Service
  • Retail 
  • Software and Platforms
  • Utilities