Research digested: 29th Global CEO Survey, PwC
About the research
PwC interviewed 4,454 CEOs across 95 countries between September and November 2025. AI is the focus of this iteration of the report.
Key findings
- Only 30% of CEOs report increased revenue from AI in the last 12 months
- 26% are seeing lower costs
- 56% have seen neither revenue nor cost benefits
- Just 12% say they’ve managed to reduce costs and grow revenue using AI
While many CEOs say their culture and tech environment enable AI (69% and
66%), fewer say they have what they need to deliver outcomes:
- Clear AI roadmap: 51%
- Formal responsible AI + risk processes 51%
- Ability to attract AI talent 42%
- AI investment is sufficient 40%
- AI tools can access org knowledge/data 29%.
Meanwhile, CEOs are also feeling the pressure to reinvent their organisation – only 30% are confident about revenue growth in the next 12 months and 42% say their companies have started competing in new sectors in the last five years.
What to act on
If innovation is increasingly a CEO priority (see the challenges around innovation in the chart), L&D has a huge opportunity to support this agenda. That includes building AI capability, scaling innovation and embedding a culture that enables safe experimentation.
The survey ends with a strong reminder: companies that are reinventing faster are outpacing their peers and they’re applying AI much more extensively to what they sell, not just how they operate.
Read the report https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/c-suite-insights/ceo-survey.html
