Artificial intelligence and automation are recognized as game changers in transforming industries. They represent the critical enablers for securing a competitive edge, laying the foundation for sustainable growth and long-term success. This is no secret, and indeed, most companies have made remarkable progress in automating operations and improving efficiency. Yet when we look at AI maturity across organizations, one blind spot remains strikingly clear: executive decision-making and performance management.
As our latest survey among over 1,000 international CxOs about their management priorities and transformation progress shows, companies demonstrate the highest AI maturity in operational processes, with tangible benefits in automation and efficiency. Administrative functions increasingly leverage AI to streamline workflows, while customer services are still experimenting with personalization and governance challenges. Yet in areas that truly define the future - strategic innovation, product development, and above all managerial decision-making - AI adoption is lagging behind.
In other words: executives are not yet fully harnessing AI where it matters most—at the steering wheel of the company.
The new imperative in executive decision-making
Tomorrow’s leaders will not only rely on charisma, experience, or intuition. They will be augmented by AI- and data-driven decision support systems that operate silently in the background. Think of AI as a “silent business partner”: constantly scanning the horizon for risks, mapping opportunities, forecasting turning points, and providing in-depth root cause analysis before issues become visible in quarterly reports.
In today’s environment, executives face an unprecedented set of challenges. They must contend with disruptive technologies and new business models, shifting client expectations, volatile geopolitical landscapes, trade tensions, regulatory pressures and sustainability requirements, and ever-intensifying global competition.
Thus, entrepreneurial intuition, enhanced by AI-powered foresight, is becoming a decisive competitive advantage.