In the two-and-a-half years since the release of ChatGPT focused public attention on the concept of generative AI, a sizable minority of companies have launched pilot tests of generative AI applications or published usage guidelines.
At the same time, however, relatively few companies are so far doing much to leverage the technology from a strategic standpoint. The latest evidence is a survey of U.S. board members by KPMG, conducted between Jan. 21 and Feb. 23, in which just 16% of the 93 participants said their companies have integrated generative AI into their strategic framework.
And, for the time being at least, that needle isn’t moving very much. About the same proportion of board members surveyed a year earlier (14%) were using generative AI strategically.
About a quarter (23%) identified it as a strategic priority for 2025, and 25% said their companies have begun the process of scaling generative AI usage. Still, almost as many (19%) said there’s been limited or no boardroom discussion about emerging forms of AI.
To be sure, it’s not that the content-creation type of AI is going widely unused. It’s typically not very organized usage, though, as 45% of those polled (both last year and this year) characterized their companies’ state of generative AI adoption as “ad hoc use by employees.”
On the other hand, clear progress is being made in a couple of areas. For one, 43% of those surveyed recently said their companies had developed and communicated generative AI usage guidelines for employees, up from 25% last year. And 25% reported that their companies had developed an enterprise-wide generative AI training program, representing a gain of 11 percentage points.
A large majority (76%) of directors continued to cite productivity and cost savings as the top expected benefits of adopting and leveraging generative AI. Left in the dust at 12% was the more strategic benefit of enabling the development of new products, services or lines of business.
In fact, when asked about the top strategic considerations driving generative AI adoption over the next two to three years, 82% cited optimization of operational efficiency. Next, though, were accelerating digital transformation (52%), achieving competitive advantage (48%), and enhancing customer centricity and personalization (42%).
A key factor in the limited strategic usage of generative AI to date may be what KPMG’s survey report characterized as “significant disruptions, obstacles and risks” relating to its deployment.
Among the most significant ones, 47% of survey respondents pointed to the need for new skills and talent, while 42% cited the need for workforce transformation, including retraining and/or head-count reductions. Other obstacles included transforming the business model, reallocating capital to fund generative AI initiatives and the need to change organizational culture.
