The biggest risk isn’t that AI “doesn’t work”—it’s that leadership measures potential while employees live the implementation, and that gap can turn a promising tool into a credibility crisis where “productivity gains” quietly become redistributed labor: more checking, more cleanup, and more pressure—without the time savings anyone promised.
The Register | HPE
AI + ML 67 comment bubble on white Majority of CEOs report zero payoff from AI splurge PwC survey finds more than half of 4,500+ biz leaders see no revenue growth nor cost savings iconDan Robinson Tue 20 Jan 2026 // 14:31 UTC More than half of CEOs report seeing neither increased revenue nor decreased costs from AI, despite massive investments in the technology, according to a PwC survey of 4,454 business leaders.
The findings pour more cold water on the hyperbole surrounding AI and the benefits it supposedly brings to business, although the report cautions that "clearly, we're in the early stages of the AI era."
Only 12 percent reported both lower costs and higher revenue, while 56 percent saw neither benefit. Twenty-six percent saw reduced costs, but nearly as many experienced cost increases.
AI adoption remains limited. Even in top use cases like demand generation (22 percent), support services (20 percent), and product development (19 percent), only a minority are deploying AI extensively.
Last year, a separate PwC study found that only 14 percent of workers indicated they were using generative AI daily in their work.
