In January, PwC published its 29th Global CEO Survey. Of the 4,454 CEOs who answered, only 12% said AI had delivered both higher revenue and lower costs. 56% said they had seen neither.
When I talk with CEOs about those numbers, most of them already have an AI strategy. They have a roadmap, a set of pilots, copilots rolled out to the company and a governance committee that meets every month. And most of them are quietly unsure whether any of it is paying off.
Two different jobs
Every company that is serious about AI needs two architects.
The technology team architects the technology: the models, the data, the integrations, the security and the governance. That work is essential, and most technology leaders are good at it.
The CEO architects the enterprise. That means deciding how AI should change the way this company creates value, and redesigning the work, the organization and the leadership around that decision. No technology team can answer those questions on the CEO's behalf, because they are questions about strategy, operating model and people.
When the CEO hands AI to IT and waits for results, the company gets excellent technology and very little change in how value is created. That is how you end up with a lot of AI activity and very little return.
The five questions the CEO owns
We think of the CEO's work as a climb with five camps, planned from the summit down:
- Value. Where could AI change the economics of this company?
- Work. What work stands between us and that value?
- Organization. What organization does the new work require?
- Leadership. How does leadership itself have to change?
- Culture. What must people believe and experience for any of this to work?
Most companies start at the bottom of the list with tools and pilots, and never get to the top. The CEOs getting a return start at the top, with value, and work down.
What it looks like week to week
Being the AI architect means spending real time on the five questions with your executive team, asking every AI initiative which value it serves, and making the organizational decisions only you can make. It also means using the tools yourself, openly, so your people see you go first.
See where you stand
The free, five-question AI Readiness Check shows where your company stands on each of the five layers and which one to work on next. To see how we work with CEOs on it, read about AI and leadership.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI architect CEO?
A CEO who owns how AI changes the way the company creates value, and redesigns the work, organization, leadership and culture around it, while the technology team owns the models, data and security.
Why can't the technology team own AI transformation?
The questions that decide whether AI creates value are about strategy, operating model, organization and people. Those sit with the CEO and executive team. The technology team does its best work once they are answered.
Where should a CEO start with AI?
With value. Ask where AI could change the economics of the company, then work down to the work, organization, leadership and culture that value requires.
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