A small group of companies is pulling ahead in the race to generate real financial returns from artificial intelligence, according to PwC’s new AI Performance study.

A new global study by PwC shows that three-quarters (74 per cent) of artificial intelligence economic value is captured by one-fifth of organizations, revealing a divide between a small group of AI leaders and the majority of businesses stuck in pilot mode.

The global study interviewed 1,217 senior executives, primarily at large, publicly-listed companies across 25 sectors, asking them about the revenue and efficiency gains they are seeing from AI today, alongside questions about how they deploy the technology.

“The most AI-fit companies in our research deliver AI-driven financial performance that’s 7.2 times as high as the other respondents’ performance,” Joe Atkinson, global chief AI officer, PwC, said. “The reason for this dominance is that higher AI fitness levels improve a broad set of intermediate performance outcomes that, in turn, shape financial results. Companies with the strongest AI-driven financial performance are more likely than others to report that their AI portfolio has sped up the launch of new products and services. They also say it has helped transform their business and operating models.”

The research shows that these companies are not deploying more AI tools. Instead, they are using AI as a catalyst for growth and business reinvention, particularly by pursuing new revenue opportunities created as industries converge, while building strong foundations around data, governance and trust.

“Many companies are busy rolling out AI pilots, but only a minority are converting that activity into measurable financial returns. The leaders stand out because they point AI at growth, not just cost reduction, and back that ambition with the foundations that make AI scalable and reliable,” Atkinson continued.

The findings come at a time when sectors, including wealth management and private banking, are putting AI – a broad term – to work in a variety of cases, ranging from help with management of investments through to compliance and client reporting. (To view an article on this topic, see here.)

Growth, not just productivity, separates AI leaders
Organizations with the strongest AI performance treat the technology as a reinvention engine, using it to reshape business models and expand beyond traditional industry boundaries. Companies leading on AI report that businesses are:

-- 2.6 times as likely as peers to report AI improves their ability to reinvent their business model; and

-- Two to three times as likely as others to say they use AI to identify and pursue growth opportunities arising from industry convergence, such as collaborating with partners outside their core sector.

PwC’s analysis shows that capturing growth opportunities from industry convergence is the strongest factor influencing AI-driven financial performance, ahead of efficiency gains.

Trust and automation combine to delivering outcomes
The research also highlights differences in how companies deploy AI inside the enterprise. Companies with the best AI-driven financial outcomes are nearly twice as likely as other companies to say that they are using AI in advanced ways: executing multiple tasks within guardrails (1.8x) or operating in autonomous, self-optimizing ways (1.9x).

AI leaders are increasing the number of decisions made without human intervention at almost three times (2.8x) the rate of peers.

This automation is enabled by focusing on trust at scale. AI leaders are more likely than other companies to have mechanisms such as a Responsible AI framework (1.7x as likely as other companies) and a cross-functional AI governance board (1.5x). As a result of their efforts, their employees are twice as likely to trust AI outputs.

A widening gap
Without a shift in approach, the performance gap between AI leaders and laggards is likely to widen further as leading companies continue to learn faster, scale proven use cases and automate decisions safely at scale.

PwC’s study is based on a survey of 1,217 senior executives (director level and above) from companies across 25 sectors and multiple regions worldwide. AI-driven performance was measured as the revenue and efficiency gains attributable to AI, adjusted against industry medians. PwC analyzed the impact of 60 AI management and investment practices, grouped into AI use and AI foundations, which together form PwC’s AI fitness index.