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2024 was a year of letting go. As a combination of conflict and transformation threw old assumptions into doubt, leaders had to reassess their appetite for risk. They had to weigh the need for speed against the safety of proven processes—then change the habits that were holding them back.
Generative AI was at the center of this shift, introducing a world of new opportunities, as well as uncharted risks. Agentic AI, which refers to systems and programs that perform a variety of functions autonomously, can act on behalf of employees while they do other work. By giving AI agents specific permissions and rights, they can automate decision-making, problem-solving, and other tasks that go beyond the data the system’s machine learning models were trained on in a way that most AI assistants don’t.
And as digital labor evolves, it puts the power of transformation firmly in employee’s hands.1 It makes it possible for individuals to increase productivity and redefine workflows—and challenges preconceived notions about what it means to lead.
The fact is, leaders don’t have time to vet every innovation. As agentic AI augments roles across the organization, they need to delegate more decisions to truly pick up the pace. Leaders still need to define the destination—and the rules of the road—but they must empower teams to rethink workflows and deploy AI agents in new ways to improve performance at scale.
In this environment, leaders are walking a tightrope between agility and security, striking a balance between resilience and risk. It’s no easy feat. To learn how they’re gaining ground, the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBM IBV), in partnership with Oxford Economics, surveyed 400 global leaders across 17 industries and six geographies in October and November 2024. We asked them about the challenges they must overcome to succeed in an AI-fueled competitive landscape, how they’re preparing their people to drive change, and what opportunities they expect to accelerate progress most.
We paired these results with the insights we’ve gained from dozens of surveys, in-depth interviews, and client engagements conducted in 2024 to map out the trends that will reshape the AI roadmap in 2025.
We found that leaders are still struggling to transform the business with their AI investments—but they believe they’re on the cusp of a major breakthrough. In fact, 63% of executives say their AI portfolio will have a material financial impact on their organization in the next one to two years.
To deliver on these expectations, organizations plan to push teams forward at a rapid clip. Today, 30% of executives say their organizations are primarily experimenting with AI, testing its use in low-risk, non-core functions to gain experience, build confidence, and identify potential pain points. Only 24% say they’re innovating with AI to advance new opportunities and create new business models.
In 2025, leaders expect to see a major shift. 46% of executives say their organizations will be scaling AI, using it to optimize existing processes and systems, while 44% expect to use AI to innovate. Only 6% say their organizations will still be experimenting.
To turn that momentum into real business value, leaders will need to empower people to make the most of the technology at their fingertips. That means democratizing decisionmaking and giving people the tools and training they need to succeed. People are the secret ingredient to winning with AI—but they can’t succeed without strategic reskilling, security guardrails, and decision support.
2024 was a year of letting go. As a combination of conflict and transformation threw old assumptions into doubt, leaders had to reassess their appetite for risk. They had to weigh the need for speed against the safety of proven processes—then change the habits that were holding them back.
Generative AI was at the center of this shift, introducing a world of new opportunities, as well as uncharted risks. Agentic AI, which refers to systems and programs that perform a variety of functions autonomously, can act on behalf of employees while they do other work. By giving AI agents specific permissions and rights, they can automate decision-making, problem-solving, and other tasks that go beyond the data the system’s machine learning models were trained on in a way that most AI assistants don’t.
And as digital labor evolves, it puts the power of transformation firmly in employee’s hands.1 It makes it possible for individuals to increase productivity and redefine workflows—and challenges preconceived notions about what it means to lead.
The fact is, leaders don’t have time to vet every innovation. As agentic AI augments roles across the organization, they need to delegate more decisions to truly pick up the pace. Leaders still need to define the destination—and the rules of the road—but they must empower teams to rethink workflows and deploy AI agents in new ways to improve performance at scale.
In this environment, leaders are walking a tightrope between agility and security, striking a balance between resilience and risk. It’s no easy feat. To learn how they’re gaining ground, the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBM IBV), in partnership with Oxford Economics, surveyed 400 global leaders across 17 industries and six geographies in October and November 2024. We asked them about the challenges they must overcome to succeed in an AI-fueled competitive landscape, how they’re preparing their people to drive change, and what opportunities they expect to accelerate progress most.
We paired these results with the insights we’ve gained from dozens of surveys, in-depth interviews, and client engagements conducted in 2024 to map out the trends that will reshape the AI roadmap in 2025.
We found that leaders are still struggling to transform the business with their AI investments—but they believe they’re on the cusp of a major breakthrough. In fact, 63% of executives say their AI portfolio will have a material financial impact on their organization in the next one to two years.
To deliver on these expectations, organizations plan to push teams forward at a rapid clip. Today, 30% of executives say their organizations are primarily experimenting with AI, testing its use in low-risk, non-core functions to gain experience, build confidence, and identify potential pain points. Only 24% say they’re innovating with AI to advance new opportunities and create new business models.
In 2025, leaders expect to see a major shift. 46% of executives say their organizations will be scaling AI, using it to optimize existing processes and systems, while 44% expect to use AI to innovate. Only 6% say their organizations will still be experimenting.
To turn that momentum into real business value, leaders will need to empower people to make the most of the technology at their fingertips. That means democratizing decisionmaking and giving people the tools and training they need to succeed. People are the secret ingredient to winning with AI—but they can’t succeed without strategic reskilling, security guardrails, and decision support.
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