C-suite leaders attribute revenue, software development boosts to AI

Dive Brief:

• The majority of C-suite executives say technology, including AI and software development, has enhanced business outcomes, according to a GitLab report published Tuesday. The DevSecOps company tapped The Harris Poll to survey nearly 2,800 C-level executives. 
• More than 9 in 10 executives said their board of directors has bought into the benefits of software innovation, the report found. Around 80% of enterprise leaders said they’re willing to invest over half of their company’s IT budget in software development. 
• Executives credit increased AI use over the past year for bringing an estimated 44% bump in revenue, according to the report. Nearly 3 in 5 respondents said their organization experienced business growth thanks to software innovation over the last year.

Dive Insight:

Businesses are searching high and low for technology upgrades and AI tools that can improve productivity, increase revenues and drive profitability.  

Lowe’s and The Home Depot have credited AI projects for improving customer and employee experiences this summer. Food industry giant General Mills and financial services company Charles Schwab have also attributed cost savings to AI efforts earlier this year. 

Enterprises suspect the agentic wave of tools brings even bigger benefits as experiments move into production. Nearly three-quarters of senior leaders anticipate AI agents will produce a significant competitive advantage, and half believe the technology will make their operating model unrecognizable, according to a PwC survey published in May.

For now, however, most organizations are still working out the kinks.

Executives often point to cybersecurity threats, data privacy concerns and governance gaps as key hurdles to adoption. More than 4 in 5 enterprise leaders agreed agentic AI creates unprecedented security challenges, according to the GitLab report. 

CIOs and other C-suite members are also thinking through how employees should engage with tools. Around 43% of those surveyed in the GitLab report said the ideal human-AI work contribution split should be 50-50, while 24% think humans should handle about three-quarters of the work. 

“This disconnect exists alongside persistent concerns about job displacement, the perceived complexity of AI systems and cybersecurity,” GitLab said in the release. 

Employees are already bracing themselves for AI-driven change. Workers have increased savings and started side gigs in an effort to secure their financial and professional futures, according to a Gusto report.