Just 20% of companies are lapping up 75% of AI’s financial gains

The real financial returns from AI are concentrated in comparatively few organizations, with three-quarters of AI’s economic gains being made by just 20% of companies.

PwC’s new AI Performance study polled over 1,200 senior executives across 25 sectors, mostly at large, publicly listed companies.

Researchers found there's a large divide between a small group of AI leaders and the majority of businesses still stuck in pilot mode – a divide that's widening all the time.

These top performers aren't just deploying more AI tools. Instead, PwC found they are treating AI as a catalyst for growth and business reinvention, using it to reshape business models and expand beyond traditional industry boundaries.

“Many companies are busy rolling out AI pilots, but only a minority are converting that activity into measurable financial returns," said Joe Atkinson, global chief AI officer at PwC.

"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.”

This means finding new revenue opportunities as industries converge, such as collaborating with partners outside their core sector. PwC said this was the single strongest factor influencing AI‑driven financial performance, ahead of efficiency gains alone.

Companies leading on AI were two-to-three times as likely as others to say they use AI to identify and pursue growth opportunities, for example, such as collaborating with partners outside their core sector.

Meanwhile, they were 2.6 times as likely as peers to report that AI improved their ability to reinvent their business model.

Different AI approaches

The top performers also deployed AI inside the enterprise rather differently. Those with the best AI-driven financial outcomes were nearly twice as likely to say they’re using AI in advanced ways: executing multiple tasks within guardrails, or operating in autonomous, self-optimizing ways.

Similarly, AI leaders are increasing the number of decisions made without human intervention at almost three-times the rate of others. This automation is enabled by a focus on trust at scale, according to PwC.

Responsible AI adoption is also a key factor in success with the technology, according to PwC. The study noted that leading AI adopters are 1.7 times more likely to have a clear cut responsible AI framework, and 1.5 times more likely to have cross-functional AI governance boards.

PwC said this means employees are twice as likely to trust AI outputs and use the technology more efficiently.

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