Why AI Adoption in Business Is Every CEO’s Urgent Priority

AI adoption in business is no longer a distant prospect for the future. It is here, and leaders need to focus on leveraging its full potential to remain relevant. Just like knowledge workers, CEOs need to take the lead.

The noise of tariffs, economic uncertainty, and geopolitical issues has drowned out the steady rise of generative AI in the workplace. Since ChatGPT first became available to the public in 2022, working professionals and organizations have rapidly transitioned from being cautious to becoming full-on adopters, signaling the rise of AI adoption in business.

From Individual Productivity to AI Adoption in Business

Indeed, Vistage’s Q1 2025 CEO Confidence Index survey revealed that 7 out of 10 CEOs are now actively using generative AI in their roles. Similarly, 2 in 5 (41%) of organizations have a generative AI license or subscription.

So while Generative AI is, first and foremost, a tool for fueling individual productivity, it’s also becoming an organizational resource and a core part of AI adoption in business.

Leaders are increasingly focused on educating their workforces on when and how to safely and responsibly use AI within company policy. As of March 2025, nearly half (47%) of CEOs reported they are training their workforce on AI, a sharp increase from 32% in Q2 of 2024.

Why Some CEOs Lag Behind

But what about the other 53% of CEOs who are not actively training their workforce on AI? Perhaps they are experiencing AI fatigue, as the novelty of AI has worn off. Or perhaps they are distracted by the economic ups and downs that are affecting their business, or they feel that employees don’t have the time to step away from work to attend training.

Regardless of what’s holding them back, attention and time are two of the biggest inhibitors to AI adoption in business, preventing professionals from experimenting with tools and seeking ways to increase their organization’s overall efficiency and productivity. But it is well past the time to wait and see how it unfolds — it is time to act.

CEOs must immediately make AI a top priority, as the time invested in AI today is exponential to the time saved tomorrow. Gone are the days when Gen AI was a secret weapon; today, it is expected that all workers use AI to some extent. The leaders who implement intentional programs to take their workforce’s AI proficiency to the next level will start to pull ahead.

Instead of just a standard technology solution, CEOs must view AI as a total reimagination of how we work and operate. To maintain a competitive edge, modern leaders require the foresight to have their own AI vision and the ability to align their purpose with productivity.

Meanwhile, leaders who continue to leave their organization’s use of AI to chance risk falling behind in policy and losing the zero-sum game of productivity, efficiency and overhead costs.

The impacts of AI on the workforce have already begun to be felt, with employers planning to do more with less and investing in AI over entry-level hires due to its ability to handle administrative tasks instantly.

An unusually high 5.8% of recent graduates have been unable to find employment, as an increasing number of entry-level jobs are being automated. The U.S. job market has already started to show the effects of this shift on a larger scale.

Why CEOs Must Prioritize AI Adoption in Business Now

As such, CEOs are tasked with rethinking how they engage with a future talent pipeline and help them acquire the human skills, such as strategy, reasoning, and creativity, that are increasingly necessary to thrive in our AI-driven world.

Business leaders also need to train employees of all generations to work alongside and manage AI agents by investing in learning and development offerings that both equip employees to navigate this mindset shift and provide the skills required to optimize AI.

Whether you like it or not, AI is here. It’s not just a new app or a fun chatbot — it’s the foundation of a new era of tech.

It’s time for the 53% of CEOs who aren’t currently investing in training for the workforce to jump on the train of AI adoption in business before they get left at the station.

This story first appeared in Inc.

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