What happened
EY-Parthenon's survey of 1,200 CEOs across 21 countries finds 50% of CEOs identify AI technologies as the single largest contributor to productivity gains over the past 12 months, ahead of business process redesign (46%) — yet 23% say AI-driven gains are often absorbed before reaching the bottom line, and only 16% have detailed, real-time visibility into AI costs and high confidence in assessing ROI. Building on the January 2026 edition, the report warns that 'the productivity dividend will remain an ambition unless CEOs can show that AI creates more value than it consumes,' with 80% of CEOs believing AI will affect roles, skills and ways of working more than workforce size, 47% saying their organizations are not developing AI skills quickly enough, and 72% expecting skills shortages to become a greater barrier to growth than access to capital within three years. A quantitative methodology covering 1,200 CEOs across 21 countries underpins the findings on AI ROI measurement, operating-model redesign, and reinvestment of productivity gains.
Why it matters
This is the clearest C-suite benchmark yet on the AI 'value leak' — productivity adoption is outpacing the ability to measure and convert AI into financial outcomes, informing how executives should structure AI ROI tracking and talent reinvestment.
Action needed
Audit whether your organization has real-time visibility into AI costs and returns; only 16% of CEOs claim it — budget and governance reviews should close that gap before further AI scale-up.