Survey

C-Suite Execs Trust AI’s Potential but Face Challenges in Strategy, Execution, and Reliability

A new survey of C-suite executives and AI leaders shows while enterprise decision-makers trust the potential of AI, many lack confidence in their company’s strategy to execute as well as the data readiness to ensure reliability of AI outputs. Moreover, 7 in 10 executives say their AI strategy is not fully aligned to their business strategy today.

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Teradata and NewtonX Trust in AI Survey, May 2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

The survey, conducted for Teradata by NewtonX, a leading global B2B market research company, included expert interviews and a quantitative study of executives and decision makers who have inside knowledge into their company's AI strategy and execution. Those surveyed all have responsibility for or use AI in their jobs. While 61 percent said they fully trust the reliability and validity of their AI outputs, 40 percent do not believe their company’s data is ready yet to achieve accurate outcomes.

“The foundation of AI is clean, reliable, trustworthy data because it is the backbone of AI outputs,” said Jacqueline Woods, Chief Marketing Officer at Teradata. “While achieving complete trust remains elusive for many executives, our survey shows a deepening understanding of how to reach trusted AI at enterprise-scale and confirms that Teradata is well positioned to help its customers with these business objectives.”

AI is Essential, but Clear, Aligned Strategies are Scarce

While 89 percent of enterprise executives believe AI is necessary to stay competitive, only 56 percent say their companies have a clear AI strategy and only 28 percent see their AI strategy as closely aligned with and supporting broader business objectives. Most successful AI implementations occur at the departmental level -- just 12 percent have deployed AI solutions company-wide, while 39 percent have implemented AI in select departments.

Executives identify the most significant benefits of AI as a substantial increase in productivity (51 percent) and improvements in customer experience (50 percent). However, despite the potential of customer-facing applications, most C-suite leaders prefer tackling AI projects that enhance internal processes, as these projects tend to minimize AI risks and are seen as more likely to improve cost control rather than drive growth.