Most firms unprepared for GenAI surge despite competitiveness

A new global study by the BPI Network and Growth Officer Council has found that major multinational firms are mostly not confident in their data preparedness for generating business value from generative artificial intelligence (GenAI).

The report, titled "The Pathway to GenAI Competitive Advantage," draws from a survey of over 170 corporate decision-makers across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, and investigates how organisations assess their data readiness for AI-driven business improvements and value creation.

The study indicates widespread belief in potential competitive gains from GenAI, with 79% of business leaders asserting that GenAI is set to provide a competitive advantage—such as agentic AI to improve customer experiences—within the next 18 months. Despite this outlook, a majority of organisations do not believe they are adequately prepared to seize these opportunities.

According to the findings, 60% of business leaders lack confidence in their data-AI readiness to realise GenAI's business value. By contrast, among those organisations that consider themselves well prepared—meaning their data is well-governed and of high quality—81% expect AI agents to enhance the customer experience, compared to just 21% among those less prepared.

The study also reveals regional differences in GenAI readiness. North America leads in terms of maturity and the ability to generate value from GenAI, while the Asia-Pacific region falls behind. Large companies report higher confidence in their data-AI readiness, but they predominantly make use of structured data. In terms of use case evolution, business-to-business companies are reported to be more advanced than business-to-consumer companies in implementing high-impact GenAI applications.

Satisfaction with GenAI outcomes was found to correlate with company revenue. The survey showed that 90% of leaders at organisations with more than USD $5 billion in revenue expressed satisfaction with GenAI results, whereas just 16% of those at companies with revenues between USD $500 million and USD $1 billion felt the same.

Tom Kaneshige, Chief Content Officer at the BPI Network, said, "As organizations plot a path toward GenAI competitive advantage, they'll need to make an honest assessment of their data-AI readiness and where they stand among their peers. The results of the study show GenAI's rising business value in the coming months, but the lack of data-AI readiness can lead to failed GenAI initiatives and deterioration of trust in the technology."

Only 13% of survey respondents reported being "extremely" confident in their GenAI readiness. Key challenges to unlocking GenAI value were also identified, with 69% citing data accuracy and reliability, 68% mentioning AI integration and implementation, and 58% pointing to concerns around AI ethics, governance, and trust.

Regionally, business leaders in North America reported slightly lower dissatisfaction with the value derived from current GenAI projects (38%) compared to those in Europe (45%) and Asia-Pacific (84%).

The report examines performance across four essential GenAI capability areas: data quality, accuracy and reliability, security and privacy, and cost and return on investment. Through combined survey and interview data, the report further explores how firms are prioritising AI use cases and investing in necessary tools and technologies.

Jesse Todd, CEO at EncompaaS, said: "The current reality is that GenAI projects are failing because they are not grounded in a foundation of well-prepared, high-quality data. The findings of this study are striking and demonstrate the critical importance of data preparation to advance AI initiatives. They also highlight that the gap between ambition and execution is where true competitive advantage is forged."

The report offers practical guidance on strategic initiatives, major challenges, and achievable outcomes based on different stages of data-AI maturity.

The study is based on a global survey of more than 170 business and functional leaders from a range of industries and includes in-depth interviews with executives from organisations such as StarCIO, AVOA, Pegasystems, and the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.