Most companies are using AI. A small number of companies are winning with it. That gap is getting wider.
A new PwC study of 1,217 senior executives across 25 sectors found that three-quarters of AI's economic gains are being captured by just 20% of companies. The leading companies are approximately two to three times more likely to use AI to identify and pursue growth opportunities and reinvent their business model. They are twice as likely to redesign workflows to incorporate AI rather than simply adding AI tools. PwC
What the Leaders Are Actually Doing
The study identified specific behaviors that separate AI leaders from everyone else. AI leaders are increasing the number of decisions made without human intervention at almost three times the rate of peers — and this automation is enabled by a focus on "trust at scale." AI leaders are more likely than other companies to have mechanisms such as a Responsible AI framework and a cross-functional AI governance board. As a result, their employees are twice as likely to trust AI outputs. PwC
This is the finding that matters most for executives: governance is not a brake on AI adoption — it is what makes AI adoption stick.
The Widening Gap
PwC's analysis shows that capturing growth opportunities from industry convergence is the single strongest factor influencing AI-driven financial performance, ahead of efficiency gains alone. Companies with the best AI outcomes are nearly twice as likely to be using AI in advanced ways — executing multiple tasks within guardrails — and are two to three times as likely to say they use AI to identify and pursue growth opportunities arising from industry convergence. PwC
The implication is uncomfortable for most organizations: productivity gains from AI are table stakes. The real financial returns come from using AI to find new markets and reinvent business models — which requires a fundamentally different orientation than deploying AI to make existing processes faster.
The Confidence Gap
Buried in the findings is a warning. A separate Deloitte 2026 Global Tech Leadership Study found that 80% of tech leaders are confident in their organization's ability to deploy and govern AI capabilities at scale. Deloitte emphasized that confidence appears to be surging ahead of readiness. Fortune
In my experience advising executives on AI adoption, this gap between confidence and capability is the most dangerous place a company can be. You stop asking hard questions precisely when you need to ask them most.
