PwC COO Shares Insights on Successful Corporate AI Adoption

As of November 14th, 2025, corporations are starting to see tangible benefits from their AI investments, according to PwC's U.S. COO Jenny Koehler. In contrast to a recent MIT study suggesting that 95% of generative AI pilots fail, Koehler points to PwC's CEO survey, which found that 56% of CEOs are already realizing efficiency improvements from AI, and one-third have seen higher revenue and profitability.

This momentum has led many companies to shift their AI adoption strategies over the past six to nine months. Rather than the previous grassroots, bottom-up approach where employees proposed use cases, corporations are now taking a more top-down, value-driven approach aimed at improving efficiency and profitability at scale. "For our corporate clients, the projects that get the most traction and the most legs are those that hit the top line," Koehler explained.

To ensure successful AI adoption, Koehler emphasized the importance of empowering employees with access to AI tools and the freedom to experiment. However, this democratization also means disruption, as AI can either augment or replace certain roles. At PwC, the focus is on "human upskilling" – developing skills like empathy, judgment, ethics, and storytelling that will define the next generation of leaders in the age of AI.