39% of CEOs reporting positive AI outcomes

Author Moonshot.news

Published on: 04/08/2026

51% of CEOs in a global survey are experiencing a shift in AI’s business impact over the past eight months and 39% report positive AI outcomes. 38% have used AI to capture new business opportunities created by global disruption. The survey comes at a time when big tech reports continued heavy investments in AI while investors want proofs of AI’s long term profitability. 

The survey by consultancy PwC, comprising 59 countries and 27 industries, shows that companies with high “techno-resilience”—combining long-term thinking, resilience capabilities and strong AI foundations—are 74% more likely to report AI success (55% versus 32%) and 66% more likely to express strong confidence in future revenue growth (48% versus 29%) than companies with low techno-resilience.

“One-third of global CEOs are more confident than they were eight months ago. Energy costs emerge as CEOs’ biggest financial surprise of 2026 so far, outpacing all other cost pressures”, PwC says.

“Companies with stronger “techno-resilience” are 66% more likely to report high growth confidence.”

“Nearly four in 10 CEOs are using AI to capture new opportunities created by global disruption.”“The survey of hundreds of CEOs across more than 50 countries finds overall confidence in revenue growth has remained unchanged over the past six to eight months, even as executives report significant operational challenges stemming from global shocks.” 

Other key findings:

• About 42% of CEOs remain very or extremely confident about revenue growth over the next 12 months and 51% over the next three years, levels that have remained broadly stable over the past eight months. One-third (33%) report greater confidence than they did eight months ago, while only 26% report lower confidence.
• CEOs were significantly more likely to report sharp increases in expected energy costs than in other operating costs. Nearly one in five CEOs (19%) reported energy costs increasing by more than 10% due to global shocks, compared with just 12% reporting similar increases in non-energy costs—making energy the most pronounced cost pressure.
• Strategic decisions are becoming more difficult. More than one in four CEOs (27%) say pricing decisions have become challenging to a large or very large extent because of global shocks, closely followed by supply chain management (26%).