Nearly half of CEOs surveyed in a new global study by the IBM Institute for Business Value ranked productivity as their top business priority—up from sixth place in 2022.

Modernizing technology was ranked as their second highest priority but also one of their top challenges, given looming data security concerns and lack of technical expertise, the annual report, CEO decision-making in the age of AI, found.

Fifty percent of CEOs reported already integrating generative artificial intelligence (AI) into digital products and services, with 43 percent already utilizing generative AI to inform strategic decisions and 36 percent using it for operational decisions.

More than half (57 percent) of the CEOs surveyed reported being concerned about data security and 48 percent worry about bias or data accuracy.

Nearly 43 percent of surveyed CEOs say they have reduced or redeployed their workforce due to generative AI, with an additional 28 percent indicating they plan to do so within the next year.

Nearly half (46 percent) have hired additional workers as a result of using generative AI, with 26 percent indicating they have plans for additional hiring.

Fewer than one in three CEOs (28 percent) have assessed the potential impact of generative AI on their workforce, with 36 percent reporting they plan to do so within the next 12 months.

Of the non-CEO senior executives surveyed, just 30 percent reported that their organization was ready to adopt generative AI responsibly. Yet, just 29 percent of their executive teams agree they have the in-house expertise to adopt generative AI.

“Generative AI can reduce the barriers to AI adoption and half of CEOs interviewed are actively exploring it to drive a new wave of productivity, efficiency and quality of service across industries,” said Jesus Mantas, global managing partner, IBM Consulting. “CEOs need to assess their company requirements around data privacy, intellectual property protection, security, algorithmic accountability and governance in order to plan their deployment of emerging use cases of generative AI at scale.”

CEOs see technology leaders taking a more strategic role in the future outcome of their organizations.

Of those surveyed, 38 percent point to CIOs (up from 19 percent a year ago), followed by Chief Technology or Chief Digital Officer (30 percent) as making the most crucial decisions in their organization.

When asked which C-Suite members will make the most crucial decisions over the next three years, CEOs identified COOs at 62 percent, followed by CFOs at 52 percent.