A new study by the IBM Institute for Business Value found that surveyed CEOs are facing workforce, culture and regulation challenges as they act quickly to implement and scale generative AI across their organisations.

The annual global study of 3 000 CEOs from over 30 countries and 26 industries, including South Africa, found that 64% of those surveyed say succeeding with generative AI will depend more on people's adoption than the technology itself. However, 57% of local respondents say they are pushing their organization to adopt generative AI more quickly than some people are comfortable with.

The findings also revealed that nearly two-thirds (65%) of surveyed South African CEOs say their teams have the skills and knowledge to incorporate generative AI, but few understand how generative AI adoption impacts their organization's workforce and culture.

More than half (57%) of respondents have not yet assessed the impact of generative AI on their employees. Yet, 53% of local CEOs surveyed say they are hiring for generative AI roles that did not exist last year, while 43% expect to reduce or redeploy their workforce in the next 12 months because of generative AI. However, more than half (51%) of CEOs identified regulatory constraints as the greatest barrier to innovation in their organization.

"More South African organizations are embracing generative AI into their enterprise strategies to drive significant results and achieve sustainable impacts on their bottom line. By integrating cutting-edge AI solutions in their workflows, local companies can enhance operational efficiency and unlock new opportunities for growth and innovation,” says Ria Pinto, General Manager and Technology Leader, IBM South Africa.

“As more businesses digitize their business models, it is critical to understand the impact of new technologies on the workforce culture and upskill employees to grow their confidence, ensuring the company stays competitive in an ever-evolving market."

Other key South African study findings include:

Workforces are straining under the pressure of generative AI adoption

· 57% of local CEOs say their recruiting and retention efforts deliver skills and expertise needed to achieve business objectives.

· Yet, more than half (51%) of respondents say they are already struggling to fill key technology roles.

· CEOs surveyed say 36% of their workforce will require retraining and reskilling over the next three years.

Product and service innovation, and forecast accuracy are top priorities,

· Neary half (49%) of CEOs surveyed ranked product and service innovation as their highest priority for the next three years, this is higher than the global average of 37%.

· This was followed by 43% of CEOs prioritising forecast accuracy to understand the volumes of sale.

· Lastly, nearly half (49%) of SA CEOs say their competitors would view them as leading in innovation.

To view the full study, including actionable strategies to help organizations navigate the complexity of generative AI adoption, click here.