The AI maturity gap: leaders overestimate AI readiness and workers lack training

Press Release by Multiverse Fri 25 Oct 2024

Multiverse has found a widening ‘artificial intelligence (AI) maturity gap’ threatens business performance as leaders significantly overestimate their organisations’ AI readiness while employees lack crucial training.

This is according to a new report from AI skills platform, Multiverse, which revealed stark differences between executives and workers over AI effectiveness, how to measure impact, and the need for training and skills. Multiverse believes the disconnect threatens to undermine AI’s return on investment (ROI) and economic growth potential.

The study, which surveyed 810 business leaders and 1,190 employees across the US and UK, exposed a clear contrast between leadership optimism and on-the-ground realities in AI implementation.

Key Findings Show Disconnect

Key findings showed that 96% of respondents reported improvements in customer and user experience over the past 12 months due to AI implementation. Four in five tech leaders also indicated AI has contributed to an increase in revenue generation. Enhanced productivity and operational efficiency were cited by 96% as significant benefits, and nearly half (48%) noted AI has helped reduce unnecessary external costs during the same period.

Despite the perceived advancements, a clear disconnect remains: 61% of leaders believe AI is fully implemented across their organisation, whereas only 36% of workers agree. Similarly, 60% of leaders feel they are ahead of competitors in AI maturity, but only 46% of workers share this view. Leaders cited their primary barrier to further AI investment as an inability to fully utilise existing AI technology (63%), closely followed by employee resistance to AI adoption (58%). Surprisingly, 56% of individuals who identify as ‘AI experts’ have not received formal training. Additionally, 45% of organisations classified as ‘AI Beginners’ by Multiverse still consider AI fully implemented, underscoring a significant perception gap.

CEO and Founder at Multiverse, Euan Blair, said AI ‘looks set to upend every aspect of our working lives, if not our lives altogether’. Blair added the financial promise is huge and optimism is high, but organisations are rushing to implement AI without the necessary foundations in place.

“To build truly AI native businesses, where AI is baked into your organisational DNA and delivering maximum ROI, tech investments need to be combined with an AI-enabled workforce equipped with the skills and tools to leverage AI to its full potential, not only to realise the true value of the technology but to proactively mitigate risk,” said Blair.

Bridging the AI Maturity Gap

The report introduced an AI Maturity Model, categorising respondents into three groups: AI Beginners (22%), who are at the proof-of-concept stage and working on pilot projects; AI Explorers (51%), who are in the early stages of integrating AI into specific business processes; and AI Adepts (27%), who have fully embedded AI across their organisations.

The findings highlight a significant gap in organisations’ abilities to measure and optimise the return on investment (ROI) of their AI initiatives. While 49% of business leaders say they track AI’s ROI, only 44% use this data to enhance their AI projects. This gap is limiting further AI adoption, with 57% of leaders indicating they cannot clearly demonstrate or predict AI’s benefits.

These findings reveal a critical challenge: although nearly half of companies are attempting to measure AI’s impact, many struggle to translate these insights into concrete improvements or to justify further investment in AI. This indicated a need for better methods to assess and communicate AI’s business value. The report also underscored a skills gap, as 56% of those identifying as ‘AI experts’ report no formal training. This overconfidence brings up ethical and data security concerns, with 93% of workers expressing confidence in their ethical use of AI in their last application and 90% believing they safeguarded their organisation’s data. However, only 28% of organisations have established best practices for AI governance and risk management.

Head of AI at Multiverse, Anna Wang, said as AI evolves organisations must become AI native to harness its full ROI.

“However, because of the newness of the technology and the pace of change, many organisations are struggling to get a clear view of their own progress. It is hard to know what you do not know. This means best practice is not necessarily being established, creating risks and potential missed opportunities for the future,” added Wang.

Recommendations to Address Challenges

To address these challenges, the Multiverse report recommended developing standardised AI skills assessments, creating industry-wide AI governance frameworks, increasing investment in AI education at all levels, and conducting regular audits of AI systems and their economic impact.

Multiverse has also announced plans to introduce a global AI Readiness Index, scheduled for launch in Q2 2025, which will provide a standardised measure of organisational and national AI maturity.