Leading in AI from pilot initiatives to enterprise value
AI has become a defining economic force But while AI investment is accelerating across industries the tangible impact on business performance remains uneven and in many cases limited
The 29th Global CEO Survey conducted by PwC reveals that over half of CEOs have not yet achieved significant revenue growth or cost reduction from AI initiatives in the past year. However, most organizations are actively experimenting with AI through pilots and deploying new tools. PwC Vietnam's general director, Mai Viet Hung Tran, highlights that AI is reshaping business and that the company is exploring leadership priorities such as enterprise transformation, workforce readiness, governance, trust, and data foundations.
A key point of focus is transforming AI pilots into measurable enterprise value. Currently, AI adoption is fragmented, with individual use cases developed in isolation from core business priorities. While these efforts generate incremental gains, they rarely scale to transform how the business operates. PwC's 2026 AI Performance Study indicates that approximately 20% of organizations capture nearly 74% of AI-driven value, creating a widening gap between leaders and non-leaders.
This gap is not due to a technology deficiency but an execution gap. The most "AI-fit" companies deliver AI-driven financial performance more than seven times higher than their peers. The challenge lies in integration rather than mere experimentation. Leading organizations use AI to drive growth, redesign workflows, and create new revenue opportunities, rather than merely improving productivity.
This transformation reshapes decision-making, customer service, and competition. For sustained advantage, organizations must treat AI as a catalyst for rethinking core processes, not just a set of tools layered onto existing ones. In Vietnam, leaders recognize AI's role in shaping business outcomes, particularly in growth, customer experience, and operational efficiency.
The next phase involves shifting from exploration to execution, requiring reliable data, clear governance, and AI fluency across the workforce. Data must be viewed as a strategic asset, and scaling AI depends on consistent data structuring, sharing, and use across the organization. Governance evolves from a compliance requirement to an enabler of scale, supporting faster progress with greater confidence.
Workplaces that embed AI into everyday workflows and decision-making see sustained impact, emphasizing the need for teams to use AI effectively across the business. Ultimately, AI is an enterprise transformation and leadership story. Those who treat it as such will define the next era of growth.
Written by urgent.news from Vietnam Investment Review's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
