BCG survey finds 61% of CEOs say boards are rushing AI transformation as hype distorts boardroom judgment

A global survey of 625 CEOs and board members at companies with at least $100 million in annual revenue finds agreement that AI is important but disagreement on deployment speed, board understanding, and the extent to which AI returns shape the CEO role. Sixty-one percent of CEOs say boards push AI transformation too fast. More than half of CEOs report that AI hype distorts board judgment, and nearly 40% say boards lack an informed view of how AI reshapes growth strategy. Board members rate their own AI knowledge as adequate, but CEOs rate it lower, creating a confidence gap. The gap suggests boards may make major AI decisions based on knowledge CEOs consider insufficient.

"Sixty-one per cent of chief executives say their boards are pushing AI transformation too fast, according to a global survey of 625 leaders published by Boston Consulting Group. The research, titled Split Decisions, polled 351 CEOs and 274 board members at companies with at least $100 million in annual revenue and found a consistent pattern: boards and CEOs agree that AI matters, but disagree on how quickly it should be deployed, how well boards understand it, and how much of a CEO's job now depends on delivering returns from it."

"More than half of the CEOs surveyed said that hype around artificial intelligence is distorting their boards' judgment, and nearly 40 per cent said their boards lack an informed view of how AI is reshaping growth strategy. One in three said their board overestimates the human capabilities that AI can replace. The findings land at a moment when AI FOMO has become a dominant force in corporate strategy."

"The survey's most striking finding is the disconnect between how board members rate their own AI knowledge and how their CEOs rate it. Three-quarters of board members said their AI understanding is on par with or ahead of their peers. CEOs were far less impressed. The implication is that many boards are making consequential decisions about AI strategy on the basis of knowledge their chief executives consider inadequate."

"BCG's Julie Bedard, a managing director and partner, said the gap can be closed if CEOs take direct responsibility for board education. Rather than delegating AI briefings to a chief technology officer or an outside consultant, she argued, CEOs should personally lead upskilling sessions that demonstrate what cu"

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