report regular AI use in at least one business function.
McKinsey State of AI 2025Executive Field Report
Why AI pilots stalland what leadership teams must fixbefore AI creates measurable value.
A practical executive briefing for leaders who need to move from AI experimentation to governed, operational, measurable business value.
- Understand why AI pilots stall after proof of concept.
- Diagnose the six execution gaps that block measurable value.
- Learn how to prioritize the first 2-3 AI use cases worth funding.
Market Signals
increase in worker access to AI in 2025.
Deloitte State of AI in the Enterprise 2026of GenAI projects were predicted to be abandoned after proof of concept by the end of 2025.
GartnerIBM reports AI adoption is outpacing AI security and governance.
IBM Cost of a Data Breach ReportWhat The Report Covers
What you'll learn inside
Why AI activity is not the same as AI progress
Separate tool usage and pilot volume from measurable business outcomes.
The six gaps that keep pilots from scaling
See where leadership, use cases, data, governance, workflows, and adoption usually break down.
How governance can enable speed
Use practical guardrails to support responsible adoption without creating paralysis.
How to rank use cases
Evaluate opportunities by value, feasibility, risk, and workflow impact.
What to do in the next 90 days
Translate executive concern into a focused operating agenda.
How to prepare for governed agentic AI
Clarify why agentic workflows require stronger ownership, controls, and workflow design.
Six Execution Gaps
The framework behind the field report
The AI Execution Gap is the distance between AI activity and measurable, governed, operational business value.
The report gives leadership teams a concise way to discuss where value is getting trapped before pilots become expensive distractions.
01Leadership Alignment
02Use Case Quality
03Data & Systems Readiness
04Governance & Risk Controls
05Workflow Integration
06Adoption & Change Management
Download The Report
Get the AI Execution Gap Executive Field Report
Use the report to brief your leadership team, challenge pilot assumptions, and start a sharper conversation about governed AI execution.
- Written for executives and operating leaders
- Grounded in InitializeAI's six-dimension framework
- Informed by current public research and regulatory signals
- Designed to lead into a practical briefing or assessment conversation
Who Should Read This
Built for leaders deciding what AI deserves attention, funding, and control.
CEO / President
Set executive direction and decide where AI deserves leadership focus.
COO / Operations Leader
Translate AI interest into workflow-level operating improvements.
CIO / CTO
Connect business ambition with data, systems, architecture, and control.
CFO
Separate fundable use cases from activity that is unlikely to create value.
Strategy / Transformation Leader
Create a common language for roadmap, ownership, and operating model decisions.
Risk, Legal, or Governance Leader
Understand where unmanaged AI creates exposure and where practical guardrails help.
Private Equity Operating Partner
Use the framework to discuss value creation and AI risk across portfolio companies.
Report FAQ
Before you download
Is this a technical report?
It is written for executives and operating leaders, with practical implications for technology, governance, workflow design, and adoption.
Is the report based on proprietary survey data?
No proprietary survey findings are claimed. It is an executive field report informed by InitializeAI's framework and current public research.
What should we do after reading it?
Book a private briefing or begin the AI Execution Gap Assessment to identify where value is trapped in your organization.
Research basis
This page references public research and regulatory materials from McKinsey, Deloitte, Gartner, IBM, NIST, ISO, and the European Commission. InitializeAI has not claimed proprietary survey findings on this page.
Next Step
Use the report to start a sharper AI execution conversation.
The report explains the gap. The private briefing helps your leadership team identify where the gap may exist inside your organization.