12/2025
Why CHROs are considered the least AI-savvy — and what to do now
According to CEOs, Artificial Intelligence will define the next major era of business – yet the very top management teams tasked with leading this shift are perceived as lacking sufficient AI competence. A recent Gartner study highlights a critical gap between ambition and reality.
The latest Gartner CEO and Senior Business Executive Survey paints a clear picture: 77% of CEOs believe AI is ushering in a new business era – yet only 44% consider their CIOs to be sufficiently “AI‑savvy.” Even traditionally technology‑focused roles such as CIO, CISO, and CDO are widely perceived as underprepared.
Published on May 6, 2025, and based on responses from 456 CEOs and senior executives worldwide (survey period: June–November 2024), the study makes one thing clear: the primary bottleneck is not the technology itself, but the ability of leadership teams to understand AI strategically, contextualize it, and integrate it effectively into their organizations.
AI is not a tool upgrade – it is an operating model shift
Gartner emphasizes that AI is not merely the next step in digital transformation. It represents a fundamental shift in how work is organized, how decisions are made, and how value is created. When this perspective is missing at C‑level, organizations risk losing competitiveness – and, in extreme cases, jeopardizing their entire business model.
CEOs identify two main barriers to successful AI adoption:
- Lack of relevant skills within the organization
- Lack of clarity around value creation and ROI
Notably, CEOs increasingly see upskilling the existing workforce as more effective than simply hiring new AI experts. AI competence thus becomes an organizational capability, rather than a standalone specialist role.
Why HR is under particular scrutiny
Companion analyses to the Gartner study show that HR is often perceived as one of the least AI‑savvy functions at C‑level. At the same time, this is where a critical leverage point lies. HR owns learning architectures, role models, enablement programs, and leadership culture – precisely the elements Gartner identifies as decisive for the success or failure of AI transformation.
When 66% of CEOs state that their business models are not yet “AI‑ready,” the challenge goes far beyond individual tools. It raises fundamental questions:
- Which skills do leaders and teams truly need?
- Which processes are genuinely AI‑ or agent‑ready?
- How do organizations build the capability to operate effectively amid ongoing uncertainty and change?
DeepSkill’s perspective
The findings of the Gartner study reinforce what we consistently observe in practice: AI transformations rarely fail because of technology. They fail due to a lack of orientation, insufficient learning capability, and unclear responsibilities.
Organizations that want to invest effectively today should prioritize AI literacy, metacognitive skills, leadership development, and structured enablement over tools alone. This is where the real decision is made: whether AI becomes a sustainable driver of productivity and value creation – or just another underutilized innovation.
