AI is business more than technologygettyTheres good news when it comes to peoples experiences with generative AI - it delivers deep insights and content as promised. The challenge is now expanding on linited use cases to benefitting full-fledged enterprise activities. And, as with all things, organizational challenges are far greater than technology challenges.Having expensive AI technology on hand, and dropping it into a slow-moving organization will not deliver overnight miracles anymore than handing someone an expensive movie camera will turn them into the next Steven Spielberg. It takes people willing and free to learn and experiment to develop an AI-savvy enterprise.More than 80% of business leaders say generative AI has exceeded their initial expectations, new research out of Accenture finds. However, scaling this success to something bigger is a challenge only 13% are seeing significant enterprise level-value," the study, involving 3,400 executives and Accentures 2,000-plus gen AI projects, finds.Seven out of ten (73%) gen AI investments focus on functional use cases that address common industry needs, such as enhancing IT, customer service and marketing.Among those organizations that have been scaling AI to enterprise levels, theres an emphasis on forward-looking technology investments, the Accenture studys authors suggest. Enterprise AI leaders are six-times more likely to significantly increase their gen AI investments in 2025 to drive operational efficiency, automation, and optimized decision-making, and are three-times more likely to have a comprehensive data strategy to support their genAI efforts.In addition, enterprise AI leaders are looking at agentic AI, the next evolution of generative AI, and are five times more likely to have invested in an agentic architecture. "Agentic architecture will enter the mainstream in 2025, with three times as many organizations planning to invest in these capabilities compared to 2024," the report predicts.At the same time, the study cites a need to shift workforces from static job roles to dynamic, skills-based strategies. At this point, only 35% of executives report having a roadmap for how genAI will reshape their workforce coupled with the rapid pace of technological change that reduced the half-life of skills to less than five years.The Accenture team makes the following recommendations to see more benefits from their AI efforts:Employ AI to help people prepare for AI. AI-driven, personalized learning is helping close skills gaps, delivering tailored development that empowers employees to thrive in AI-augmented environments, the studys authors state. Overall, they add, leading AI organizations "are aligning talent strategies with the reinvention of workadopting skills-based workforce management, recruiting for potential and investing in broad-based AI upskilling."Get the leadership on board. CEO sponsorship is criticalcompanies with executive buy-in achieve at least three-times higher ROI, the Accenture authors point out. A way to build support is through targeted executive education. "Leaders at organizations achieving enterprise-level value are six-times more likely to deeply understand genAI. Tailored programs bridge knowledge gaps, build confidence and accelerate scaling."Establish clear and traceable targets. Set measurable targets for 360 value financial and non-financial outcomes that impact the P&L or balance sheet.Hack workflows and cut the silos. "Use genAI to reinvent entire domains, processes and journeys rather than launching narrow use cases. GenAI can hack workflows by analyzing data to reduce inefficiencies, minimize manual steps and uncover opportunities missed due to biases or siloed thinking."Recognize its data that makes the difference in AI. Everyone with a budget can acquire the latest and greatest AI tools. But it takes expertise and experience to build a data environment to fuel AI insights. Proprietary data sources, refined and tailored into core data products, are critical for achieving breakthrough insights and long-term differentiation, the Accenture team states.Ultimately, successful AI means change is on the near horizon for jobs and organizations themselves. AIs value will come out in redefining jobs and rewiring organizations to support fundamentally different processes and ways of working, the Accenture team states. This includes addressing bigger questions on organization design such as resetting and lowering boundaries, leveraging new multi-agent capabilities and supporting dynamic skills all of which are critical to creating value from AI."