Accenture’s latest “Pulse of Change Survey” revealed that the C-suites of retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies expect to increase investments in AI. And while executives and employees say they’ve warmed up to using AI, there’s a disconnect between the two in sentiment regarding proper training.

The survey also showed that more than half of respondents claim generative AI development is going faster than they expected.

A spokeswoman from Accenture said the firm’s Pulse of Change report “offers a unique comparison of perspectives on issues such as AI and the workforce from surveys of 360 C-suite retail and CPG leaders and 314 non-C-suite retail and CPG employees.” The company said by comparing C-suite and employee sentiment, “Accenture is surfacing surprising tensions — and a few areas of agreement  — on AI adoption and evolving workforce dynamics.”

Of the executives polled, 86 percent said they are “preparing to increase investment in Gen AI initiatives in the year ahead, with a primary focus on creating new AI-powered products or services.” The report’s authors said 2025 is going to be the year when companies move from experimentation to scale. “Just over half (53 percent) of retail and CPG C-suite executives, say their organization’s Gen AI development is going faster than initially expected.”

Still, only 34 percent of leaders polled said they have scaled generative AI solutions and just 13 percent said they “have not yet moved beyond experiences such as small-scale pilots and proof-of-concept initiatives.” However, Accenture found that when looking ahead at plans, “a significant proportion (64 percent) expect to be using their generative AI solutions at scale.”

When asked what’s driving investments in generative AI, “capitalizing on advances” in the technology is the number-one reason. “This is reflected in the demand Accenture is seeing in its own work across the consumer space, including Gen AI initiatives for Best Buy, Bath & Body Works, Mondelez, Unilever and French DIY retailer Bricorama,” the firm said.

But there are barriers to implementation — and this is where there’s a disconnect between employees and leaders. “While 92 percent of retail and CPG C-suite leaders believe their employees received the training needed to use Gen AI efficiently, only 73 percent of employees agree,” the report stated. “And while investment is increasing, only 27 percent of employees believe they understand — to a great extent — the potential value of Gen AI, while 53 percent of retail and CPG C-suite leaders say the same — a substantial gap.” 

In other findings, Accenture found that 84 percent of executives and 62 percent of employees polled “say their experience with Gen AI over the past year has changed positively how they think about the tech and its business potential.” The survey also showed that 68 percent of employees polled “report to be currently using Gen AI-based tools in their work.”

Oliver Wright, Accenture’s global consumer industries lead, said, “Disruption and change remain a constant drumbeat for retailers and CPG companies who are turning to transformation technologies that are now available to be able to drive growth through the ongoing shifts in market demands. Gen AI, arguably the most transformation technology of our time, represents a clear opportunity to accelerate reinvention and turbo charge business performance.”

Wright said while many retail and CPG business are only scratching the surface of gen AI’s full potential, “it’s great to see there is an ambition to think big by investing now, to drive value across every part of their business.”