AI’s Next Test: Can It Actually Drive Growth?

Artificial intelligence is widely adopted across enterprises, but its role in driving real growth remains uncertain. While organizations are investing heavily in AI, most are still applying it to optimize existing processes rather than to fundamentally change how they generate revenue. Evan Berta, an associate at Hunt Scanlon Ventures, examines new research from EY-Parthenon and unpacks the growing disconnect between AI ambition and execution, highlighting how trust, organizational alignment, and leadership capability will ultimately determine which companies can translate AI into sustained growth.

May 26, 2026 – A massive opportunity, and a critical trust gap, is emerging among corporate leaders. According to EY-Parthenon’s Growth Survey of 271 U.S. executives, 78 percent believe AI will accelerate growth, even as nearly 80 percent say the growth environment has become more challenging over the past year. Yet only about a third trust AI inputs for high-stakes decisions such as pricing, product development, or M&A evaluation.

This disconnect is defining the current moment. According to EY-Parthenon’s survey, all organizations report having changed their growth strategy in the past 12 months, driven largely by geopolitical volatility and technological disruption, but fewer than half of growth initiatives are meeting expectations. The challenge is no longer identifying where to grow. It is figuring out how to execute in an increasingly complex environment.

From Productivity to Growth

AI adoption is no longer the question. Application is. Most companies are already using AI, but primarily to drive efficiency. Sixty-three percent of organizations report deploying it for productivity and cost reduction, compared to just 14 percent using it to stay ahead of competitors and fewer than 10 percent applying it to new customer acquisition or revenue diversification.

“AI adoption is widespread, but most firms are still using it to optimize existing processes rather than to fundamentally change how they grow,” said Evan Berta, an associate at Hunt Scanlon Ventures.

Still, the ambition is clear. Executives see AI as a pathway to new markets, improved customer engagement, and accelerated growth, but most have not yet moved beyond incremental use cases. The result is a widening gap between what AI could enable and how it is currently being deployed.

The Trust Gap Slows Everything Down

The primary barrier is not access to technology, but trust. Despite strong optimism, only about a third of executives trust AI inputs for decisions such as pricing (34 percent), product development (28 percent), or M&A evaluation (27 percent). Less than half strongly agree their organization knows how to effectively leverage data and AI to enable growth.

“Trust in AI is not just about the technology itself; it is about whether organizations have the data, governance, and alignment needed to rely on it for critical decisions,” said Mr. Berta.

How AI Workflows Are Transforming Executive Search

In the rapidly evolving landscape of work, artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concept; it is a present force reshaping industries, redefining roles, and reimagining possibilities. At The Energists, a Houston-based boutique search firm, they have embraced this transformation not with trepidation, but with strategic intent. “Each day, we witness firsthand how AI-enabled workflows are enhancing our operational efficiency, allowing us to scale our capabilities in ways that were previously unimaginable,” said Jon Hill, managing partner.

These concerns are rooted in structural challenges. Risk and compliance requirements (35 percent) and legacy technology and infrastructure (34 percent) are cited as the most significant internal barriers to innovation. Until those issues are addressed, AI will remain confined to efficiency gains rather than unlocking meaningful growth.

Execution Becomes the Differentiator

What makes this moment different is that insight is no longer scarce. Most companies already have access to sophisticated analytics, customer data, and strategic frameworks. The constraint is execution, specifically the ability to align the organization quickly enough to act on opportunities at scale.

AI has the potential to change that by coordinating decisions across functions and optimizing trade-offs between pricing, demand, and capacity in real time. This allows organizations to move from static planning cycles to more adaptive, continuous execution models.

At the same time, 46 percent of leaders report that fewer than half of their growth initiatives met expectations over the past year, reinforcing that the issue is not strategy, but execution. “The advantage is shifting from who has the best idea to who can execute on it most effectively across the organization,” said Mr. Berta.

That shift represents a fundamental change in how growth is achieved, placing greater emphasis on operating models rather than strategy alone.

AI as a System, Not a Tool

Leading organizations are beginning to move beyond isolated use cases and toward integrated systems. Instead of embedding AI within individual functions, they are connecting data, decisions, and workflows across the enterprise, enabling continuous learning and more dynamic decision-making.

“Companies that treat AI as a system, rather than a tool, are the ones most likely to unlock real growth,” noted Mr. Berta. “This approach allows firms to move faster and respond more effectively to changing market conditions, but it also requires significant investment in data infrastructure, governance, and organizational alignment. The companies that will move ahead are the ones that can align their organizations around AI, not just deploy it.”

Reprinted with permission from ExitUp!

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Co-CEO, Evan Berta, associate – Hunt Scanlon Ventures

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