Why CFOs should reset their expectations on AI's impact

Despite continued investment and mounting enthusiasm around artificial intelligence, a new Gartner survey suggests the technology’s impact on workforce productivity is less transformative than hoped.

Speaking at the Gartner CFO & Finance Executive Conference 2025 in Sydney, Randeep Rathindran, Distinguished Vice President in Gartner’s Finance practice, outlined the reality behind the hype.

According to Rathindran, “Despite the excitement surrounding AI, its impact on productivity has been inconsistent, leading to what some describe as the AI productivity paradox.”

Gartner surveyed 724 professionals across multiple functions between June and August 2024. The results reveal that just 37% of teams using traditional AI and 34% using generative AI reported strong productivity gains.

In essence, AI’s impact has so far been comparable to that of other emerging technologies, rather than an outsized game-changer.

While select segments such as call centers have seen measurable improvements, broader organizational results have remained patchy.

Marketing functions reported the highest productivity boost, while legal and HR teams saw little benefit—highlighting the uneven distribution of gains depending on context and implementation.

Unmet Expectations

The survey results serve as a reality check for finance leaders who may be counting on AI to streamline operations or reduce labor costs. Implementation delays, inflated expectations, and challenges in quantifying performance improvements all contribute to the underwhelming results.

Crucially, Rathindran urged CFOs to recalibrate their assumptions. “CFOs should recalibrate expectations on how AI will truly impact worker productivity and headcount,” he said. Rather than viewing AI as an immediate path to cost or labor savings, finance teams should focus on the internal conditions required for AI to generate value.

That includes eliminating bottlenecks in workflows, rethinking team structures, and shifting time from manual tasks to higher-value activities. Gartner’s research suggests that teams which embrace experimentation and learning, rather than fearing job displacement, are better positioned to extract value from AI adoption.

Strategic Imperatives

Gartner’s guidance for CFOs is to challenge assumptions baked into AI-related business cases—particularly around short-term productivity gains or workforce reductions.

Instead, finance leaders should focus on creating a culture that encourages exploration and iteration, while sensitising the broader C-suite to the organisational behaviours that either inhibit or enable meaningful returns.

“As AI and GenAI continue to evolve, their transformative promise remains undeniable,” said Rathindran. “However, organizations must ground their expectations in current realities and focus on the factors that truly drive productivity gains.”

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