The GenAI Divide: Why AI Isn’t the Advantage — Leadership Is
The Real Returns of AI Have Yet to Be Seen
AI has reached the point where nearly every organization is experimenting with it. Yet according to MIT’s State of AI in Business 2025 report, very few are seeing real returns.
After examining more than 300 AI projects across industries, MIT found that 95% of organizations report little to no measurable impact. Despite billions invested, most efforts stall before they make a difference. The report calls this the GenAI Divide, the gap between those who experiment and those who successfully integrate AI into business outcomes.
What’s Really Holding Companies Back
The issue isn’t technology or regulation. It’s learning.
Most AI tools perform tasks well but don’t retain context or adapt to how people actually work. That means productivity gains are often short-lived once the novelty fades.
Many teams use tools like ChatGPT or Copilot for individual efficiency, but enterprise systems that require customization often fail to scale because they don’t fit naturally into existing workflows. MIT researchers also describe a growing “shadow AI economy” where employees use their own AI tools outside official systems to work faster and more creatively. The desire to use AI is strong; the systems just haven’t caught up.
The Human Divide
What separates the few who make AI work from the many who don’t isn’t just infrastructure or investment. It’s growth leadership.
The companies seeing real transformation are led by creative, curious, and courageous thinkers who see AI not as a threat to talent but as an amplifier of it. They encourage experimentation, reward learning, and bring together cross-functional teams that bridge strategy, product, and technology.
At Ari Agency, we see this across our executive search practice. The leaders who are thriving in this next wave aren’t the ones chasing tools; they’re the ones shaping how people use them. Hiring creative and curious people who can learn, adapt, and connect the dots will accelerate AI far more than any algorithm alone.
The Takeaway
AI will keep advancing at a rapid pace, but true progress will always come from people. The right growth leadership is what turns potential into performance and technology into impact.
