The process of adopting generative AI technology is ‘tearing companies apart’, with some facing power struggles, conflicts, and even sabotage, according to a new survey from enterprise AI startup, Writer.

The firm’s latest report, Generative AI Adoption in the Enterprise, has revealed that almost three-quarters (72%) of C-suite leaders report their company has faced at least one challenge on their journey to AI adoption, including a lack of genAI skills, security issues, poor quality tools, and unrealistic expectations regarding what AI can do.

Writer’s study, based on surveys with 1,600 knowledge workers including 800 executives and 800 employees, found that these issues are leading to increasing tensions between IT teams and users.

Two-thirds of C-suite leaders (68%) reported that genAI has created a division between IT departments and other business areas, while 72% of executives said their company develops AI applications in a silo.

In what is rapidly becoming a vicious circle, the detachment of IT teams from the wider business has led 36% of leaders to believe that IT teams are not delivering real value on genAI investments, with 49% saying employees have to figure out how to deploy the new tech on their own.

Those employees, however, might not have the business’s best interests in mind. Fears around AI job displacement and concerns about the quality of AI tools led 41% of employees to admit they’re sabotaging their company’s AI strategies, with some refusing to use AI tools altogether.

Employees and executives aren’t seeing eye-to-eye regarding AI implementation, either, as only 45% of employees — compared to 75% of the C-suite — believe their organisation has successfully adopted and used genAI over the past year.

Taken together, these factors are contributing to AI becoming the cause of major stress within some workplaces, with 42% of business leaders concerned that AI adoption is breaking their workforce apart.

However, the good news is that organised, business-wide planning can help mitigate the problem.

While enterprises without a formal AI strategy reported only a 37% success rate in their AI adoption, that figure rises to 80% for those with a strategy. 

The data shows that those enterprises making large, strategic investments in their AI strategy are outperforming their peers, with a 40% gap in success rates between companies that invest the most in AI and those that invest the least.

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Another way to dispel tension around AI implementation is simply to appoint and empower AI champions. Writer found that among employees using AI, 77% are AI champions, or have the potential to become AI champions, with these workers taking steps to support better implementation of AI across their entire organisation.

Not only that, but 98% of these AI champions have already helped to create more AI tools for their businesses, or would like to do so.    

“The future belongs to companies that are actively transforming their organisations by deeply embedding AI into every function and team,” concludes the report.

“These leaders have a clear roadmap that emphasises trust and alignment, moving AI from isolated pilots to real-world, mission-critical applications. 

“They empower AI champions with easy-to-use technology, ensuring that teams can integrate AI seamlessly into their workflows and have a role in building the AI solutions they need.

“With a strong strategy, meaningful investment, and the right technology partnership, AI shifts from a source 
 of friction to a force for change, unlocking entirely new possibilities for organisations and the people behind them.”