UK business chiefs: GenAI a positive disruptor and increased expectation on full return to in office working

• 71% of UK business leaders see opportunity in GenAI for creating a highly skilled and productive workforce, which doesn’t lead to mass job reductions. A further third said it will create more jobs.
• The number of UK chief execs expecting a full return to office working jumps by nearly 20% compared to last year.
• UK CEOs still upbeat about future growth of UK economy and their own businesses - although confidence dipped slightly since last year.

UK chief executives see implementing Generative AI (GenAI) as an opportunity to change the nature of work and create highly skilled workforces without reducing the number of jobs in the market, according to KPMG’s 10^th annual CEO Outlook survey.

KPMG surveyed more than 1,300 CEOs around the world - 150 in the UK - in July and August, revealing that two thirds of UK CEOs (65% and 76% globally) see GenAI as a positive disruptor with 68% (65% globally) agreeing that GenAI remains a top investment priority.

The majority of UK chief executives (71% and 76% global) said GenAI will not fundamentally impact the number of jobs in the market, instead existing jobs could be redeployed, and the new tech is expected to enable upskilling. A further third said it will create more jobs. This belief is replicated across the broader population of CEOs around the globe.

And while UK chief executives see GenAI as an opportunity, they see cyber security as the main risk to growth over the next three years – a risk that wasn’t even top three last year.

Commenting on the survey’s findings Jon Holt, Chief Executive and Senior Partner of KPMG UK, said:

“GenAI presents a genuine opportunity to help solve the UK’s productivity puzzle and chief execs see it as a positive disrupter, which will change the nature of work. But they are also alive to the threat of cyber security, which is why care must be taken with any GenAI roll out.

“As an engine for economic growth the UK services industry is at the cutting edge of embracing GenAI, helping clients transform their businesses, drive growth and speed ahead in the race to embed this revolutionary technology.

“The GenAI story is changing every day, and this is only the beginning. But the leaders who do get it right, can look to a motivated workforce, empowered to do more interesting and productive work.” 

More chief executives expect a full return to office working in next three years

The debate about hybrid working continued for chief executives, with 83% of UK bosses (also 83% globally) believing there will be a return to pre-pandemic ways of working (in-office) within the next three years, up from 64% in 2023. While 81% (87% globally) say they are likely to reward employees who come into the office, up significantly from 56% in 2023.

UK bosses are evenly split in terms of prioritising investment in skills (49%) and capital investment (51%), while the number of employees retiring without a skilled workforce to replace them with is the largest issue for almost a third (30%) of UK CEOs when it comes to workforce management.

UK CEOs still upbeat on growth of UK economy and their own businesses

While encouragingly 75% of CEOs in the UK are still upbeat about their companies’ growth prospects, this has seen a slight drop from 77% last year. Business leaders surveyed also revealed they are less confident in the growth of the UK’s economy compared to last year (79% down from 83%), with this confidence dropping to 70% when considering global economic growth (down from 73% last year).

Economic uncertainty and embracing new tech are the challenges chief executives face today, while cyber security and supply chain issues pose the greatest threat over the next three years – risks that weren’t top of mind last year.

Despite these concerns, over the next three years a third of UK CEOs said they expect their headcount to increase between 6-10% (34% UK and 31% global) with M&A activity and organic growth driving their strategies, alongside investment in GenAI.