Just over half of executives—53%—are using AI “across the enterprise,” while the remainder are using it for “some initiatives,” the survey found. This is actually a decrease from the last two years—63% were using AI enterprise-wide in 2024, and 62% reported that blanket usage in 2023. This may indicate that companies are figuring out what AI can do best for them and concentrating its use in certain areas that have the most impact. Still, 56% are reporting an ROI of under 5% for their AI initiatives, so those more impactful uses are still developing.

Right now, AI is relied upon as a strategic partner for several companies. More than four out of five respondents said AI is delivering significant gains to enhance decision making, operate more efficiently and improve product or service quality. Many of these functions are outside the traditional realm of the CIO’s office, as CEOs are becoming much more involved in AI decision making. The proportion of CEOs making decisions on AI has more than doubled since last year: 55% now from 26% last year. COOs and CFOs have also seen their involvement in AI decisions exponentially increase, with COOs going from 2% last year to 41% this year, and CFOs increasing from 1% last year to 38% this year. CIOs are still the most involved in AI decisions, taking part in 71% of them.

As companies transition from the novelty of implementing AI to making it work effectively, there are many bumps in the road. Matt Calkins, CEO of AI-powered automation and orchestration platform Appian, says that there seems to be an “AI bubble” now—not referring to what’s going on with AI company valuations, but because prices for AI are high and the value to companies is lacking. He told me that’s more of a function of using AI for trivial tasks. An excerpt from our conversation about AI, as well as progress toward regulations, is later in this newsletter.

We are currently accepting nominations for the Forbes CIO Next 2025 list. We’re looking for innovators who have had significant impacts both at their own companies and for other tech leaders on the whole. (And yes, you can nominate yourself.) Nominations are accepted until 5 p.m. ET October 30.

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This deal gives AMD a significant boost in both business in general and in its standing in the AI ecosystem. The company’s stock is up more than 38% in the last week, and the deal is a guarantee that AMD will continue to be a major player. Vasmi Boppana, AMD’s senior vice president of AI, told Forbes’ Richard Nieva that the deal was the result of both the performance of AMD’s chips and their software, which can unlock AI’s power.

The OpenAI-AMD deal—and several others like it, involving tech companies that are working on AI platforms and infrastructure companies that make hardware or operate data centers—is an example of AI billionaires getting richer through deals with one another, writes Forbes’ Phoebe Liu. She writes that the spate of deals seems to stem from a stampede mentality. 

“There’s so much impatience and desire to move quickly, and fear of getting left behind, that there’s a very high premium on getting the most you can the fastest,” Stella Biderman, executive director of AI nonprofit EleutherAI, told Liu.

The tech billionaire who has so far profited the most this year from the AI boom is Oracle’s Larry Ellison, but Oracle isn’t the only legacy tech company reinvigorated by AI. On Wednesday, Dell’s stock hit an all-time intraday high after nearly doubling its long-term guidance on demand for data centers. “As AI continues to expand into businesses and governments around the world, the opportunity ahead is massive,” chairman and CEO Michael Dell said in a statement.

This ChatGPT functionality comes through OpenAI’s new Apps SDK platform. In a statement, OpenAI said that other companies will be connected with the chatbot soon, including Instacart, Target, AllTrails and Uber. Any developer can work now on building apps to connect with ChatGPT through the Apps SDK platform, which is available as a preview. OpenAI says it will start accepting app submissions for review and publication, and will share details on potential monetization.

While this disparity might just arise from the nature of private company boards—they’re often made up of founders and early funders, two areas in which women tend to be underrepresented—companies should be diligent and try to broaden their board representation. Adding independent director seats to boards—for people who have something to add, but aren’t directly involved with the company—is one way. But calling out this disparity also can be enough to make a difference. Crunchbase writes that five years ago, a third of all California-based public companies had no women board members. Nowadays, all-male boards are a very rare exception.

Some Silicon Valley startups are bringing the 70-hour work week back. And while there is a lot to do, extreme hours can undermine worker (and executive) performance. Here’s why longer hours are not a good idea.