How are companies strategizing with AI? Experts from Accenture, McKinsey, and BCG explain

Generative AI continues to be top of mind. And as for OpenAI, what a difference a year makes.

The tech company announced ChatGPT in November 2022. Fast forward to last week, Sam Altman, the cofounder of ChatGPT parent OpenAI, was ousted as CEO as the board said he “was not consistently candid.” Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, announced on Monday that Altman would be joining Microsoft. OpenAI appointed two different interim CEOs in less than a week. A petition was signed by over 700 OpenAI staff members calling for board members to resign and reinstate Altman. This morning, OpenAI announced they’ve reached an agreement for Altman to return to the company as CEO with a new initial board. (You can read Fortune’s complete coverage here).

‘There’s a little bit of FOMO’

But even as OpenAI’s saga continues, AI is accelerating rapidly. In fact, McKinsey & Co. research says generative AI could add $4 trillion to global corporate profits in coming decades. The abilities and potential of generative AI in particular could present significant opportunities for value creation by CEOs and CFOs.

However, when it comes to what, where, and why to spend dollars on AI, the messages and directives are dizzying. It’s no wonder CEOs and CFOs are caught between FOMO (fear of missing out) and FOFU (fear of failing utterly). In the early days of a technological breakthrough, it’s easy to spend a lot of money in the wrong places. 

So how are companies coming up with generative AI strategies? For my latest Fortune article, I spoke to experts at Accenture, McKinsey, and Boston Consulting Group about what clients are asking for. 

“Over the last, I’d say, eight months, in particular with generative AI, some people just want to go do AI for AI sake,” said Alex Singla, a senior partner at McKinsey and co-leader of QuantumBlack, the firm’s AI arm.

Singla said his team first looks across an institution and asks: “What are the core business problems you’re trying to solve?” And from there, he said, they assess whether or not AI can play a role.

Regarding investing in AI, some clients are looking for “the why” and “a lot are trying to get to the ‘when’—when should I dive in?” said Paul Daugherty, chief technology and innovation officer at Accenture. And for other clients, there’s a little bit of FOMO—’Am I missing out? Tell me what the others are doing.’”

Starting with the business case that’s driving the overall strategy is important, Daugherty explained. That includes taking into account the impact on the value chain of the industry, the likely use cases to start with, the types of models needed, and how processes should change.

Sesh Iyer, a managing director and senior partner at BCG, said he’s been in more than 100 discussions with CEOs and their direct reports about generative AI. Conversations have included how it differs from predictive AI—”the meaning of a large language model, and unpacking that for them”—because at the end of the day “they do want to understand the underlying technology.”

To find out more, including where companies are already seeing results, read the complete article here. And please check out the inaugural Fortune 50 AI Innovators list, released on Tuesday, that was compiled by VCs, industry analysts, and our own formidable staff of AI experts.

In recognition of the Thanksgiving holiday, the next CFO Daily will be in your inbox on Monday. And thank you for being a part of my journey through the world of corporate finance. Take care.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Some notable moves:

Kevin Burns was named CFO at Coupa, a business spend management company. Burns has more than 30 years of experience, most recently as CFO of Dynatrace (NYSE: DT). Before that, he was the CFO and COO of iCAD and AMICAS, which was acquired by Merge Healthcare.

Kristen Fries was promoted to EVP and CFO at First Resource Bank. Its holding company is First Resource Bancorp, Inc. (OTCQX: FRSB). Fries, who joined the company in 2014, was, most recently, SVP and controller.

Michael R. Leach is retiring from his role as SVP and CFO at Allient Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNT), a global engineering and manufacturing enterprise. Leach plans to retire at the end of April 2024 after a nearly nine-year career with the company.

Anastasiya “Stasy” Pasterick, CFO at Nikola Corporation, an electric truck-maker, informed the company on Nov. 13 that she is resigning from her position to pursue other opportunities. Pasterick will continue to serve as CFO and assist with a transition through Dec. 1, according to a Nov. 17 SEC filing. She was promoted to the role in March this year. Nikola is conducting a search for her successor. In the interim, key financial leadership will report directly to Stephen J. Girsky, the company’s president and CEO.

Manavendra Sial was named CFO at Tenneco, an automotive components manufacturer, effective Jan. 1. Sial succeeds former CFO Jeff Stafeil who recently left Tenneco to explore other opportunities. Sial joins Tenneco after serving as CFO of Fluence. Before that, he held EVP and CFO positions at both VECTRA and SunPower Corporation. Sial spent the first decade of his career with General Electric. 

Big deal

There's still a great need for building trust when it comes to artificial intelligence. A new Pew Research Center survey finds that Americans are increasingly cautious about the growing role of AI. Fifty-two percent of Americans are more concerned than excited about AI in daily life, compared with just 10% who say they are more excited than concerned; 36% feel a mix of excitement and concern. However, Americans do see some specific uses of AI positively, and attitudes depend a great deal on the context of how and why AI is being used, according to Pew.

Going deeper

Here are a few Fortune weekend reads:

"Tim Cook lays out what he looks for in an Apple employee—and no, a college degree isn’t necessary" by Eleanor Pringle

"Billionaire Citadel boss Ken Griffin paid for 1,200 employees and their families to go to Disneyland—and threw in a private concert with Maroon 5 and Calvin Harris" by Orianna Rosa Royle 

"Sheetz gas station chain lowers fuel prices to $1.99 for Thanksgiving week" by Chris Morris 

"These 9 health complaints could be hurting your career success—and one culprit is fueling most of them" by Erin Prater

Overheard

"I love OpenAI, and everything I’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. When I decided to join Microsoft on Sunday evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. With the new board and with Satya’s support, I’m looking forward to returning to OpenAI, and building on our strong partnership with Microsoft."

—Sam Altman, who is returning as OpenAI’s CEO, wrote in a post on X early this morning.