New Eightfold AI Report: Companies Sidelining CHROs Are Failing at AI; AI Leaders Are 15x More Productive

A study of 700 global executives reveals a stark divide: AI Beginners are crippled by skills gaps and resistance, while AI Leaders who make the CHRO-CIO partnership essential are seeing 13x higher shareholder value

Survey research in this report was provided by ThoughtLabs.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new research study published today by Eightfold AI, the leader in Workforce Intelligence AI, reveals why most enterprise AI transformations are stalling. The critical error is not technology, it’s the failure to treat AI as a talent-first transformation.

The report, "AI Transformation: The New Role of the CHRO," found that AI Leaders—the top 24% of organizations—are achieving breakthrough results, including 14.7 times higher staff productivity and 13 times higher shareholder value. Their secret: they empower the CHRO-CIO alliance as the "AI power couple."

The Great Divide: AI Beginners Face a Human Barrier

The study, which surveyed 700 C-suite executives and senior leaders, finds most companies are stuck in the "messy middle," crippled by human and organizational hurdles, not technical ones. The top barriers to AI adoption are lack of AI skills (64%), staff resistance to AI (55%), and organizational silos (47%).

AI Beginners—organizations in the planning stages—are failing because they sideline their talent leaders. A stunning 78% of AI Beginners believe the CHRO plays only a small role in AI transformation. As a direct result, 92% of AI Beginners report lack of AI skills as their top challenge, creating a critical point of failure.

"This report is a wake-up call. Companies treating AI as just an IT project are setting themselves up for failure," said Amber Grewal, Chief Growth Officer at Eightfold and two-time CHRO. "The 15x productivity gains are reserved for those companies that understand this is a human-first, AI-powered revolution. This is the CHRO's domain. The data finally proves that talent management isn't a support function; it's the single most important differentiator for AI programs that scale."

The CHRO Edge: Leaders Make AI a Talent-First Revolution

AI Leaders, by contrast, have cracked the code. The report shows that as organizations mature, they discover that talent strategy is the linchpin of AI success. A full 90% of AI Leaders believe a strong partnership between the CHRO and CIO is essential for AI transformation, compared to just 1% of AI Beginners. The CHRO Edge gives them an 81 percentage point advantage in overcoming the AI skills gap, making them significantly better at addressing staff resistance and breaking down silos.

"This data proves our core belief: AI transformation is fundamentally a talent transformation," Grewal continued. "The 81-point skills gap between AI Leaders and AI Beginners is a chasm that legacy HR tools simply cannot bridge. This is why we built the Talent Intelligence AI platform—to give CHROs and CIOs the engine to upskill, reskill, and redeploy their entire workforce for the AI-first era."

Download the Report

Download "AI Transformation: The New Role of the CHRO" at https://eightfold.ai/learn/ai-transformation-new-role-chro-talent-survey

Methodology

The research, conducted by ThoughtLabs and sponsored by Eightfold AI, surveyed 700 business executives, including 400 CHROs and senior HR leaders, 200 C-level technology team chiefs, and 100 C-level business leaders from organizations in the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific with at least 1,000 employees.

About Eightfold AI

Eightfold AI is the pioneer of the Workforce Intelligence AI Platform, the world's first AI-native platform built for enterprise talent. Our patented deep-learning AI combines enterprise data, market insights, and user interactions to create a complete picture of talent across the entire employment life cycle. A third of Fortune 500 companies rely on Eightfold's platform to guide their talent strategy, showing them how partnering with AI can unlock the power of their people and unleash their full potential.

Eightfold AI Communications
415 488 6390

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Survey research in this report was provided by ThoughtLabs.

There are big benefits in AI transformations who put their CHRO at the strategy table.

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