The latest EY study – AI Pulse – highlights a striking divide between companies’ leadership teams and consumers when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI). While 63% of executives claim to understand customer concerns, only 23% recognize the lack of accountability for harmful uses of AI as an issue. At the same time, 58% of consumers say that the absence of corporate responsibility for AI misuse is a significant problem. Additionally, 51% of surveyed executives admitted that developing governance frameworks for AI remains a challenge for their organizations.
Diverging Perceptions Between Executives and Consumers
The research shows that although most executives (63%) believe their views on AI align with those of their customers, a closer look reveals substantial discrepancies. One of the clearest divides concerns accountability for harmful or negative uses of AI. Just 23% of executives surveyed perceive this as a problem, compared to 58% of consumers – a gap of 35 percentage points.
Other notable differences include:
- AI security breaches: 32% of executives versus 64% of consumers see this as a concern.
- Insufficient privacy safeguards: 31% of executives versus 61% of consumers.
- Non-compliance with AI regulations: 23% of executives versus 52% of consumers.
“The gap between users’ concerns and executives’ perspectives may stem from unclear communication between technology teams and management, or from overconfidence in implemented solutions. Early adopters of AI often ‘took a step into the unknown,’ focusing on its competitive potential rather than the associated risks. Yet consumer sentiment on AI is unambiguous – companies must address safety and accountability issues, or risk losing the advantage they gained through early adoption,” said Radosław Frańczak, Consulting Sales Leader at EY Poland.
Greater Adoption, Wider Discrepancies
EY’s study indicates that the stage of AI adoption significantly influences how executives perceive alignment with consumer expectations. Companies still in the integration phase tend to be more cautious. Just over half (51%) of their executives believe their views align with consumers, compared to 71% of executives from organizations where AI is already embedded in business operations.
Furthermore, more than half (51%) of respondents admitted that building governance frameworks for existing AI technologies is a challenge. A considerable skills gap is also visible between the number of firms eager to adopt new AI tools and those aware of the associated risks. Nearly nine in ten executives (88%) expressed interest in Synthetic Data Generation (SDG), but only 58% were familiar with the risks tied to this technology.
Rising Regulatory Demands
“The rollout of innovative technologies such as AI is accompanied by growing regulatory requirements, which are often insufficiently reflected in corporate security strategies. It is important to remember that the recently adopted AI Act prohibits the use of systems that apply subliminal or manipulative techniques beyond a person’s awareness or that mislead users. Penalties can reach up to €35 million or 7% of annual global turnover. While the regulation is being implemented gradually across the EU, provisions on fines and general-purpose AI models already came into force on August 2 of this year,” explained Justyna Wilczyńska-Baraniak, Partner at EY Law and Leader of the Intellectual Property, Technology, and Data Protection Practice.
About the Study
The global EY survey was conducted in March and April 2025 among 975 C-suite executives responsible for AI in their organizations. Respondents represented companies with annual revenues exceeding USD 1 billion, operating across major sectors in 21 countries in North and South America, APAC, and EMEIA.
Source: CEO.com.pl
