June 23, 2025 • 3 min read
As artificial intelligence reshapes economies, workforces, and public services, readiness is becoming a defining challenge. The 2025 Act Now: The Road to AI-Readiness report, produced by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Accenture, provides a global look at how organizations and governments are preparing. The findings point to a central insight: technology alone isn’t enough—building human capacity is now core to responsible and effective AI adoption.
Key Findings from the Report
Many organizations report that their AI ambitions outpace their internal readiness and digital maturity.
AI education and fluency—across both workers and leadership—are seen as foundational to long-term readiness.
Leadership accountability, ethical oversight, and cultural transformation are critical components of AI governance.
Infrastructure gaps and limited access to technical resources continue to slow down equitable AI deployment globally.
Cross-sector collaboration is recommended as a lever for accelerating responsible and scalable implementation.
Case studies in health, energy, and education show that localized, mission-aligned AI use leads to greater trust and impact.
Governments are being urged to create public-private ecosystems that center inclusion, transparency, and accessibility.
The CXF Take
This report shifts the focus of the AI conversation toward areas that demand greater attention from customer experience leaders. Rather than centering solely on technology infrastructure or funding, it highlights the importance of mindset, education, and inclusive implementation. These dimensions are becoming central to how organizations design, govern, and scale AI within customer-facing functions.
AI initiatives in CX depend heavily on shared understanding across teams. From front-line service to executive leadership, everyone needs clarity on what AI tools are doing, how decisions are being made, and when human intervention is required. Building trust and fluency within teams supports both innovation and consistency in customer engagement.
The report also underscores the role of collaboration and equity in successful deployment. Organizations making meaningful progress are those building alliances, creating shared standards, and bringing diverse perspectives into their strategies. For CX teams, that means designing experiences that are explainable, adaptive, and responsive to a broad range of customer needs.
Leadership plays a direct role in this transformation. Clear frameworks, transparent feedback loops, and ethical design practices are now part of delivering credible experiences. AI readiness is evolving into a people-first challenge—requiring not just system upgrades, but a deeper investment in education, accountability, and thoughtful execution.