1. AI drives revenue growth

If you want your workers to grow the top line, give them AI. Since 2022, revenue growth globally per employee in AI-exposed industries like tech and telecom has surged — up 27%. That’s over three times the growth seen in less AI-ready sectors like logging and construction, which averaged just 8.5%.

As we see it, the revenue-per-worker surge is just getting started. Around the world, 100% of industries, including “old economy” ones like mining, are planning to use more and more AI. In tech and telecom in the US, job listings were almost 10 times more likely to ask specifically for AI skills in 2024 than a decade earlier.

2. As AI spreads, wages rise

Globally, wages are rising more than twice as fast (16.7% vs 7.9%) in industries most exposed to AI, compared to those that are the least exposed. AI's boost in revenue-per-worker can enable companies to pay these higher salaries while increasing profits.

Between 2019 and 2024, US job postings in occupations most exposed to AI — such as software developers and finance managers — grew by just 1% per year. Meanwhile, roles least exposed to AI, like bricklayers and food preparers, saw 20% growth. We’re seeing this shift firsthand, both with our clients and within our own firm: AI is redefining how value is created. Organizations are growing faster, often without needing to significantly expand their workforce.

3. A new skills market is already here

As AI replicates more and more traditional human skills, the non-AI-skills that companies need are changing too. Your finance team, for example, may need fewer reconciliation skills and more skills in advising the business.

In job postings in the US, those professions most exposed to AI have seen a 55% greater change in skills requested by employers than in professions that are less exposed. But as AI spreads, the skills needed in each profession could likely change.

4. AI agents offer a fast path to value

When AI can drive three times the revenue growth per employee, your people should have access to it, and your operations should be built to harness it. The rise of agentic AI has put this transformation in reach for companies. AI agents can act intelligently, autonomously and in teams, and they can be built on modular, reusable blocks of code — enabling new kinds of automation and faster, more cost-effective scale.

Source: PwC's AI Agent Survey

Seventy-nine percent of respondents say AI agents are already being adopted in their companies. Of those adopting AI agents, two-thirds (66%) say that agents are already delivering measurable value through increased productivity. Based on our experience, productivity is just the first step. New revenue streams come next.

5. It’s time for a new operating model

AI is so powerful and scalable, if you use it just to make existing processes a little more efficient, you could be left behind. To thrive, companies need a new operating model: one that harnesses people and AI agents in teams.

Using AI agents in teams is critical, because one AI agent usually just does one narrow task. It’s when you use a platform like PwC’s agent OS to orchestrate multiple agents into workflows — where they work hand-in-hand with people and your existing enterprise apps— that you can transform even complex tasks: serving customers, managing supply chains, developing software, optimizing capital allocations and procurement, and more.

What to do now

Most companies aren’t doing enough. Tweaking workforce strategies, automating around the edges, or upskilling for the same old roles won’t cut it. It’s time to move fast and build a new operating model — one where AI agents enhance each part of how you create and deliver value.

We see it in our own operations and with clients: This transformation is possible. It can pay for itself quickly, then keep generating more and more value. Here’s how to start.

• Get fast value from agents. In the right places, AI agents can pay for themselves quickly — and create value that compounds over time. In many companies, for example, agents can replace offshore solutions.
• Rethink the skills you're providing. Assess what skills agents can (or soon can) replicate, what skills people need to work with agents, and what new skills can support new roles, once agents are providing your people with extra time and new insights.
• Change your hiring strategy. You’re probably already doing this somewhat: adjusting the roles and skills you need, now that AI agents can act in place of many traditional roles. But it’s important to do this at scale and plan for what agents could be doing six or twelve months from now.
• Build new workflows. If you just use agents to make current workflows flow a little faster, you’ll leave value on the table. Instead, take a blank sheet approach: redesign workflows so agents can automate much of existing processes, while people spend time overseeing agents and on strategy and stakeholder relations.
• Build a new company. With AI enabling surges in productivity, speed and accuracy, you may need a new business strategy: one that takes on new competitors, enters new markets and creates new competitive advantages.