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Today’s AI is clearly a foundational part of future business models, but achieving scalable transformation requires substantial effort. PwC's strategy consulting business reveals its 9-step approach to harvesting tangible economic returns.

Since the previous edition, we've reviewed hundreds of the latest agentic and gen AI best practices, case studies, and innovation insights. Here’s the top 1%...

In today’s edition:

• PwC Strategy& unveils AI adoption approach.

• McKinsey's global AI trust maturity survey.

• OpenAI introduces Codex.

• IBM: Agentic AI risk and opportunity.

• Transformation and technology in the news.

• Career opportunities & events.

Read time: 4 minutes.

BEST PRACTICE INSIGHT

PwC Strategy& unveils AI adoption approach

Brief: PwC Strategy& shared a 20-page playbook outlining its 9-step AI adoption approach, featuring illustrative accelerators from a recent manufacturing engagement. The core elements are industry-agnostic.

Breakdown:

• Begin with an AI readiness check to identify adoption constraints, list potential use cases, and rank them by value and feasibility.

• Build a business case, group use cases into implementation waves, and enlist executive sponsorship based on a shared view of expected benefits.

• Define the operating model and architecture to enable scale, then build a roadmap to plan the release of use cases’ and supporting initiatives.

• Monitor use cases, track results, and refine the roadmap. All 9 steps are explored in greater detail throughout the playbook.

• It also features illustrative accelerators like PwC’s Use Case Compass, operating model archetypes, responsible AI framework, and more.

Why it’s important: While more profitable business models are now possible leveraging AI-enabled capabilities, many enterprises face challenges in capturing value. PwC Strategy& offers a pragmatic, structured approach to start addressing these challenges and driving AI adoption.

MARKET INSIGHT

McKinsey's global AI trust maturity survey

Brief: McKinsey surveyed over 750 leaders across 38 countries, assessing the state of responsible AI (RAI) maturity in enterprises using its AI Trust Maturity Model and highlighting RAI’s role in capturing value.

Breakdown:

• RAI helps mitigate risk, build trust, ensure accountability, and maximise impact by addressing issues like data governance, explainability, security.

• McKinsey assessed survey results across four AI Trust Maturity Model dimensions: strategy, risk management, data/tech, and operating model.

• The average RAI maturity score for organizations surveyed was 2.0 on a scale of 0 to 4. Level 2 described about 36 percent of respondents.

• Most organizations are still in the process of integrating RAI practices like risk indicators, data quality guidelines, and incident response plans.

• Technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) and financial and professional services lead with an average RAI maturity score of 2.1

Why it’s important: Enterprises that derive the most value from AI will be those that build trust with customers, employees, and stakeholders. Fundamentally, people must trust AI to work with it. Strong evaluations, transparency and explainability all contribute, alongside flexible governance.

INNOVATION INSIGHT

OpenAI introduces Codex

Brief: OpenAI introduced Codex, a cloud-based software engineering agent that can work on many tasks in parallel, powered by codex-1. Available to ChatGPT Pro, Team, and Enterprise users, with support for Plus and Edu coming soon.

Breakdown:

• OpenAI previously launched Codex CLI, a local AI coding assistant that runs in the terminal, enabling real-time, synchronous collaboration.

• Now, it has released Codex, a software engineering agent that runs tasks in parallel, each in its own cloud sandbox, preloaded with repository.

• The agent is typically used to offload repetitive, well-scoped tasks like refactoring, renaming, and writing tests, which would break focus.

• Powered by Codex-1, an OpenAI o3 version optimized for software engineering, Codex is already rolling out to Enterprise users.

• Codex currently lacks features like image inputs for frontend work and the ability to course-correct during tasks.

Why it’s important: With OpenAI’s deep enterprise reach and coding emerging as the most promising AI use case for many customers, this release is set to be impactful. Interaction modes are converging: developers can ask questions, get suggestions, and offload tasks in one unified workflow.

BEST PRACTICE INSIGHT

IBM: Agentic AI risk and opportunity

Brief: IBM published a 36-page report exploring agentic AI opportunities, risks, and responsible implementation, and why financial institutions must reimagine governance from the ground up. Most insights are relevant across industries.

Breakdown:

• Agentic AI is creating a novel risk landscape beyond traditional AI, requiring a shift in risk management due to its self-directed nature.

• For instance, as principal agents, depicted above, delegate to service and task agents, human intent can be distorted or lost.

• When agents handle KYC, loan approvals, or fraud detection, real-time monitoring is critical. The report outlines over 50 controls.

• IBM stresses “compliance by design,” embedding risk controls directly into AI systems as integral components of system architecture.

• It also covers the evolution of AI agents, outlines practical steps to get started, and includes a 27-step RACI matrix to manage agentic AI.

Why it’s important: Agentic AI is early in its development but already planning, executing, and escalating decisions across onboarding, fraud, loans, and compliance. The choices enterprises make today will determine whether they lead at the frontier or fall behind, reacting to competitors.

McKinsey explored the new economics of enterprise technology in an AI world and published a 24-page report on Africa's gen AI opportunity.

IBM published a 32-page report on enterprise AI agents and demonstrated how to build an agentic workflow using CrewAI and IBM’s Granite models.

BCG outlined how gen AI is reshaping online engagement and how brands can stay visible by becoming cited sources in AI-generated search results.

PwC's AI Agent Survey found that companies are increasing AI investments and realizing productivity gains, but few are truly transforming work.

Deloitte shared gen AI insights for US state/local governments, a 48-page report on India’s AI data center drive, and updates on AI accelerators.

C3 launched STAFF, an intelligent agent suite that automates the creation and deployment of enterprise multi-agent workflows.

Klarna plans to recruit more human customer service agents after a full tilt toward AI-based support roles resulted in lower quality work.

Google shared seven VC trends in a 29-page report. Top of the list: AI-powered enterprise software is driving the next major chapter in tech investment.

Microsoft introduced three enhancements to model fine-tuning in Azure AI Foundry, helping enterprises create customized, domain-adapted AI systems.

Anthropic is expected to launch new Claude Sonnet and Opus models in the “upcoming weeks,” featuring hybrid thinking and expanded tool use.

Salesforce is acquiring Convergence AI, an AI agent startup, with plans to integrate its team and tech into the Agentforce platform.

AWS released Strands Agents, an Open Source AI SDK, and made AWS Transform generally available to accelerate enterprise migration with agentic AI.

OpenAI launched a Safety Evaluations Hub to display test results on harmful content, hallucinations, and jailbreak resistance of its AI models.

Google is reportedly set to reveal a dev-focused “always-on coworker” at I/O 2025 this week, which supports the full software development lifecycle.

OpenAI and Microsoft are renegotiating partnership terms, with Microsoft reportedly offering to reduce its equity stake for technology access beyond 2030.

Meta’s Llama Behemoth model is reportedly delayed from June to the Fall due to limited performance gains.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Mastercard - AI Consulting Director

Cognizant - Responsible AI Senior Director

DHL - AI Director

EVENTS

Writer - AI Leaders Forum - June 3, 2025

OpenAI - Production-Ready Apps - June 18, 2025

Gartner - AI Value Creation - June 19, 2025

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