Boston Consulting Group

Summer is a time to catch up on reading and get ahead of all the latest AI trends. These four BCG publications explore the questions leaders are asking now: How AI will reshape jobs rather than replace them, why strategy matters more than tools, which human capabilities will become more valuable as AI adoption grows, and how leaders can prepare for multiple futures. Explore BCG's AI Summer Reading List here: • AI Will Reshape More Jobs Than It Replaces on.bcg.com/4xieoqC • Beyond Tomorrow: Four Scenarios for the World of 2050 on.bcg.com/4g4Ynyd • AI at Work: Strategy Matters More Than Tools on.bcg.com/3RCCP2L • When Everyone Uses AI, Companies Risk Losing Critical Skills on.bcg.com/3TxOJeL

The AI “honeymoon” is ending for many organizations right now. Early on, novelty drove momentum. Employees enjoyed the cognitive stretch, the new capabilities, the sense of possibility. Adoption climbed, and satisfaction scores looked good. But BCG's fourth annual AI at Work survey shows that as the novelty fades, employee joy usually drops unless something else takes over. That something is strategic clarity. Employees who receive clear direction on where AI is taking the organization and what to do with the time it frees up consistently outperform those with greater access to AI tools but no direction. Read BCG’s 2026 AI at Work report here: on.bcg.com/4xwnUqK

BCG X’s Hamid Maher has experienced firsthand the harmful impact of climate change on his home country of Morocco. Despite this, he is hopeful AI solutions like Climate & Sustainability AI by BCG X can make a difference. Find out how AI is a catalyst for informed action and strategic investments. on.bcg.com/4uXUSOh

Three times the marketing ROI. Tenfold improvement in campaign cycle times. 20–30% productivity improvements. These aren't projections. They're what CMOs are already seeing when AI is deployed across the full marketing function, not just in isolated tools. BCG experts share what sets AI leaders apart—from workflow orchestration to data activation—and how those choices make a difference. #BCGinCannes

Skills that leaders identify as key to long-term organizational performance—judgment, problem understanding, creative thinking, and more—are the ones that they consider most at risk due to AI. When this skill attrition occurs across thousands of people simultaneously, the business's collective intelligence quietly degrades. This is “distributed de-skilling”—a collective erosion of human skills that undermines organizational intelligence and resilience over time. Here are six strategies to mitigate de-skilling risk: on.bcg.com/4gzBrrs

AI is making work both better and harder: regular AI users report higher job satisfaction, but it’s also increased mental strain from using it. Most companies try to solve this problem with AI tools, but BCG's fourth annual AI at Work survey points to something different. Among employees who receive clear strategic direction on AI, outcomes are better across the board. More value captured, higher job satisfaction, stronger trust in leadership. Strategic clarity isn't only a communications exercise. It's a leadership commitment. Read BCG’s 2026 AI at Work report here: on.bcg.com/4vY6AcU

Learn how Kate Johnson, CEO of Lumen, reimagined the company for the AI era. A new CEO Moments of Truth episode is out now. on.bcg.com/4xaln5I

BCG's Tawfik Hammoud on how AI is rewiring consulting. The cost of inaction is higher than the cost of imperfection. The CEOs getting it right are fundamentally rethinking their companies for the AI age—and that’s rewiring what clients need from their consulting partners. At BCG, we work shoulder to shoulder with clients to combine strategic clarity and applied AI for transformative impact. Find out more: on.bcg.com/4vJrkou

While most CEOs know AI is a priority, it can be hard to know where to focus transformation efforts. The leaders pulling ahead are getting hands-on: building tools, testing them, and finding out exactly how to apply AI within workflows and operations. BCG brings what's needed most right now: strategic clarity and applied AI, connecting data with the human expertise to drive real impact. Dylan Bolden shares how BCG is partnering with its clients: on.bcg.com/3RSGoS9

The social sector is already embracing AI. The opportunity now is to go further, bringing frontier capabilities to the organizations working on health, education, climate, and economic opportunity, at a scale that matches the size of the problems. BCG is committing $500 million to advance AI for social impact by 2030, starting with a partnership with @AnthropicAI and involving up to 20 leading social impact organizations this year. Across the sector, from NGOs and governments to development finance institutions and philanthropies, organizations will have access to AI shaped around the work they actually do. Because inclusive technology can create a future that works for everyone. on.bcg.com/4ob6iMT

Hidden costs can quietly drain millions from a business. For COOs, finding that money isn't just a financial exercise; it's a strategic one. At the #FortuneCOOSummit, @BCG hosted a breakfast conversation exploring where these costs hide, how AI can reveal inefficiencies, and real-world experience from operational leaders who have reclaimed lost value across their organizations. Learn more: bit.ly/3QdncxX

AI is already saving employees time. The bigger question is: where is that time going? Among frontline employees—individual white-collar employees with no managerial responsibilities—42% who are regular AI users report saving the equivalent of a full workday, but most organizations haven’t figured out how to convert the time into value. As AI adoption scales, the challenge for leaders is shifting from deploying tools to redesigning work, reallocating capacity, and capturing the value created. Read BCG's fourth annual AI at Work survey to explore why strategy, not just technology, is the defining factor in AI success: on.bcg.com/4x2gCec

Business leaders are navigating an era of unprecedented change and disruption, powered by technology, marked by complexity. To lead well, companies need a partner that can bridge the gap between ambition and outcomes. BCG brings strategic clarity, rooted in over 60 years of deep domain knowledge, combined with applied AI. The result? Transformative impact at scale. BCG’s CEO, Christoph Schweizer, shares how BCG is mobilizing to help our clients meet this moment. on.bcg.com/4fcIOom

In order to help firms deliver effective organizational change, BCG is today publishing a new book about How Change Really Works, firmly rooted in the science of how people change. Order your copy today: on.bcg.com/3RfGUt3

When Cathay Pacific set out to transform its global airline operations, it deployed BCG and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' powerful decision-support system. With advanced real-time data analytics and AI-based solutions from the BCG and KLM partnership, like Pathfinder and Sentry, Cathay Pacific’s Integrated Operations Centre is now optimizing aircraft allocation, dynamically adjusting schedules, and minimizing disruptions. Learn more about how Cathay Pacific is leveraging AI-powered decision-making solutions to deliver on its customer promise: bcg.com/x/mark-your-mo…

How do you steer your organization through a successful transformation? That’s the question BCG's new book How Change Really Works sets out to answer. It draws on behavioral science, global transformation experience, and real-world examples to explore the science of how people behave during a transformation. Pre-order your copy now: on.bcg.com/433LkFU

Change efforts fail more often than they succeed. In fact, 75% of transformations fail. And that success rate hasn’t improved in decades. BCG’s new book lays out seven science-based principles to help overcome the issues that can derail a transformation. Find out more: on.bcg.com/4cSJHAM

BCG's CEO Christoph Schweizer speaks with Karin Rådström, CEO of Daimler Truck AG, about how she is mobilizing her workforce around a simpler, faster, stronger way of working. Check out the CEO Moments of Truth episode: on.bcg.com/3QDBEiI

AI is changing all the rules of work, and if you're working just 10% better, then you're working just like your competitors. BCG’s Julie Bedard explains how AI has made work reinvention a mandate for CEOs. on.bcg.com/3OqU1Xm

Where should an Indian brand start when going global? In this episode of India for the World series by Mint in collaboration with @BCG, Abheek Singhi, Managing Director & Senior Partner, BCG joins Saugata Gupta, MD & CEO, @MaricoLimited, and Soumya Gupta, Mint, to break it down into a simple 3-part playbook: build a differentiated idea, create emotional resonance, and scale globally with local relevance. Watch the full conversation to uncover what it really takes to win on the world stage: youtube.com/watch?v=cKG9j2… #IndiaForTheWorld #IFTW #LeadershipPodcast #BrandBuilding