Half of chief executive officers in Canada are hiring for roles that didn’t exist within their company a year ago, finds a new report, highlighting the rapid impact of artificial intelligence technology.
Productivity gains are the key driver behind leaders’ desire to adopt generative AI, including the ability to automate routine tasks, optimize workflows, analyze data, and provide actionable insights, according to the 2025 IBM Institute for Business Value CEO Study. But tech is even changing how employers hire talent, too.
In 2025, “AI can take on many of the routine tasks that had burned out high-value people,” writes IBM Vice Chairman Gary Cohn in the report. “It’s no longer a question of whether to use AI—but where AI will give you the greatest lift and how you should redeploy your people to accelerate growth.”
More than 70% of CEOs in Canada are actively adopting AI Agents, the report found, a notch above the global average of 61%.
“Canadian CEOs are taking bold steps to integrate AI into their operations, signalling a clear understanding of its transformative potential,” said Rob Wilmot, General Manager for IBM Canada.
However, just 14% of AI initiatives have successfully scaled AI across organizations, according to the report, with only 27% of those projects delivering expected ROI.
“This isn’t just about adopting AI; it’s about embedding it thoughtfully and effectively across the organization,” Wilmot says. “The IBM study indicates that Canadian businesses have the ambition—Now it’s time to focus on execution.”
To stay competitive in an AI-driven future, Canadian CEOs are adopting new strategies to address workforce challenges, including upskilling existing talent, hiring for emerging AI-related roles, and integrating AI assistants into workflows, the report found.
Indeed, we’ve already heard from other expert sources that “upskilling is no longer a choice, but a necessity for career progression.”
The IBM study surveyed 2,000 CEOs across more than 30 countries and two dozen industries.
