AI has transitioned from experimentation to execution, but most enterprises still lack a crucial capability: people prepared to use it effectively.

To better understand the state of AI adoption in large U.S. enterprises, we surveyed 252 C-suite and VP-level executives at companies with over 1,000 employees.

The results of Codio’s Enterprise AI Readiness survey show that, while investments in AI training are increasing, the biggest obstacle now is the ability to educate and upskill teams.

Today’s #1 barrier: the AI people gap

Even among the most advanced organizations, talent readiness is holding back progress.

For example, 60% of leaders cite the inability to properly upskill teams as their top barrier to AI adoption, and 54% report that more than half of their workforce will require significant upskilling or reskilling. These responses show no clear consensus on how many roles require reskilling, signaling uncertainty and a lack of structure.

Only 13% of companies report widespread AI deployment, with most still in planning or pilot phases, indicating that companies are investing in AI tools faster than they can properly train their employees to use them responsibly and effectively.

Bridging the Gap: The Upskilling Imperative

AI investment in training is strong, but often unfocused, as 84% of leaders expect their AI training budgets to increase in the coming year.

The organizations spending the most are expecting the largest productivity gains, often double-digit increases in under two years. It’s important to note that while AI success correlates directly with training investment, without measurement or alignment, ROI is hard to prove.

Upskilling to bridge the talent gap will be essential, with leaders highlighting AI oversight and governance, prompt engineering/applied AI usage as the most sought-after skills due to AI. Data literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving are also highly in demand.

Organizations recognize AI’s productivity-boosting potential. But without clear insight into who needs training and how to deliver hands-on learning at scale, investment alone won’t bridge the skill gap.

AI transformation depends on education transformation, and Codio enables both.

Ready to close your organization's AI skills gap?

Connect with Codio today to explore how our enterprise-ready AI learning platform can support your transformation.