AI drives big returns, CFOs confirm

The Shift in AI Investment Perceptions

Finance chiefs once questioned the returns on investing in artificial intelligence. Those days are gone. At The Wall Street Journal’s CFO Council Summit in Palo Alto, Calif., finance leaders from tech, retail, and financial services sectors shared how their companies are seeing significant gains in efficiency and productivity through generative AI. These benefits have translated into millions of dollars in savings and improved operational performance.

AI as a Strategic Asset

CFOs are taking a proactive role in their company’s AI transformation. They are evaluating performance metrics, pushing for productivity improvements, and clearly communicating the value of AI to employees who may be hesitant. Gina Mastantuono, president and CFO of ServiceNow, emphasized that the key is ensuring employees understand that AI is not about replacing jobs but about enhancing capabilities. “People who use AI are going to take your job if you don’t become a power user and understand the value,” she said.

At ServiceNow, AI investments have yielded $355 million in savings. The company reinvested approximately two-thirds of these savings and allowed about $125 million to impact its bottom line. In 2025, ServiceNow reported $1.75 billion in revenue, a 23% increase from the previous year.

AI Integration in Retail and Tech

Shopify has taken a bold approach by stating that it will not hire new employees unless managers can prove that AI cannot perform the job. AI is also being integrated into employee performance reviews. CFO Jeff Hoffmeister highlighted the importance of using AI to succeed in the company. Over the last three years, Shopify has maintained a relatively flat headcount while achieving annual revenue growth of around 30%. The company saw an immediate boost in product innovation after implementing this policy.

Encouraging Employee Adaptation

CFOs are also encouraging employees to learn from recent college graduates on how to use AI effectively. They are also helping midlevel employees who are reluctant to adopt new tools to embrace change. At Levi Strauss, a lower-ranking employee developed an AI agent to streamline the inputting of wholesale orders. This tool has reduced the time required to process certain orders from days to minutes, with a higher accuracy rate. Employees who previously handled order inputs are now focused on collecting receivables, showcasing their upskilling efforts.

Monitoring Consumer Behavior

In an uncertain economic climate, finance chiefs are closely monitoring consumer resilience. Americans continue to spend, especially higher-income shoppers, while lower-income households are becoming more selective in their spending. The impact of rising oil prices due to the war in the Middle East on consumer habits remains unclear.

Jeff Hoffmeister of Shopify noted that there isn’t enough data yet to determine the full effect. However, he mentioned that historically, increases in oil prices have led consumers to adjust their spending. Silvio Tavares, CEO of VantageScore, expects a similar reaction to the current oil market shocks, with consumers making immediate purchases to avoid potential price hikes.

Long-Term Economic Implications

Tavares believes that if oil prices remain high, consumers may accelerate spending in the medium term. However, the long-term outlook is different. The disruption to petroleum infrastructure in the Middle East could lead to higher costs over time. While it’s unclear whether this will significantly slow the economy, Tavares anticipates some inflationary effects in the future.