According to recent findings from supply chain intelligence firm Zero100, large enterprises are increasingly cautious about disruption while expressing limited confidence in AI delivering the resilience it promises. Despite public commitments, views differ significantly when assessing AI’s contribution to operational strength.
In a survey of Chief Operating Officers (COOs) from companies valued at over $1bn, cybersecurity emerged as the primary concern for business continuity. Expectations around AI-driven transformation remain measured and are not fully aligned with the messaging presented by senior executives to shareholders.
A total of 35% of businesses identify cyber incidents as the main risk to continuity over the next year, ahead of geopolitical instability (20%), trade policy shocks (16%) and labour disruption (8%). Cyber incidents are not only the leading concern but are also perceived as the fastest-moving threat. Nearly two-thirds (62%) believe they can respond to a cyber incident within minutes or hours, compared with disruptions such as tariffs, which require days or weeks for the majority (83%) of businesses to respond.
There is mixed opinion among COOs regarding AI’s impact on cyber risk — around half (50%) believe it will improve resilience, while 43% believe it could increase vulnerabilities. However, most expect AI to support supply chain management (64%) and help address skills shortages (58%).
The research also highlights a gap between external communications and internal confidence. Fewer than one in five COOs (17%) believe that the majority of their company’s AI commitments to investors can be delivered on time.
Although AI is positioned by CEOs as a productivity driver, internal sentiment is more cautious. Operations leaders recognise the potential of AI but question the realism of projected timelines. Expectations around agentic AI remain restrained, with only 7% believing such systems will fundamentally redesign most workflows within two years. The most common view, held by 43% of COOs, is that agentic AI will affect between 11% and 25% of workflows, indicating targeted adoption rather than broad transformation.
Progress in deploying agentic AI at scale appears to be constrained more by organisational readiness than by technical capability. When asked to assess preparedness for large-scale implementation, COOs rated technology infrastructure highest at 6.2 out of 10, followed by leadership understanding (6.0), data foundations (5.8), process maturity (5.6) and workforce skills (5.5).
Despite the potential for AI-enabled transformation, most organisations continue to prioritise cost control in their day-to-day operations. Cost management accounts for nearly a third of COO performance metrics on average (29%), compared with revenue growth (15%) and customer service improvement (17%). Longer-term considerations such as brand trust represent a smaller proportion, typically around 8%.
Lauren Acoba, VP, Research & Advisory Services at Zero100, commented that organisations have access to the necessary tools but lack the internal alignment required to reshape workflows through agentic AI. She stated: “Companies have the tools, but not yet the organisational muscle to change how work gets done using agentic AI,” Acoba added. “Cost control still dominates how they’re measured; they’re asked to chase growth, but are judged on profit. The result is an operating model that rewards not breaking things, more than trying new ideas. Until that changes, AI’s impact on resilience will be more incremental than transformational.”
