Top executives use AI daily but doubt their own skills

Danish top executives are heavy users of AI, but many say their own skills fall short. A new survey by the advisory firm AS3 Executive, which mainly headhunts and re-places top executives, found that 84 percent of top-level Danish leaders use AI actively, either daily or several times a day.

AS3 Executive put a series of questions about executives' knowledge and use of AI to its base of candidates. The aim was to build a more detailed picture of what role the new tools play in running Danish companies.

Despite the heavy use, the executives are not confident in their own competence. They say that if they were hiring someone for their own roles, they would prefer a person with stronger AI skills than they have themselves.

Jens Lunn of AS3 Executive, an experienced headhunter, sees a major need for targeted and large-scale AI training for top leaders. He calls for a "big driver's license in AI strategy", meaning extensive further education aimed at the people running Danish businesses.

The findings point to a gap between how widely AI has spread in the top tiers of Danish business and how prepared leaders feel to steer its use strategically. The survey covers only AS3 Executive's own candidate base, so it gives a view of that group rather than of all Danish executives.