mckinsey -增长青睐勇者：人工智能作为力量倍增器 Growth favors the bold AI as force multiplier

August2026

McKinsey

&Company

Growth,Marketing&SalesPractice

Growthfavorsthebold:

AIasforcemultiplier

SevenmythshampergrowthinthenewworldofAl-drivengrowth.

Overcomingthemrequiresleaderstofocusonredesigninghowcommercialdecisionsaremade.

ThisarticleisacollaborativeeffortbyDavidSchiff,Jan-ChristophKostring,KateSiegel,LisaHarkness,SaschaLehmann,SteveReis,andTjarkFreundt,representingviewsfromMcKinsey'sGrowth,MarketingandSales,andStrategyandCorporateFinancePractices.

AIisshatteringmanydecades-oldassumptionsabouthowgrowthhappens.The

fundamentalsofgrowthstillmatter,butthewaycompaniescreate,capture,andscalegrowth

withAIhasfundamentallychangedthegame.It’slikewhathappenedinbasketballwhenthe

three-pointshotwasintroduced:Thefoundationsofthegamedidn’tchange,butthestrategiesforhowtowinchampionshipsweretransformed.

Theraceforgrowthhasenteredanewera.ThecompaniespullingaheadrecognizehowdeeplyAIischangingthewaytheycreatedemand,convertcustomers,andgeneratevalue.WhileeveryCEOwantstoachieveabove-marketgrowth,earlyAIleadersaregoingbigger.Theyare

achievingEBITDAupliftsof20percentormorebyrewiringtheircommercialenginesaroundAI,notsimplydeployingnewtechnology.1

Thatvalueisnotsometheoreticalaspiration.Forexample,Reckitt,agloballeaderinhomeandconsumerhealthcare,unlockedmorethan$500millioninnewrevenuewithitsambitious

growthtransformation.ThecompanyusedAI-poweredsimulationsandscenarioplanningto

improvecommercialpricing,promotions,andassortmentdecisionsaswellastoguidefieldsalesteamsonwhichin-storemerchandisingactivitiestoprioritizetocreatetangiblevalue.Inanothercase,DBS,theSingapore-basedbank,hasgeneratedhundredsofmillionsofdollarsinvaluebyrewiringitsbusinessaroundAI.

Yetthesecompaniesremaintheexceptions.Nearly90percentofcompaniesregularlyuseAIinatleastonebusinessfunction,accordingtoaglobalMcKinseysurvey,butjust37percentof

respondentsattributeanylevelofEBITimpacttoAI.2Furthermore,thegapbetweenleadersandlaggardsisgrowing.Ourlatestresearchshowsthat60percentofmarketleadersreportdouble-digitrevenuegrowth,comparedwithjust21percentoflaggards.3

TonarrowthegapandturnAIintoaforcemultiplierforgrowth,CEOsneedtofundamentallyrewirehowtheyoperatetomovefaster,moreiteratively,andwithclearerdirection.Thatstartswithrejectingthemythsthatcansinktheirgrowthaspirations.

MythsandrealitiesaboutAIandgrowth

Inourexperience,weseesevencommonmythsthatcanhamperbusinessleaders’abilitytoturnAIintovalue.

Mythsthatlimitambition

1.Myth:Above-marketgrowthgoalsareenough.

Reality:AIraisestheceilingonhowmuchgrowthispossible.Whilenearly75percentofcompaniessetabove-marketgrowthtargets,that’snotboldenough.4Ourresearchfinds

1“TheAItransformationmanifesto,”McKinseyQuarterly,April7,2026.

2“ThestateofAIglobalsurvey”McKinsey,2026(forthcoming)

3Marketleadersarecompanieswhosemarketsharegrewyearoveryearbymorethan10percent;laggardsarethosewhosemarketsharedeclinedbymorethan5percentoverthesameperiod.FindingsarefromMcKinsey’s2026GlobalB2BPulsereport,whichgathersinsightsfromnearly4,000B2Bdecision-makersacross13countriesandmultipleindustries.

4“Breakingthemold:Fivebehaviorsofleadinggrowthtransformers,”McKinsey,December16,2024.

Growthfavorsthebold:AIasforcemultiplier2

Growthfavorsthebold:AIasforcemultiplier3

thatleaderswhosetboldgrowthambitions—underpinnedbyAI—canunlocknearlythreetimesmorevaluethantheyimagine.5

2.Myth:AIisprimarilyaproductivitytool.

Reality:Some80percentofcompaniesuseAItoimproveefficiency,butAIcandomuchmore.ThecompaniescreatingthegreatestvalueareusingAItoimprovebothefficiencyand

effectiveness.6Greatereffectivenesscreatesnewdemand,increasesconversion,and

acceleratesgrowthandinnovation.

Mythsthatpreserveoldwaysofworking

1.Myth:LayeringAIontoexistingprocessesdrivesgrowth.

Reality:BoltingAIontoexistingprocesses—oftenresultinginaproliferationofisolatedusecases—doesn’tleadtogrowth.Rather,itisactivitywithoutarchitecture.AIhigh

performersarethreetimesaslikelytosaytheirorganizationshavefundamentally

redesignedindividualworkflows.7

2.Myth:Thechieftechnologyofficer(CTO)shouldleadtheAItransformation.

Reality:Theapproachassociatedwithgrowthistoundertakeabusinesstransformation

enabledbytechnology,withpeopleatthecenter.That’swhyleadersathalfoftop-

performingcompaniesco-createstrategyacrosstechnologyandbusinesstoredesignnewpathwaystogrowth.8

Mythsthatslowdownvaluecapture

1.Myth:ScalingAIismostlyatechrollout.

Reality:Creatingenterprise-widegrowthinvolvesmorethannewtechnology;itinvolvesnewwaysofworking,capabilitiesandskills,andgovernancemodels.Achievingthisdegreeof

changerequiresresourcesdedicatedtochangemanagement.Theruleofthumbisthatforevery$1acompanyspendsonanAIinitiative,itneedsanother$3—andsometimes

more—forchangemanagement.9

5“Achievinggrowth:Puttingleadershipmindsetsandbehaviorsintoaction,”McKinseyQuarterly,January13,2025.

6“ThestateofAIin2025:Agents,innovation,andtransformation,”McKinsey,November5,2025.

7“ThestateofAIin2025:Agents,innovation,andtransformation,”McKinsey,November5,2025.

8“McKinseyGlobalTechAgenda2026,”McKinsey,February9,2026.

9“MovingpastgenAI’shoneymoonphase:SevenhardtruthsforCIOstogetfrompilottoscale,”McKinsey,May13,2024.

Growthfavorsthebold:AIasforcemultiplier4

2.Myth:AIinitiativestakealongtimetocreateP&Lvalue.

Reality:Inourexperience,AIleadersoftenseeimpactonleadingindicatorswithinweeksandcreatesubstantialeconomicvaluewithinthreetosixmonths.That

happenswhencompaniesfocusonhigh-valuecommercialworkflowsinprioritydomainsanditeraterapidly.

3.Myth:CompaniesneedperfectdatainordertointroduceAI.

Reality:Gooddatamatters,butinourexperience,80percentofcompaniesdonotneedtobuildadatalakeorrebuildtheirentiredataarchitecturetogetvalue.“Goodenough”dataissufficienttostartcapturingvaluequickly.

BuildinganAI-drivencommercialgrowthengine

Businessleaderswhowanttoshakeoffthegrowthmythsandbuildadifferentkindof

commercialgrowthenginecandothisbytakingconcertedsteps(Exhibit1.Theseactionsare

laidoutsequentially,buttowinthegrowthgame,thebestcompaniesimaginethemasasystemthatiscontinuallyrunningandoptimizinginfastlearningcycles.

Boldambitions:Continuouslyhuntforgrowth

Companieshavelongsearchedforgrowththroughperiodicstrategyreviewsbuilton

aggregatedmarketdata.AIchangestheeconomicsofgrowthbymakinggrowthdiscoverycontinuousinsteadofepisodic.Companiescannowspotemergingpocketsofdemandbyanalyzingspecificcustomerbehaviors,localmarketdynamics,orpricesensitivities.

Atthesametime,AIdramaticallylowersthecostofexperimentationtopursuethose

opportunities.Companiescanpersonalizeengagementatscale,rapidlytestoffers,andenter

nichesegmentsorgeographiesthatwerepreviouslytoocostlyorcomplextoprofitablypursue.TheycanleverageAItosetoverallstrategy.

AnindustrialdistributorusedAItotransformhowitfindsandwinsbusiness,movingfrom

transactionalsellingtopredictiveselling.Historically,salesteamsreliedheavilyonrelationship-basedselling,localknowledge,andmanualleadgenerationtoidentifyprojectsthatmight

requiretheirproducts.Tightsaleswindowscreatedevenmorevariability.

ThedistributorbuiltanAI-drivenenginethatcontinuouslyscanssignalssuchasbuilding

permits,projectactivity,customerhistory,andproductdatatoidentifywheredemandislikelytoemerge.Byscrapingpubliclyavailablebuildingpermitapprovalsandsurfacingopportunities

preciselywhencustomersaremostlikelytobuy,thesystemrecommendsthenextbestsalesactionandgeneratespersonalizedcustomeroutreachwithproductrecommendationand

discountcoupons.

Growthfavorsthebold:AIasforcemultiplier5

Exhibit1

Growthfavorsthebold:AIasforcemultiplier6

ThesystemwasintegratedintoSalesforceCRMsothedistributor’ssalesrepscouldquickly

review,edit,andsendtheemailsdirectlytothecustomers.Theresult:anestimated$300millionto$400millioninincrementalgrossmargin.

ThebroaderlessonforCEOsisthatAIturnsgrowthfromaperiodicplanningexerciseintoanalways-oncommercialcapability.

Rewiringwaysofworking:EmbedAIintoallcommercialoperations

Thecompaniespullingaheadarecompressingthedistancebetweencustomersignal,decision,andaction.AIenablescommercialdecisionstohappenwithintheflowofwork—continuously

analyzingsignals,recommendingthenextbestaction,andincreasinglyexecutingroutine

decisionswithhumanoversight.Asaresult,ahandfulofpeopleworkingalongsideAIsystems

candeliverlevelsofpersonalization,experimentation,andoptimizationthatoncerequiredentiredepartments.

Tomakethisshift,CEOsandchiefcommercialofficers(CCOs)mustfocuslessondeployingAItoolsandmoreonredesigninghowcommercialdecisionsaremade(Exhibit2).AIhigh

performersarenearlythreetimesaslikelyasothercompaniestosaytheirorganizations

fundamentallyredesignindividualworkflowsratherthansimplyautomatingexistingprocesses.10Thatredesignincludesexplicitlydetermininghowcommercialdecisionlogicisintegratedinto

waysofworking.

Theadvantageiscumulative,asinthecaseofReckitt’sRGMandsmartexecution

transformation.Ratherthanrelyingonanalyststogenerateinsights,pricingleadersuseself-

serviceplatformstotestpromotioncalendarsanddynamicpriceelasticitycurvesinrealtime.

Plannerssimulatecomplexscenariossuchascompetitormoves,inflationshifts,andother

marketdynamicstofindtheoptimalpathstomaximizetop-linerevenue.Productteams

prototypenewpackaginginsecondsbyusingAI-generatedconsumerpersonastogather

simulatedfeedback.Similarly,insmartexecution,salesleadersuseAI-drivenrecommendationstoprescribetotheirteamswhattoexecuteateachpointofsale.Thiscombinationhelped

increaseaverageprojectsizes(measuredinexpectedincrementalnetrevenue)by25percentyearonyear.11

Critically,ReckittdesigneditsAIcapabilitiesbackwardfromthetasksthatcommercialteamstypicallyperform.Thecompanyrealizedthatimplementinganext-generationRGMsystem

wouldrequiretrainingcommercialteamsatthemomentofaction,suchaswhentheyaredevelopingsalesplansorshapingbrandstrategies.Practical,hands-onsessionsusinglivemarketdatahelpedprovethevalueofinsightsinrealtime,whichacceleratedbuy-inandchangingbehavioratscale.

10“ThestateofAIin2025:Agents,innovation,andtransformation,”McKinsey,November5,2025.

11“Digitalscience:EnablingReckitttodrivegrowth,”Reckitt,June10,2025.

Exhibit2

Growthfavorsthebold:AIasforcemultiplier7

ThisexampleshowsthenecessityofencodingAIintoworkflows,notjustmakingindividualtasksfaster.TheCEOandCCOrolesincreasinglyfocusonsettingtheoperatingrules,KPIs,fundingthresholds,escalationpaths,risktolerances,andresourceprioritiesthatallowthe

systemtomovequicklywithoutlosingcontrol.

Acceleratethetimeline:Scalevalue

Growthcomesfromscalingwhatworksacrossproducts,channels,geographies,andcustomersegments.Historically,thatrequiredlargeamountsofpeople,localcoordination,andmanualeffort.AIchangesthoseeconomics.

Thecompaniesmoving—andgrowing—fastestarethosethatstandardizetheunderlyingmodelsthatdrivegrowthdecisions.Theycreatereusablecomponents(forexample,customer

propensitymodels,pricinglogic,offergenerationsystems,salesagents,experimentation

environments,andperformancesignals)thatcanberedeployedacrossthebusinesswithoutincreasingheadcountororganizationalcomplexity.

ThekeydecisionforCEOsandCCOsishowtostrikeabalancebetweenstandardizationandlocalization.Leadersincreasinglycentralizecoredata,models,governance,anddecision

systemswhiledecentralizingexperimentation,customerengagement,andmarketadaptation.Thisallowssuccessfulstrategiestospreadquicklyacrosstheorganizationwhilestillbeing

adaptedtolocalmarketconditions.

Growthfavorsthebold:AIasforcemultiplier8

Reckitt’sapproachtorollingoutitsRGMsolutionreflectsthisunderstanding.Formoremature,data-richregions,Reckittprovidesanadvancedversionofthesolution,whileothercountries

haveaccesstoasimplerversionthathelpsthemdevelopbetterdatahygieneandtransitionteamstofact-basedmodelsbeforegivingthemaccesstomoreadvancedfeatures.12

SalesforcedemonstratestheimportanceofbuildingAIasanintegratedsystem.Whenthe

companylaunchedAgentforce,aplatformforbuilding,deploying,andgoverningAIagents,it

madesuretheagentsweretiedintoitsdatacloud,Data360.Thisallowsagentstoreason

basedontrustedbusinesscontextratherthandisconnecteddatasources.SalesforcerecentlyreportedthatData360ingested112trillionrecordsinfiscalyear2026,up114percentyearoveryear,reflectinghowstrongdatastructurescanenableagenticperformance.13

RatherthandeployingAIasastand-alonecapability,Salesforceembeddedagentsintothecoresales,service,marketing,andcommerceworkflowsthatcustomersalreadyused.Thismeans

agentsoperateinthesamesystemsasthepeopletheyworkalongside,governedbythesametrustedprocesses,permissions,andcontrols.Thisfocus,alongwithflexiblepricingthatloweredthebarriertoentryandhelpedcustomersmanagetheirAIspend,increasedadoptionamong

existingcustomers.Tohelpcustomerstrackandmanageperformance,Salesforcealso

introducedAgenticWorkUnits,astandardizedmeasureoftheworkthatagentsperformacrosstheplatform.Forthefirstquarteroffiscalyear2027,SalesforcereportedthatAgentforce’s

annualrecurringrevenue(ARR)reached$1.2billion,up205percentyearoveryear,withmorethan50percentofbookingscomingfromexistingcustomers.14

ThevalueofanintegratedAIapproachbecomesclearinbusinessworkflowslikesalescoaching,whereAIcanshiftfrontlinemanagers’focusfrommonitoringactivitytoimprovingoutcomes.

Historically,frontlinemanagershavespentmuchoftheirtimeinterpretingdashboards,checkingCRMactivity,andpreparingforone-on-oneswithlimitedcontext.AIcannowequipsellerswithsuperpowers,coachingtheminthemomenttoimproveperformance.

AIdoesthisbysynthesizingCRMdata,accounthistory,pipelinemovement,selleractivity,

customerinteractions,andpeerbenchmarkstoidentifythehighest-impactopportunitiesfor

improvement.Insteadofsimplyflaggingthatarepisbehindplan,AIcould,forexample,identifythattherepissellingtoonarrowofaproductset,discountingtooearly,orfailingtotailoroffers.

Thatfeedbackloopcannowhappenalmostimmediately.AI-enabledtoolscananalyzerecordedsalescalls,meetingtranscripts,andcustomernotesafteraninteraction,thengivetheseller

directfeedback.Managerscanseepatternsacrossrepsandteamsandintervenewhere

coachingwillmattermosttodrivegrowth.Suchafocusonperformancedrivesresults.For

example,aprogramofAI-enabledcoachingaspartofabroadercommercialeffortenabledonecompanyinthebuilt-environmentspacetoincreaseconversionbymorethan20percentinjustnineweeks.

12“Reckitt’sboldambition:HarnessingAItoredefinerevenuegrowthmanagement,”McKinsey,January15,2026.

13“Salesforceannouncesfourthquarterandfullfiscalyear2026results,”Salesforcepressrelease,February25,2026.

14“Salesforceannouncesfirstquarterfiscal2027results,”Salesforcepressrelease,May27,2026.

Growthfavorsthebold:AIasforcemultiplier9

WhatCEOscandonow

DevelopinganAI-drivengrowthengineisaninvestmentoftimeandresources.Butour

experiencehasshownthatcompaniescanmakeprogressquickly,especiallyiftheytacklethreeactionsfirst:

—SeethefullsetofAI-enabledgrowthopportunitiesindays,notmonths.Don’tstartwiththeoneortwousecasesalreadyonthetable.UsingadvancedAItools,first-andthird-partydata,andindustrybenchmarks,companiesshoulddevelopastrongself-assessmentthat

helpsthemidentifywhereAIcandriveprofitablegrowth(newdemandpools,underservedsegments,pricing,sales).TheCEO’sjobistodemandthatfullviewquickly.Thegoalistoconcentrateeffortsontheonetothreedomain-levelopportunitieswiththemostvalue.

—Alignonspecificoutcomesandcommittoboldgoals.Turntheopportunityintoashortsetofspec