Good morning. AI has remained a hot topic over the past few years. But at this point, CFOs should be solidifying a game plan on how to strategically implement the technology.
I had a conversation about this topic with Dan Durn, CFO and EVP of finance, technology services, and operations at Adobe. As the CFO of a Fortune 500 software giant, he shared some insight on what finance chiefs should be preparing for.
When it comes to AI, 2025 and 2026 are going to be the years of “real differentiation in the market between the companies who are focused on productivity benefits and unlocking that for customers, as opposed to those that are taking a more novelty approach to the technology,” Durn said.
He defined 2023 as the “wow year” where generative AI exploded into the market in a good way. And in 2024, you saw some experimentation from companies on ways to monetize and add value to their customers, Durn said.
Research also points to Durn’s assessment. The World Economic Forum (WEF) refers to 2025 as a year where companies prepare to disrupt how work gets done. “Leaders must lead from the front as they embed AI into operations and processes,” according to WEF.
At Adobe, a producer of products for digital content creation, leveraging generative AI for customers has three major opportunities: unleashing creativity, accelerating document productivity, and powering digital experiences, he said. “Each of those is a multibillion-dollar opportunity that we're pursuing,” Durn said.
An example? Adobe Acrobat AI Assistant uses generative AI allowing users to interact with PDFs and other documents for editing, adding visuals and collaboration, Durn said. The early indicators of future success in AI investments lie in whether you're seeing productivity benefits for customers, Durn said.
He points to users creating 16 billion pieces of content on Adobe Firefly to date, and 4 billion of that in the most recent quarter. For example, on Gatorade.com, PepsiCo is using Firefly, which is enhanced by generative AI, to allow customers to generate their own individualized water bottles through simple text prompts. Durn said the company will expand on the ROI for AI during its upcoming summit in March.
Agentic AI—powerful models that can operate autonomous digital agents capable of enhanced reasoning and decision-making—is said to proliferate this year. Some analysts predict the AI trend could send software stocks soaring in 2025.
“Agentic AI is just a natural evolution in the journey we've been on,” Durn said. The company plans to reveal in the coming months how it intends to incorporate the technology, he said.
As Adobe is based in California, Durn and I also discussed the recent wildfires.
“We've had a few employees that have been impacted, whether it's directly or tangentially through an extension of their family,” he said.
Adobe Foundation is making a $1 million donation across the California Community Foundation: Wildfire Recovery Fund and the Entertainment Community Fund. “It's tragic, and we wanted to do our part,” Durn said.
See you on Monday.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
The following sections of CFO Daily were curated by Greg McKenna.
