In the news. Economists expect the US will sustain, or even increase, its productivity advantage amid intensifying global competition. A Financial Times study found that nearly half of surveyed economists think the country is poised to outpace the rest of the world in productivity growth. This belief hinges in part on a 10% rise in US labor productivity from 2019 to 2024, along with growing AI investments and deep capital markets. Yet the survey’s respondents also noted that growing AI competition from Asia and tariff uncertainty could dampen future gains. [FT]

America’s history of reinvention holds compelling lessons as the nation confronts a future of immense if uncertain opportunity.

On McKinsey.com. At nearly 250 years old, America is the world’s most competitive economy: It generates 26% of global GDP and is home to 59 of the world’s top 100 firms. But McKinsey’s Olivia White, Eric Kutcher, Kweilin Ellingrud, Shubham Singhal, Scott Blackburn, Arvind Govindarajan, Aly Spencer, and their coauthors note that some historical advantages—fiscal health, infrastructure, and educational achievement, for example—are now eroding. To safeguard the US’s competitive edge, the authors point to five prerequisites for future success, including an AI-fluent workforce, meeting surging demand for power, and national economic security. Learn how the US can find success in the next era.

Capture the next wave of US growth

In the news. It’s no longer enough for brands to market solely to human consumers, The New York Times reports. AI chatbots and shopping assistants are a fast-growing and influential audience that consumes as much detailed product information (including full owners’ manuals) as organizations can publish. Companies are also redesigning their marketing content so that algorithms, along with humans, can parse it. This trend is the latest in the fast-moving world of digital marketing, on which US companies spent more than $350 billion last year. [NYT]

On McKinsey.com. In 2025, AI agents moved from experimentation to an integrated part of the consumer experience. According to McKinsey’s Deepa Mahajan, Hannah Mayer, Katharina Schumacher, Roger Roberts, and Katharina Giebel, agents are taking on tasks from comparison shopping to negotiating contracts. But rather than a straight line toward full agentic autonomy, the authors outline a six-level automation curve that optimizes delegation: from human-led journeys to increasing degrees of agentic assistance and, ultimately, multiagent networks. Retailers can better compete by making policies and product data machine readable, rethinking purchasing rules to improve safety and transparency, and recognizing where autonomy adds value—and where it doesn’t.

Prepare for the future of commerce

Next-generation leadership

In the news. When boards are planning for CEO succession, many default to the idea that an external hire will be more effective in the top job. Yet new analysis from Chief Executive suggests that insiders often deliver stronger results. Among 61 Fortune 500 CEO transitions in the past year, companies that chose internal successors generated an average TSR of 14.8%, compared with –9.0% returns for external hires—a pattern that holds over longer time horizons. Internal CEO candidates bring advantages (trusted stakeholder relationships, for instance) that can translate into faster execution and higher company morale. [Chief Executive]

On McKinsey.com. The COO role varies widely across organizations but has never been more critical or complex. In a recent podcast episode, McKinsey’s Darryl Piasecki and Tony Gambell describe today’s COOs as strategic partners—“the unsung heroes of the C-suite,” says Gambell. The authors outline five priorities for the COO agenda, including defining a clear vision and fostering strong relationships. With 40% of new CEOs in 2024 coming from the COO or senior operations roles, and CEOs spending more time on external issues, these leaders’ deep operational knowledge positions them well for company-wide leadership and transformation.

Achieve COO excellence