The State of AI in 2025: Agents, Innovation, and Transformation
In the 2025 edition of the annual McKinsey Global Survey on AI, current trends driving real value from artificial intelligence are examined. This article is a collaborative effort by Alex Singla, Alexander Sukharevsky, Lareina Yee, Michael Chui, Bryce Hall, and Tara Balakrishnan, representing QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey.
Widespread AI Adoption and Uneven Progress
Three years after the introduction of generative AI tools sparked a new era, nearly nine out of ten respondents state their organizations regularly use AI. Yet, the pace of advancement is uneven. Although AI tools are widespread, many organizations have not integrated them deeply enough into workflows and processes to achieve significant enterprise-level benefits.
Survey Insights on AI Use
- The latest McKinsey Global Survey highlights a landscape marked by broader AI usage and the increasing presence of agentic AI.
- Many organizations are still experiencing challenges in moving from pilot projects to scaled, impactful AI implementations.
- The proportion of respondents reporting AI use in at least one business function has grown from 78% last year to 88% this year.
“Nearly nine out of ten survey respondents say their organizations are regularly using AI—but the pace of progress remains uneven.”
“88 percent report regular AI use in at least one business function, compared with 78 percent a year ago.”
Summary
The adoption of AI is growing rapidly across industries, yet many organizations still struggle to scale AI solutions from pilots to enterprise-wide transformations.
Author's Summary
AI use is expanding steadily in business, but most organizations have yet to deeply embed it into workflows to fully capture its transformative potential.