Most companies now use artificial intelligence, yet only a small share capture meaningful financial returns, according to McKinsey's latest State of AI survey. The firm found that 88% of organizations use AI in at least one business function, up from 72% in 2024, but only 6% qualify as high performers that extract real bottom-line value.

Marketing and sales rank among the top areas for deployment and for reported gains. Across eight years of McKinsey research, IT and marketing and sales have consistently been the functions where respondents most often report AI use. Revenue increases tied to AI are most commonly reported in marketing and sales, strategy and corporate finance, and product and service development.

The survey highlights a persistent adoption-to-value gap. Nearly 67% of companies remain stuck in pilot mode, unable to move AI projects into full production. That stall keeps many organizations from realizing the productivity and revenue benefits they expected when they began investing.

McKinsey identified traits that separate high performers from the rest. Those companies are about three times more likely to have strong senior leadership engagement, and they redesign workflows end to end, a step only 21% of all companies have taken. High performers also set outcome-based objectives tied to business metrics, invest in agent-ready infrastructure, and rigorously measure adoption, quality, and results. For US firms weighing further AI spending, the data points to organizational change, rather than tools alone, as the deciding factor in returns.

Source: McKinsey - https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai-how-organizations-are-rewiring-to-capture-value