- More than two in three companies now use AI
- 89% have not seen increased productivity and 60% do not expect any additional impact.
- Still, 90% have not seen any major job losses and 63% expect this to remain the same.
A major study that surveyed around 6,000 CEOs, CFOs and other senior leaders in the US, UK, Germany and Australia has quantified how many companies are actually using AI and says many companies are still not seeing the previously promised benefits.
According to data from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), more than two-thirds (69%) of companies currently use artificial intelligence tools, with further growth expected over the next three years.
However, 89% reported no impact on productivity over the past three years. Still, given that a similar percentage (90%) have seen no impact on employment over the same three-year period, it is clear that companies are willing to keep trying.
Are we really using AI to its full potential?
The most common use cases highlighted in the report include text generation (41%), data processing (30%), visual content creation (30%), and image processing (20%). But while it is not used as frequently in robotics (9%) and autonomous vehicles (3%), where implementation is likely to be more complex, total use increased by around 50% during 2025.
Even so, the outlook is not very positive. While 25% expect small productivity increases and 12% expect large increases, 60% expect to see no impact. The story is largely the same in terms of employment: 63% expect no impact and only a combined 26% expect to see job reductions, which at least brings some good news.
“Over the next three years, companies predict that AI adoption will increase productivity by about 1.4%, on average, while reducing employment by about 0.7%,” the researchers wrote.
Although the authors acknowledge that the study alone does not provide enough meaningful information, they call for more studies to be conducted using standardized methodology to ensure more reliable comparisons: “In addition, we emphasize the importance of consistency in survey design and timing.”
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