The State of Generative AI Report by McKinsey – Summary & Insights

The Report, State of AI: How Organizations Are Rewiring to Capture Value published by QuantumBlack AI by McKinsey, details the evolving landscape of AI adoption, particularly generative AI (gen AI) within organizations globally. Based on a survey conducted, it highlights how companies are implementing structural and process changes to derive meaningful value from AI, manage associated risks, and adapt their workforces. The report emphasizes that large companies are leading the charge in these transformations, showing the increasing trends of AI integration across various business functions.

Key Insights

• 1,491 participants from 101 nations responded to the online survey conducted in 2024.
• 42% of respondents work for organizations with over $500 million in annual revenues.
• More than three-quarters (over 75%) of respondents say their organizations use AI in at least one business function.
• 28% of respondents whose organizations use AI report that their CEO is responsible for overseeing AI governance.
• 17% say AI governance is overseen by their board of directors.
• 21% of respondents reporting gen AI use say their organizations have fundamentally redesigned at least some workflows.
• 57% of organizations use a fully centralized model for risk and compliance, 46% use a fully centralized model for data governance for AI, 36% use the model for AI strategy, 29% for tech talent and 23% for adoption of AI solutions.
• 27% of respondents whose organizations use gen AI say employees review all content created by gen AI before use.
• 47% of organizations report experiencing at least one negative consequence from gen AI use (compared to 44% in early 2024).
• Less than one-third of respondents report that their organizations are following most of the 12 adoption and scaling practices for gen AI.
• Less than one in five (under 20%) say their organizations are tracking KPIs for gen AI solutions.
• 62% of larger organizations ($500M+ revenue) have established a dedicated team to drive gen AI adoption, compared to 23% of smaller organizations.
• 42% of larger organizations have regular internal communications about gen AI value, compared to 30% of smaller organizations.
• 50% of respondents whose organizations use AI say their employers will need more data scientists over the next year.
• 13% of respondents say their organizations have hired AI compliance specialists.
• 6% report hiring AI ethics specialists. While 44% of employees have been reskilled up to 5% in the past year due to AI use.
• 38% of respondents whose organizations use AI predict that gen AI will have little effect on the size of their organization’s workforce in the next three years.
• 78% of respondents say their organizations use AI in at least one business function (up from 72% in early 2024 and 55% a year earlier).
• Organizations are using AI in an average of three business functions with 71% of respondents say their organizations regularly use gen AI in at least one business function (up from 65% in early 2024).
• 36% of respondents report AI use in IT, a jump from 27% in the past six months.
• 63% of respondents using gen AI say their organizations are using it to create text outputs.
• More than one-third (over 33%) of respondents say their organizations are generating images with gen AI. More than one-quarter (over 25%) also use gen AI to create computer code.
• 53% of C-level executives regularly use gen AI at work, compared with 44% of midlevel managers.
• Over 80% of respondents say their organizations are not seeing a tangible impact on enterprise-level EBIT from their use of gen AI.
• For gen AI use in most business functions, a majority of respondents report cost reductions (e.g., Supply Chain and Inventory Management: 61% report cost reduction, Service Operations: 58%).
• 35% of respondents in Strategy and Corporate Finance report revenue increase by >10% due to gen AI.

Conclusion

The report concludes that while organizations are rapidly increasing their adoption and use of both analytical and generative AI, particularly in functions like IT, marketing and sales, the full enterprise-wide bottom-line impact is still nascent. Large organizations are demonstrating a more proactive approach to rewiring their processes, investing in AI talent and actively mitigating risks, adhering more closely to best practices for adoption and scaling. Despite concerns about job displacement, the survey suggests a mixed impact on the workforce with some functions seeing predicted headcount reductions while others anticipate growth. The ongoing evolution of AI, including the emergence of agentic AI, points to a continuous need for organizations to adapt strategically and comprehensively to truly capture value in the years to come.

You can check the full report here