Enterprise AI Adoption
How companies are deploying AI — adoption rates, ROI data, and implementation lessons
78%
Companies using AI
McKinsey 2025
$3.50
ROI per $1 spent
Menlo Ventures
42%
In production
Beyond pilots
58%
Pilots that fail
Never reach prod
Enterprise AI has crossed the chasm. From pilots to production, companies are deploying AI at scale. The leaders are seeing real ROI. The laggards risk falling behind. Here's what the data shows about what works.
The State of Enterprise AI
2025 marked the transition from experimentation to implementation. According to McKinsey, 78% of companies now use AI in at least one business function — up from 55% in 2023. But there's a wide gap between "using AI" and "getting value from AI."
The 10% Rule: About 10% of companies capture 90% of the value from AI. These "AI leaders" share common traits: executive sponsorship, centralized AI teams, focus on high-impact use cases, and willingness to change workflows.
Adoption by Function
AI Adoption by Business Function (2025)
ROI Reality Check
$3.50
Return per $1 invested
Menlo Ventures
40%
Coding productivity gain
GitHub Copilot Study
30%
Support cost reduction
Klarna Case Study
The Pilot Trap: 58% of AI pilots never reach production. Common failures: unclear success metrics, lack of executive sponsorship, poor data quality, and trying to automate workflows that don't exist.
Top Barriers
What's holding companies back from AI deployment?
Adoption Barriers (% citing as major barrier)
What Works
Lessons from companies succeeding with AI deployment.
The Playbook: Start with high-value, low-risk use cases. Measure before/after. Get executive sponsorship early. Fix data quality before scaling. Focus on augmentation, not replacement.
✓ Key Takeaways
✓ 78% of companies using AI, but only 42% in production
✓ Average ROI of $3.50 per $1 invested for leaders
✓ Customer support and coding show clearest ROI
✓ Data quality is the #1 barrier to adoption
✓ 58% of pilots fail to reach production
✓ Focus on augmentation over full automation