Panama City, Panama. - The adoption of AI in the global business environment is experiencing rapid acceleration, driven by the proliferation of artificial intelligence tools and the emergence of agentic AI. The latest global survey, "State of AI 2025," conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute, indicates that 88% of respondents report that their organization uses AI in at least one business function, a figure that surpasses the 78% recorded the previous year. However, the report warns that despite this increase, most companies have not yet integrated the technology sufficiently into their workflows to achieve significant corporate benefits.
Scale and Experimentation with New Technologies Although the expansion of AI adoption is continuous, at the corporate level, most companies remain in an experimentation or pilot phase. Only one-third of organizations has begun to scale their AI programs. The study points to a marked difference based on company size: Companies with revenues over $5 billion are more likely to have reached the AI scaling phase. Only 29% of companies with revenues under $100 million have managed to scale their programs. In parallel, there is a growing interest in exploring AI agents—systems based on foundation models capable of executing multiple steps in a workflow. 62% of respondents state that their organizations are experimenting with AI agents, with the most common use being in areas like Information Technology (IT) and knowledge management, and in sectors such as technology, media, and telecommunications, and healthcare.
Financial and Qualitative Impact of AI For most organizations, artificial intelligence has not yet translated into a significant impact on EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes). Only 39% of respondents attribute any level of impact, and most report that less than 5% of EBIT is attributable to AI use. Despite this, companies do report significant qualitative benefits: Notable improvements in innovation; nearly half identify increases in customer satisfaction and competitive differentiation. Additionally, the use of AI has reported cost reductions in areas like software engineering, manufacturing, and IT, and revenue increases in marketing and sales, corporate strategy, and finance, and product development.
AI and Employment Prospects Regarding employment, most respondents reported little change in their workforce size due to AI use over the past year, and most expect the same for 2026. However, 32% anticipate a net reduction of 3% or more in staff, and 13% expect an increase of that magnitude. It was observed that larger companies are more likely than smaller ones to anticipate AI-related staff reductions. Likewise, organizations that perform better with AI are more likely to expect significant changes in their workforce, whether reductions or increases. Success with AI, according to the report, lies in organizations not only seeking efficiency but also setting growth and innovation as goals, and fundamentally redesigning their workflows.
