The state of AI in 2025: Agents, innovation, and transformation

The State of AI in 2025: Agents, Innovation, and Transformation

This 2025 edition of the annual McKinsey Global Survey on AI examines current trends driving significant value from artificial intelligence. The article is a collaborative work by Alex Singla, Alexander Sukharevsky, Lareina Yee, Michael Chui, Bryce Hall, and Tara Balakrishnan, representing QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey.

AI Adoption and Usage Trends

Three years after the emergence of generative AI tools that marked a new phase in artificial intelligence, almost 90% of surveyed organizations report regular AI usage. Despite this, progress varies widely among companies.

Nearly nine out of ten survey respondents say their organizations are regularly using AI.

While AI tools have become widespread, many organizations have yet to fully integrate them into workflows and processes to enable significant enterprise-wide benefits.

Challenges in Scaling AI

The survey highlights a landscape where AI adoption is expanding, especially the use of agentic AI systems, but growing pains persist. Transitioning from pilot projects to large-scale impact remains challenging for most organizations.

The transition from pilots to scaled impact is still a work in progress at most organizations.

The latest data shows more organizations are employing AI, but few have achieved broad scaling. The share of respondents indicating AI use in at least one business function rose from 78% last year to 88% this year.

Key Survey Findings

88% of respondents report regular AI use in at least one business function.
AI use has increased compared to 78% a year ago.
Agentic AI proliferation is growing.

The survey reveals both wider AI adoption and persistent challenges in realizing enterprise-level benefits.

Author's summary: Despite widespread AI adoption reaching nearly 90% of organizations, embedding AI deeply into workflows for scale and impact remains a major hurdle in 2025.

McKinsey & Company — 2025-11-05