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BCG AI RADAR

From Potential to Profit: Closing the AI Impact Gap

Global research of 1,803 C-level executives on AI in 2025

Executive roles

Company revenue

Industries and key functions

Source: BCG AI Radar 2025 Survey
Note: Revenue thresholds for survey inclusion: \$500+ million USD (US, Europe, Japan, Australia); \$100+ million USD (rest of APAC, Middle East, Africa). Survey conducted September to December 2024. 1 CxO represents other executives who directly report to the CEO (e.g., CMO, CFO, COO, etc.). 2 Includes CDO and CAIO. 3 C-suite includes EVP, SVP, VP, Chairman, President.

Where is the value in AI?

AI ambitions are growing alongside investments

GenAI investments are projected to increase by 60% in the next 3 years

One in three companies across all markets are planning to spend \$25 million+ on AI in 2025

How much are you planning to invest in AI in 2025?

Source: BCG AI Radar 2025 Survey (n=1,803).

5%

of executives rank AI/GenAI as a top three strategic priority …

… but, only 25%

of executives are seeing significant value from AI

What are leading companies doing differently?

Three value plays to maximize AI potential

Deploy AI in everyday tasks to realize 10% to 20% productivity potential

Reshape critical functions for 30% to 50% enhancement in efficiency and effectiveness

Invent new products and services to build long-term competitive advantage

They focus +80% of their AI investments in reshaping critical functions and inventing new products and services

Leading
companies go well beyond
deploy

Deploy Individual-productivity focused

Reshape Process-level productivity aimed at reshaping critical functions

Invent Company-level innovation core to the business

Source: BCG Build for the Future 2024 Global Study (merged with Digital Acceleration Index), (n=1,000).

but most companies aren’t yet prioritizing investments in higher-impact plays

Share of AI investments in Deploy, Reshape, and Invent initiatives

Deploy Individual-productivity focused
Reshape Process-level productivity aimed at reshaping critical functions
Invent Company-level innovation core to the business

Leading companies extract greater value by focusing their AI investments

In reality, most companies go broad and dilute efforts across multiple pilots, seeing lower ROI as a result

Leading
companies set clear goals and track top- and bottom-line
impact

Yet 60% of companies are failing to define and monitor any financial KPIs related to AI value creation

How is your organization tracking value creation from AI?

Leaders follow the 10-20-70 principle to create value

10% Algorithms

20% Technology

70% People and processes

… but

in 3

companies struggle to:

· Reimagine workflows and drive incentives, culture, and change

· Hire AI talent and upskill workforce

AI risks that companies must navigate

Data privacy and security

Lack of control or understanding of AI decisions

Regulatory challenges and compliance

Cybersecurity remains critical

Recognize that their AI cybersecurity measures need further improvements

2025: The year of AI agents?

What is an
agent?
Simply put,
it’s an AI that
has learned to
use tools

What an agent is

Memory Remembering across tasks and changing states

Reasoning

Decomposing a problem and planning actions

Systems Accessing external systems on your behalf

What an agent does

Observes

Collect and process data from environment

Plans

Evaluate possible actions and prioritize toward a goal

Acts

Execute by leveraging internal or external tools/systems

67%

are considering autonomous agents as part of their AI transformation

However, agents require deep reimagination of work and are not a silver bullet for impact

Optimism around AI agents is consistent across geographies

Role that companies see for AI agents moving into 2025

Source: BCG AI Radar 2025 Survey (n=1,803).

AI agents: Key leadership priorities

Unlocking new potential to reshape processes and services Agents deliver up to 3x more productivity and speed benefits compared to traditional assistants

Breaking down silos

The biggest opportunity is seamless enterprise collaboration through zero-touch services, advanced planning, and automated customer 360 activation

Managing the risks of more complexity AI agents are more complex than assistants, requiring robust testing and optimization to manage operational and cyber risks effectively

Cutting through the hype Mislabeling and overhype of “agents” will dilute trust and lead to unmet expectations; leaders must clarify capabilities and set realistic goals

Moving forward
Success lies in targeted, high-impact applications, focused on practical design,
seamless integration, and data quality over hype

2025年AI雷达报告