2025全球人工智能调查报告：AI应用悖论 Artificial Intelligence A reality too good to be true

GlobalAIsurvey2025

ArtificialIntelligence

Areality

toogoodtobetrue?

survey'

WavestoneGlobalAIsurvey2025

Content

Introduction

Methodology

Keytakeaways

Strategy&budget

Exceptedbenefits

VSactualimpact

Risks&barriers

03

06

11

17

Sustainability21

&sovereignty

AItechnologies

25

Employee30

enablement

Conclusion34

Getintouch

2

Arealitytoogoodtobetrue?

Thisyear’sGlobalAIsurveysurfacesanimageofAIadoptionthatseemsalmosttooperfect.Ninety-

ninepercentoforganizationsreportdeployingAI;70%placeitattheheartoftheirbusinessstrategy;

andITbudgetsdedicatedtoAIhavereachedanaverageof13%.Autonomousagentsarealready

proliferatingandreportedbenefitsspanefficiency,customervalue,andemployeewellbeing.Onpaper,AIappearslesslikeanemergingtoolthanapermanentfixtureofcorporatestrategy.Yetmanyoftheseachievementsmaybeoverstated.

Behindthenumbers:afragilereality

Beneaththeheadlinesliesamore

nuancedreality.ManyinitiativesstilllackrigorousROImeasurement,projectsoftenoverruntimeandbudget,andonlyabout30%ofusershavemeaningfullychangedhowtheywork.Usecasesaremultiplyingbutmostorganizationsarestillonly

beginningtograsphowAIcantruly

transformbusinessmodelsandcore

processes.Inmanycases,these

deploymentsechowhatMITcallsthe

“GenAIDivide”—highadoptionbutlowtransformation,wherevisiblepilotsfailtoscale.

Thisyear’sWavestoneAILeaderSurvey,basedoninsightsfrom500executives

acrossEurope,NorthAmerica,andAsia—CIOs,CDOs,CTOs,andCISOs—confirms

boththecentralityofAIandtheparadoxofatechnologycelebratedinboardroomsyetfragileinexecution.

Amarketintransition

Wherethemostadvancedorganizationsstandoutbybuildingresilient,industrial-gradefoundations.Theyareinvestingin

dataarchitecture,governancelayers,andadaptiveplatformsthattranscendone-offexperiments.Othersremainfocusedon

quickwins,chasingnewpilotsandagentictoolswithoutrootingtheminenterprise-

wideprocesses.Sovereigntyhasbecomeabuzzword—citedby84%—butintoomanycasesitendsupassovereignty

washing,invokedrhetoricallywhile

performance,cost,orspeedstilldictatechoices.

Therealchallengeahead

Atthesametime,theriseofagentic

organizations-humansworking

alongsideintelligentagents-isredefiningexpectationsfromAI.Thisshiftbringsbothopportunityandperil:orchestrating

multipleagentsrequiresnewoperatingmodels,accountabilityframeworks,andethicalsafeguards.Manyarerushingtoadopt,butfewarepreparedtogovern.

AIisnowembeddedinstrategy,but

maturityremainsuneven.Ambitionis

abundant;executionisinconsistent.In

2025,thequestionwillnolongerbewhoexperimentswithAI,butwhocanprove

value,scaleresponsibly,andanchoritintrustandpurpose.OnlythenwillAI

becomeatruebackboneof

competitiveness,notjustanotherwaveofcorporateFOMO.

ImèneKabouya

Partner,

Wavestone

WavestoneGlobalAIsurvey20253

Aboutthesurvey

Wavestonesurveyed500mainly

technology(butalsocyber,data&AI)

leadersbasedintheUSA,theUK,France,Germany,Singapore,andHongKong

inmid2025.

10%

20%

10%

USA

RESPONDENT

UK

COUNTRIES

France

20%20%

20%

Germany

HongKongSingapore

Respondentorganizations’sizewere:

→23%largebusiness(5000+employees),

→41%midbusiness(3000-4999employees),→36%smallbusiness(1000-2499employees).

62%ofrespondentswereBoard/C-levelpositionsand38%wereSenior

ManagementandDirectorpositions.

3%2%0%

Consumerservices

Business&professionalservices

Energy,oil/gas&utilitiesLifesciences

Leisure&entertainment

3%4%

20%

8%

IT,technology&telecomsRetail,distribution&transportFinancialservices

RESPONDENT8%

SECTOR

Manufacturing&productionConstruction&property

20%

15%

Government&internationalinstitutions

17%

WavestoneGlobalAIsurvey20254

WavestoneGlobalAIsurvey20255

Keytakeaways

NostrategywithoutAI

70%oforganizationsalreadyplaceAIattheheartoftheirbusinessstrategy

>99%ofrespondentsreportthattheir

organizationhasalreadydeployedoneormoreAIsolutions,and70%considerita

significantpartoftheirbusinessstrategy.

Withanaverage13%ofITbudgetsdedicatedtoAI,mostcompaniesarebettingonshort-termperformanceandlong-term

transformation.Thechallengeaheadisto

scaleresponsibly,withstrongergovernance,complianceandvaluetracking.

EveryonewinswithAI,onpaper

Whilemostorganizationsseetangible

benefits,46%donotyethaveastructuredROImeasurementframework.

>99%ofrespondentsreportsignificanttime

savingswithAI,translatingintobusiness

value(32%),productivity(24%),and

employeewellbeing(24%).Itsimpactissettobeenterprise-wide,fromcorebusinesstosupportfunctions,withthebiggestgains

expectedinIT&cybersecurity(92%)and

customer-facingfunctions(90%).ROIisnotformallymeasured,butonly22%of

companiesseeitasabarriertoadoptingAI.

AImaturityisnotonlyaboutquick-wins,butaboutfutureproof

foundations

Fromeverydaytoolstoinfrastructure,leadingorganizationsarelayingthefoundationsforscalableAI

>AIadoptionoftenstartswithaccessible,

embeddedtools(adoptedby89%),butthemostcommittedorganizationsgofurther,

layingtheinvisiblefoundationsneededto

scale.Investmentsininfrastructureand

governanceplatformsenablethemtomovebeyondexperimentation,building

aresilientandindustrializedarchitecture.

AsAImaturitygrows,hurdlesshift

AmongthemostAI-maturecompanies,thetophurdlesaremarketcomplexity(27%)

andregulation(25%).Whileothersstrugglemainlywithtalentshortages(38%),

interoperability(32%)andbudget(32%)

>BarrierstoAIadoptionreflectorganizationalmaturity.Forthemostmatureorganizations,thechallengeisadoptingresponsibly

throughgovernanceandcompliance;forlessmatureplayers,itisovercomingsilosand

budgetshortages.Successdependson

breakingbarriers,buildingmomentum,andprovingvaluequickly

Issovereigntythenewgreen?

84%oforganizationsintegratesovereigntyintotheirstrategy,whilefocuson

environmentalimpacthasfallento29%(vs.46%lastyear)

>WhileconcernforAI’senvironmental

footprintwashighin2024,todaysovereigntyclearlydominates,drivenbygeopolitical

tensions,regulatorydebates,and

dependencyrisks.This“sovereigntyturn”

reflectsthenewcontext—wherecost,

control,andstrategicautonomyincreasinglyoutweighenvironmentalconsiderations.

Frombotstoagents:thenextchallengeforAIleaders

76%ofcompaniesreportdeployingAIagentsabletoplanandact

>Theageofscriptedbotsisover:with76%of

organizationsalreadydeployingadvanced

agentsandeven10%experimentingwithfullautonomy.Thesefiguresmayappear

surprisinglyhigh,reflectingbothambition

andearlypilots.Thecriticalhurdle,however,liesahead:movingfromexperimentationtoenterprise-scaledeployment,withthe

governance,reliability,andintegration

requiredtomakeAIagentsatrueoperationalbackbone.

Strategy&budget

GhislaindePierrefeu

AIExpert-France

Ourclientsarerapidlyshiftingfromanopportunisticapproach—limitedtoahandfuloffocusedusecases(assistants,RAG,etc.)—toamorestrategic,business-driven

approach,reimaginingtheprocessesmostlikelytodelivertangibleROI.

WavestoneGlobalAIsurvey20256

AIisnowaboard-levelpriority

ThesurveyshowsthatAIhasmovedpasttheexploratoryphasetobecomeaboard-levelpriority.

Aclearmajority(70%)alreadytreatAIasasignificantpartoftheir

businessstrategy,whileanother20%includeitwithoutmakingitcentral.Thelaggardsarebothveryfewandunderpressure,aseventhe9%

planningtoadoptwithinayearwillsoonconvergewiththemainstream.ThispointstoanenvironmentwhereignoringAIisnolongerviable,and

therealdifferentiatorliesnotinwhetherAIisadopted,butinhoweffectivelyitisscaledandembedded.

Regionalpatternsrevealcontrastsinmaturity.CompaniesinHongKong(78%)andSingapore(80%)showthestrongestcommitmentto

embeddingAIstrategically,whileEuropeanfirms—France(55%),UK

(58%),andGermany(70%)—takeamoremeasuredapproach.This

relativecautionisshapedbystricterregulatoryframeworkssuchastheAIAct,butmayalsoallowformoredeliberate,targetedintegrationofAIintocoreprocesses.

Overall,thedatamakesonepointclear:AIhasbecomeanon-negotiableelementofcorporatestrategy,andleadershipwilldependonturning

WavestoneGlobalAIsurvey20257

ambitionintoscaled,responsibleadoption.

Whichofthebelowbestdescribesyourorganization’sstrategicapproachtoAI?

70%

AIformsasignificantpartofourbusinessstrategy

AIispartofourbusinessstrategy,butnotasamajorfocus

20%

AIisnotcurrentlypartofourbusiness

strategy,butitwillbeinthenext12months

9%

1%

AIisnotcurrentlypartofourbusiness

AIhasenteredthestrategicmainstream:70%ofcompaniesnowembedAIsignificantlyintheirbusinessstrategy.

strategy,butitwillbebeyond12months

C-suitesputrealmoneybehindAI

OrganizationsaremakingsubstantialfinancialcommitmentstoAI,underscoringitsstrategicimportance.Over65%ofbusinessesnowallocateatleast10%oftheirITbudgettoAI,with14%dedicatingmorethan20%.Thisisnolongerexperimentation;it’sacoreinvestment.

Thisfinancialcommitmentscalesdirectlywithstrategicintent:

organizationsthatconsiderAIa"significantpartoftheirbusiness

strategy"arefarmorelikelytoinvestheavily,with75%allocating

over10%oftheirITbudgettoAI.EventhosejustplanningforAIinthenext12monthsshowstrongintent,with40%readytoallocate10-15%.Theseinvestmentsaredirectedtowardcloudinfrastructure,

proprietarymodels,AIintegration,anddatagovernance:theinvisibleyetessentialfoundationsofalong-termadoptionstrategy.

Largerenterprises(over3,000employees)aregenerallyoutspendingtheirsmallerpeers,reinforcingthatscaleoftendrivesdeeperAI

investment.Regionally,countriesliketheUSandSingaporeleadinhigh-budgetallocations.

Sector-wise,IT&Telecoms,FinancialServices,andEnergy/UtilitiesareattheforefrontofAIspending,consistentlyallocatinghigher

percentagesoftheirITbudgets.Thisreflectstheintensedata

demandsandtransformationalpotentialAIholdsfortheseindustries.Ultimately,thesebudgetincreasesunderscoreAI'stransitionfromanemergingtechnologytoafoundationalstrategicassetforawide

arrayoforganizations.

ThesecommitmentspointtoapotentialupwardtrendinAIspending—atrajectoryweexpecttoaccelerate,drivenbystrongC-level

WavestoneGlobalAIsurvey20258

appetite.

Whatpercentageofyourorganization’sITbudgetisallocatedtoAI?(Average)

11%

2%

14%

22%

25%

26%

Over20%

Lessthan1%1-5%5-10%10-15%15-20%

Onaverage,13%oftheITBudgetisallocatedtoAI

AIconfidenceisrising—butisitoverplayed?

Theresponsesshowastrikingconsensus:AIisseenasboth

transformativeandalreadyfinanciallyimpactful,eventhough

organizationsvaryinhowadvancedtheyarecomparedtopeers.Thismarksasharpshiftfromlastyear,when86%reporteda“waitandsee”attitude,andreflectsgrowingconfidencenotonlyinAI’scapabilities

butalsoinorganizations’relativepositioning.

Nearlyallrespondents(97%)agreethatAIisagame-changerthatwilldeeplydisruptworkandbusinesswithinthenexttwoyears,withalmosthalf(47%)stronglyagreeing.

Asimilarlyhigh96%agreethatAIalreadyhasapositiveimpacton

profitsandfinancialplanning,whichstronglyvalidatesthecasefor

sustainedinvestment.Thisperceptionofvalueiswidelysharedacrossgeographiesandsectors.

Yetthisoptimismcontrastswithwhatisreallyhappeningonthe

ground,wherescalingremainsunevenandmaturitylevelsvarywidely.Theseresultsmayrevealmoreaboutthefearofbeingseenas

laggardsthanabouttrueenterprise-widetransformation.

Atthesametime,66%acknowledgethatconcernsaboutAI-relatedrisksareslowingdownprogressorscaling,showingthatrisk

WavestoneGlobalAIsurvey20259

managementisnotperipheralbutasignificantbrakeonadoptionspeed.Thisreflectsontheneedforgovernanceandcomplianceframeworks.

WearebehindmostofourcompetitorswhenitcomestousingAI

AIisarealgame-changerthatwilldeeplydisruptthewayweworkanddobusiness

withinthenext2years

32

22

3016

3

50

47

ConcernsaboutAI-relatedrisksareslowingourorganization’sabilitytoscaleorprogressAI

AIhasaclearpositiveimpactonourcompany’sprofitsandfinancialplanning

25

9

4224

4

49

47

Aboutorganizations’perceptionsofAIanditsimpact

60%80%100%

0%20%40%

Stronglyagree

46%ofrespondentssaytheyarebehindmostcompetitors,downfrom75%in2024

StronglydisagreeSlightlydisagreeSlightlyagree

10

Strategy&budget

>TAKEWAY

01

Wavestone’svision

WavestoneGlobalAIsurvey2025

WavestoneGlobalAIsurvey2025

02

AIisnolongeraperipheraltechnology—ithasbecomeacentralpillarof

corporatestrategyformostorganizations.With70%alreadyembeddingAIsignificantly,thefocusisshiftingfromadoptiontoeffectivescalingand

integration.Regionaldifferencespersist,buttheoveralltrendconfirmsthatignoringAIisnolongeranoption.

10

MatureorganizationsarenolongerexperimentingwithAI—theyarebuildingthefoundationsforitssustainedintegration.Investmentsareincreasinglydirectedtowardinvisiblebutcriticalenablerssignalingashiftfromshort-termpilotstolong-termtransformation.Thisreflectsagrowingmaturity,whereAIisseennotjustasatool,butasastructuralcomponentoffuturebusinessmodels.

AIisbecomingincreasinglycentraltoourclients’strategies.Formost,theapproachisstillopportunisticandfragmented:identifyingusecasesthatcanquicklyimprovepartofaprocess.Thispragmatismispositive—itdeliversfast,tangibleresultswhile

progressivelybuildingAIskillsandfoundations“onthego.”

Themostadvancedplayers,however,areshiftingtoanAI-drivenstrategy.Ratherthanoptimizingpiecesofaprocess,theyarerethinkingentireworkflowsthroughAI—fromKYCinbankingtoCMCinlifesciences,supplychaininretail,andcustomeror

employeeservicedesks.

Fortheseleaders,investmentsarerisingsharplyreflectingnotonlythemagnitudeof

potentialbenefitsbutalsotheneedtomanagetheheavycomputationalcostsoflarge-scaleAI.

Expected

benefitsVS

actualimpact

JohannChazelle

AIExpert-France

FinancialservicesarealreadyaheadinadoptingAI,withtangibleimpactinareas

suchasfrauddetection,scoringandtargeting,pricing,andriskmanagement.Today,aneweraisunfoldingwithgenerativeandagenticAI—transformingKYC,customerexperience,andclaimsmanagement—asourclientsreorganizetofundamentally

reimaginetheseprocesseswithAIattheircore.

11

WavestoneGlobalsurvey2025

12

AIisprimarilyexpectedtodriveefficiency,customervalueand,innovation

OrganizationsexpectAItodeliveronbothfronts:39%citeefficiencygains,while37%looktoenhancecustomerexperienceand37%toimproveproductsandservices.

Workforceproductivity(33%)andsatisfaction(27%)arealsoinfocus,

whilecompetitiveadvantage(30%)outweighssimplecatch-up(24%),

showingthatfirmsaimtoleadratherthanfollow.Directfinancial

outcomesrankslightlylower(29%),suggestingthatrevenueisseenasaconsequenceofefficiencyanddifferentiationratherthanan

immediatetarget.

AIbenefitsmaterializeatdifferentspeeds.Quickwinsoftencomefromcopilotsortaskautomation,whiletransformationalgainssuchasnewbusinessmodelstakelongertoemerge.Moreover,ROIhingesondata

quality,processredesign,andadoption:wheredataisabarrier,revenueexpectationsdropto24%;wherechangemanagementisweak,

efficiencygainsfallto31%.

Thelessonisclear:organizationsmustbalanceshort-termwinswithlong-termtransformation,investinstrongenablerssuchasdataandgovernance,andactivelymanageadoptioniftheywanttoturnpilotsintoenterprise-wideimpact.

SincenearlyallorganizationsplantoadoptAIwithintwoyears,

competitiveadvantagewillcomenotfromadoptionitself,butfromtheabilitytoscaleitresponsibly,embeddingitdeeply,andturning

WavestoneGlobalAIsurvey202512

ambitionintomeasurableimpact

Whatbenefitswould,oris,yourorganizationhopingtogainfromadoptingAIwithinthenext2years?

Streamlinehowweoperateandreduceinefficiencies

39%

Deliverimprovedcustomerexperienceandsatisfaction

37%

Improveorcreatebetterproducts,servicesand/orofferings

37%

Driveemployeeproductivity

33%

Gaincompetitiveadvantage

30%

Increaserevenue

29%

Improveemployeesatisfaction

27%

Strengthenourcybersecurityposition

26%

Keepupwiththecompetition

24%

Bringoutsourcedworkbackin-house

18%

Respondentswereaskedtoselectupto3options

80%expectatleastoneoperationalbenefit—suchasreducedinefficiencies,enhancedproductdevelopment,orhigheremployeeproductivity.

73%expectatleastonebusiness-relatedbenefit—suchasimprovedcustomersatisfaction,competitiveadvantage,orrevenuegrowth.

AI’spositiveimpact

isexpectedeverywhereintheenterprise

Thedatarevealsaclearandconsistentexpectation:AIwillhaveapositiveimpactonorganizationswithinthenexttwoyears.

Fromstrategicdecision-makingtooperationalexecution,AIis

increasinglyseenasacatalystforefficiency,innovation,and

performance—movingbeyondpilotstobecomeembeddedincorebusinessprocesses.

ITandcybersecuritystandoutasthemostimmediatelyaffected

domains.Automatedthreatdetection,anomalydetection,andAI-drivencodeanalysisarealreadybeingdeployed,establishingnewstandardsforriskmanagementandresilience.

Productivityandknowledgemanagementfollowclosely,withtheriseofAIagentsexpectedtofundamentallyreshapehoworganizations

capture,share,andleverageknowledge.

Incustomer-facingareas,suchasmarketingandsales,adoptionis

acceleratingthroughusecaseslikehyper-personalization,automatedcontentgeneration,andpredictiveanalytics.ThisunderlinesthatAI’s

valueextendsbeyondoperationalefficiency—it’salsoaboutenhancingcustomerexperience,deepeningengagement,andunlockingnewpathstogrowth

Sectoraldifferencesaddimportantnuancetothispicture.

Manufacturingcompanies,forinstance,showparticularlyhigh

expectationsofAI’simpactonoperationsandsupplychains—92%

WavestoneGlobalAIsurvey202513

anticipateapositiveeffect,comparedwith84%innon-manufacturingsectors.Thisgapsuggeststhatperceptionsarecloselylinkedtoeachindustry’slevelofexposuretoAIusecases.Italsoraisesthepossibilitythat,insectorswhereapplicationsarelessvisible,AI’spotentialmaystillbeunderestimatedbynon-specialists.

Lookingatfunctionalareaswithinyourorganization,whereandtowhatextentdoyouexpectAItomakeanimpactwithinthenext2years?

IT&cybersecurity

Productivity&knowledgemanagement

Marketing,sales&customerexperience

HR,learning&internalcommunications

Operations&supplychain

Corporatestrategy&innovation

Product&engineering

Finance&procurementLegal,risk&compliance

Significant

positiveimpact

Moderate

positiveimpact

Noimpact

NA

IT&Cybersecuritylead(92%),whileLegal,Risk&Compliancetrailat78%—yetallfunctionswillfeeltheimpact.

Negativeimpact

AItimesavingsfuelbothbusinessvalueand

workforcetransformation

OrganizationsareleveragingthetimesavingsfromAIinwaysthat

balancehardbusinessoutcomeswithemployee-centeredbenefits.

Drivinggreaterbusinessvalue

(e.g.,revenue,clientsatisfaction)

Thetopanswer,chosenby32%,isdrivinggreaterbusinessvalue,suchasrevenuegrowthorclientsatisfaction.Thisreflectstheexecutive-levelfocusonensuringAItranslatesintotangibleimpactonperformanceand

competitiveness.

Atthesametime,nearlyhalfoforganizationsemphasizethehumansideofproductivitygains:24%prioritizeemployeewellbeing(betterwork-lifebalance,reducedadministrativeworkload),andanother24%focuson

increasingoutputwithoutaddingheadcount,underscoringefficiencyandcostmanagement.Together,theseresponseshighlightAI’sdualuse:

enhancingemployeeexperiencewhileoptimizingoperations.

Asmallerbutsignificantshare(19%)reinvesttimesavingsinemployeelearningandupskilling,suggestingthatsomeorganizationsviewAIasa

catalystforcapabilitybuildingratherthanmereefficiency.

Regionalandorganizationaldifferencesaddnuance:Singaporeleadsinwellbeingfocus(42%),HongKongemphasizesefficiency(36%),andthe

U.S.ismostbusiness-valueoriented(35%).Mid-sizedfirmsappearmore

agileincapturingvalue(39%),whereaslargerorganizationsadoptamorebalanced,multi-dimensionalapproach.

Overall,thesefindingspointtoadualorientation:companiesareusingAItocreatemeasurablebusinessimpactwhilesimultaneouslyinvestinginpeople—signalingabroadershiftfrompureROImetricstoward

WavestoneGlobalAIsurvey2025