According to a new report from Boston Consulting Group, only 5% of companies in its2025 study of more than 1,250 global firms are seeing real returns on AI. Meanwhile, 60% of companies have seen little to no benefit, reporting only minimal increases in revenue and cost savings despite making substantial investments. BCG said that industries like software, telecommunications, and fintech have the highest levels of "AI maturity," which the firm defines as "the ability to create value at scale."
Every company wants to have an AI strategy: A bold vision to do more with less. But there's a growing problem-one that few executives want to say out loud. AI initiatives aren't delivering the returns they were hoping for. In fact, many leaders now say they haven't seen meaningful returns at all. IBM recently found that only 1 in 4 AI projects hit the expected ROI. And BCG's research goes further still: 75% of businesses have seen no tangible value from their AI investments.
