Artificial Intelligence (AI) is
no longer just a buzzword—it’s becoming embedded in everyday workflows.
According to the 2025 full report from Wharton and GBK Collective (read
full-report here)¹, enterprises are shifting from experimentation to execution.
Below are seven takeaways you should keep in mind if you’re
steering strategy, operations or transformation in your organisation.
1.
Gen AI Usage Has Gone Mainstream
- The report finds that 46% of enterprise decision-makers use
Gen AI daily, up +17 percentage-points year-on-year.
- At least 80% use it weekly or more.
- Meaning: where once AI was pilot-only, now it’s part of core
workflows: data analytics, document summarisation, writing support.
Why it matters: If your business is not yet deploying Gen AI for regular tasks, you’re likely already behind.
2.
Measuring Value & ROI Is Now Standard
- 72% of organisations report that they track structured,
business-linked ROI metrics for Gen AI (productivity, profit,
throughput).
- 62% anticipate budget increases for Gen AI of 10% or more over the
next two to five years.
Why it matters: The story is shifting—pilot → proof → scale. Investments without measurement are being replaced by disciplined programmes.
Tip: If you adopt Gen AI, build in clear metrics from day one: what you want it to improve, how you’ll measure it, and when you expect results.
3.
Talent, Training & Trust Are the Key Human Capital Lever
- 67% of organisations now have executive leadership in Gen AI
adoption (up +16 pp YoY).
- But training investment has softened (-8 pp), and
recruiting advanced Gen AI skills remains a challenge for 49% of
firms.
Why it matters: Technology doesn’t run itself. If you invest in tools but skip the people side—skills, roles, governance—you risk stalled adoption or even failure.
Tip: Define clear roles (e.g., Chief AI Officer, governance lead), and ensure you have change-management and up-skilling programmes in place.
4.
Industry & Functional Gaps Remain Large
- Tech/Telecom, Banking/Finance and Professional Services are leading
in Gen AI use. For example, 90% of Tech/Telecom respondents rate
themselves “expert/very knowledgeable” vs. only 64% in Retail.
- Marketing & Sales functions lag behind IT, Legal and
Procurement in uptake and expertise.
Why it matters: Even as Gen AI becomes mainstream, the “playing field” isn’t level. If your business is in a lagging industry or function, you must act deliberately.
Tip: Benchmark your own function’s Gen AI readiness against peers; identify specific gaps in skills, process and tool-use.
5.
Smaller & Mid-Size Enterprises Are Gaining Ground
- Tier 2 and Tier 3 firms (smaller revenue) have greater gains in
weekly use and speed of adoption compared to Tier 1 (>$2 billion
revenue) firms.
- The gap between large enterprises and smaller ones is closing.
Why it matters: Being smaller doesn’t mean you’re disadvantaged;
in fact, agility may give you an edge. Larger firms have more legacy
systems, silos and complexity.
Tip: If you’re in a mid-sized company, lean into your nimbleness and embed Gen AI in current workflows rather than waiting for “big transformation”.
6.
Adoption Speed & Usage Are Strong Signals of Future Winner/Loser Divide
- Roughly 16% of organisations are “laggards”, using Gen
AI weekly or less. These are concentrated in Retail and
Manufacturing. Wharton Human-AI Research
- Those that adopt faster and more broadly are pulling ahead. The
divide is widening.
Why it matters: If you’re in a lagging organisation you might face risk of being disrupted. If you’re ahead, you can turn Gen AI into competitive advantage.
Tip: Perform a rapid audit of where your organisation stands in Gen AI adoption (usage frequency, measurement, talent readiness). If you’re behind, set a fast-track roadmap.
7.
Use-Cases Are Moving from Generic to Specific & Strategic
- Highly-adopted tasks: data analysis (73 %), meeting/document
summarisation (70 %), document editing/writing (68 %).
- More advanced: code writing for IT, employee recruitment for HR,
legal contract generation. Why it matters: Early
adopters used Gen AI for broad tasks; now the smart money is in embedding
Gen AI into domain-specific, repeatable workflows.
Tip: Map out which high-value workflows in your business could be accelerated or augmented by Gen AI—e.g., in procurement, legal, finance. Prioritise where ROI is measurable, risk is manageable.
Final
Thoughts
The 2025 Wharton/GBK report
shows that Gen AI is no longer optional—it’s on the path to being core to
business operations. Usage is high, budgets are increasing, ROI is being
tracked, and the human/talent dimension is becoming more important than ever.
If your organisation hasn’t yet
laid the foundations—clear metric-setting, talent alignment, governance,
workflow mapping—then now is the time. The gap between leaders and laggards is
real—and it may determine who thrives next year.
📌 Pro tip: Download the full report
for deeper industry-specific data and functional breakdowns. [Full report link]
¹ Download here: “Accountable Acceleration: Gen AI Fast-Tracks into the Enterprise.” (Wharton Human-AI Research & GBK Collective, October 2025) – https://ai.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025-Wharton-GBK-AI-Adoption-Report_Full-Report.pdf
