McKinsey's State of AI survey, cited in Stanford's 2026 AI Index, asked organizations already using AI where they had seen the clearest gains. The single most commonly cited outcome in 2025 was improved innovation, named by 64% of respondents, more than any other organizational outcome measured
The 2025 McKinsey & Company Survey, cited in the 2026 AI Index report, asked organizations that use AI about its impact on various organizational measures. Among the outcomes measured, 64% of respondents reported that AI usage had improved innovation. This was the most frequently cited positive outcome.
Verified 2026-09-16
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Firms using AI most often report better innovation, a softer benefit than direct cost savings or extra sales.
More on Adoption
- Stanford's 2026 AI Index, citing McKinsey's 2025 survey, breaks down AI-agent deployment by business function. Even in IT, the function with the most agent activity, the share of organisations reporting no AI-agent use at all in 2025 was still 69% of organizations report zero AI-agent use in IT, the business function with the heaviest agent activity
- Stanford's 2026 AI Index reports that organizations' use of generative AI specifically, not just AI overall, grew sharply in 2025: the share of organizations that regularly use generative AI in at least one business function reached 79%, up from 71% in 2024
- Stanford's 2026 AI Index compared generative AI's adoption curve after its mass-market debut to that of earlier transformative technologies, and found generative AI reached 53% population adoption within three years, faster than the PC or the internet
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