The pace with which AI entered our lives is phenomenal.
It modified most individuals’s notion of synthetic intelligence. I bear in mind seeing AI as a expertise that merely delivers an output, equivalent to a suggestion or motion, based mostly on the enter. Like when a bit of software program detects a buyer’s frustration of their voice and flags them as a prime precedence.
Many firms did one thing related whereas advertising and marketing themselves as AI-powered within the preliminary part of AI adoption. However the true potential got here with generative AI.
This is likely to be a shock, however lengthy earlier than ChatGPT and DALL·E grew to become family names, some enterprises had been already utilizing AI in 2017.
This text covers AI adoption statistics from 2017 to 2025. It reveals the yearly traits and the way we entered the present AI hype.
AI adoption: Evolution of clever expertise at a look
| Yr | Enterprise AI utilization | Shopper AI utilization |
| 2017 | 20% of corporations used AI | – |
| 2019 | 58% of corporations had been reported to make use of AI | – |
| 2020 | 50% of corporations used AI | 4.2 billion voice assistants in use |
| 2023 | 55% of corporations adopted AI, and 33% used generative AI | Open AI’s ChatGPT reached 100 million customers |
| 2024 | 72% of corporations had been reported to make use of AI | 8.4 billion voice assistants (projected) |
| 2025 | 92% of firms plan to spend money on Gen AI over the subsequent three years | Elon Musk claimed that AI will develop into “vastly smarter” than people in 2025. What are you anticipating to see this yr? |
Sources: McKinsey: State of AI in 2024, McKinsey: AI within the Office, Statista, Reuters, and NY Instances
AI adoption from 2017 to 2025: 9 years in overview
Under are just a few statistics that showcase how AI has developed over the previous 9 years.
2017: 20% of enterprises adopted AI
In 2017, solely 20% of survey respondents confirmed they adopted AI in no less than one enterprise space.
McKinsey’s State of AI in 2022 coated AI evolution between 2017 and 2022. The survey noticed that though AI adoption was 2.5x larger in 2022 than in 2017, it elevated to 58% in 2019 however dropped to 50% in 2022.
In addition to development, listed below are just a few further occasions that occurred round AI adoption in 2017:
- The variety of AI papers revealed every year elevated 9 occasions in comparison with the 1996 information.
- The variety of energetic US startups growing AI methods elevated 14 occasions since 2000. In 2017, round 600 startups developed AI methods. The annual VC funding elevated by 6x in the identical interval.
Six occasions
improve in AI vibrancy was noticed in 2017 in comparison with 2000 information. AI vibrancy is the measure of the liveliness of AI as a subject.
Supply: Stanford
- Job openings that wanted AI abilities within the US elevated by 4.5x since 2013.
- Error charges in picture labeling fell from 28.5% in 2010 to 2.5% in 2017.
- An AI system skilled on a dataset of 129,450 scientific photos of two,032 illnesses may classify pores and skin most cancers at a stage of competence similar to that of a dermatologist.
- In 2017, the proportion of company AI papers within the U.S. was 6.6x that of company AI papers in China.
2018: AI Adoption grew by greater than 100%.
The McKinsey report estimated that AI adoption was 47% in 2018, in comparison with solely 20% in 2017. That is greater than double the adoption fee in 2017, displaying greater than a 100% improve in adoption.
On the educational facet, AI was a trending subject. The 2018 Development of Synthetic Intelligence (AAAI) convention was held in February in New Orleans, Louisiana. The convention noticed that 70% of papers submitted had been affiliated with the usor China. Nevertheless, the variety of papers accepted was remarkably even, 268 and 265, respectively.
Under are some extra fascinating occasions that occurred round AI adoption in 2018.
- The U.S.-affiliated papers had an acceptance fee of 29% vs. China-affiliated analysis papers at 21%.
- Attendance on the Worldwide Convention on Studying Representations (ICLR) 2018 grew 20x since 2012. The convention centered on deep reinforcement studying inside AI.
71%
of the applicant pool for AI jobs within the U.S. was males. Workshops like girls in machine studying (WiML) and AI4All inspired participation from different underrepresented teams.
Supply: Stanford
- WiML alone noticed 750+ girls take part — a 600% improve from 2014.
- Lively AI startups within the U.S. elevated 113% between 2015 and 2018.
- Articles on AI grew to become 1.5x extra optimistic from 2016 to 2018
Primarily based on these statistics, AI adoption trended upward in 2018. Corporations like Amazon and Alphabet invested $16.1B and $13.9B in analysis and improvement associated to AI, respectively.
2019: AI adoption in organizations reached 58%
Contemplating the continuing improvement and analysis in AI, 2019 confirmed a rise in AI’s adoption fee. In addition to this, many occasions occurred within the AI house throughout this era, together with:
- The share of AI-related job postings within the U.S. rose from 0.26% in 2010 to 1.32% by October 2019. Machine studying topped the charts and made up 0.51% of all job listings.
- Washington had the best share of AI job postings at 1.4%, adopted by California and Massachusetts at 1.3%, New York at 1.2%, DC at 1.1%, and Virginia at 1%.
58%
of huge firms used AI in no less than one space in 2019. Nevertheless, solely 19% addressed algorithm explainability dangers, and a mere 13% labored to cut back AI bias and promote equity.
Supply: Stanford
- In 2019, personal international funding in AI crossed $70 billion.
- Startups raised over $37 billion, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) had been valued at $34 billion. IPOs introduced in $5 billion, and minority stakes attracted round $2 billion.
From mid-2018 to mid-2019, over 3,600 international information articles explored AI-related subjects. They had been primarily centered on equity, interpretability, and explainability.
2020: AI adoption in massive enterprises fell to 50%
COVID-19 clearly confirmed its impression on AI adoption in 2020. With priorities shifting and budgets tightening, the adoption fee fell to 50% in 2020. Nonetheless, not every part slowed down.
- Funding in AI for drug design and most cancers analysis hit $13.8 billion in 2020, 4.5x larger than in 2019. This was the top-funded AI sector globally.
- In 2020, applied sciences like facial recognition, video analytics, and voice ID grew to become extra correct, reasonably priced, and widespread. It drove broader surveillance capabilities worldwide.
- Though many teams produced moral frameworks and ideas, a constant approach to measure or consider AI improvement was absent.
- In 2020, round 4.2 billion digital voice assistants had been predicted for use worldwide.
- The U.S. posted 8.2% fewer AI jobs in 2020 than in 2019. The roles dropped from 325,724 to 300,999.
Though total adoption was comparatively slower, some sectors, like healthcare, noticed excessive funding in AI-related R&D.
2021: AI adoption climbed again to 56% in organizations
Some survey respondents instructed their AI investments didn’t improve regardless of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Participation in in-person occasions moved to a web-based medium as an alternative. Right here’s a snapshot of some fascinating occasions within the AI house in 2021.
- AI journal publications grew by 34.5% from 2019 to the beginning of 2021.
- Main AI conferences shifted on-line as a result of COVID-19. Consequently, the attendance doubled throughout 9 main occasions.
- Generative AI made substantial progress. AI was capable of create real looking textual content, audio, and pictures.
25%
of survey respondents reported that no less than 5% of their organizations’ earnings earlier than curiosity and taxes (EBIT) had been attributable to AI in 2021.
Supply: McKinsey
- AI got here nearer to human efficiency in language duties. On fundamental studying benchmarks (e.g., SuperGLUE), AI was capable of beat people by 1–5%. For complicated duties like abductive pure language inference (aNLI), the human-AI efficiency hole shrank from 9 factors in 2019 to only one in 2021.
- Robotic arms grew to become extra reasonably priced. The median worth dropped by 46.2% in 5 years, from $42,000 in 2017 to $22,600 in 2021. This made robotics analysis extra accessible.
- AI funding surged to $93.5B in 2021, greater than double 2020 ranges.
Generative AI rose in 2021, and lots of large organizations elevated their investments. Personal funding in AI reached roughly $93.5 billion in 2021, greater than twice the quantity invested in 2020. Nevertheless, the variety of newly funded AI startups declined from 1,051 in 2019 to 762 in 2020 and additional right down to 746 in 2021.
2022: AI adoption plateaued at 50%
After bouncing again, enterprise AI adoption dipped once more to 50% in 2022, indicating that the {industry} had reached a plateau. Nevertheless, this pattern was just like different applied sciences within the early years of their adoption.
Michael Chui, Associate at McKinsey World Institute, mentioned, “We is likely to be seeing the truth sinking in at some organizations of the extent of organizational change it takes to embed this expertise efficiently.”
Corporations that thought implementing AI could be a fast train had been discouraged, however people who grew their AI muscle slowly integrated extra AI capabilities.
Right here’s an summary of every part that influenced AI adoption indirectly in 2022:
- The U.S.–China collaboration in AI analysis noticed essentially the most cross-country exercise from 2010 to 2021. It elevated by 5x over the last decade regardless of rising geopolitical tensions.
- Corporations used extra AI instruments. On common, 3.8 totally different AI capabilities in 2022, up from 1.9 in 2018.
- The most typical use of AI remained the identical for 4 years: firms leveraged AI to optimize service operations.
40%
of firms utilizing AI spent greater than 5% of their digital finances 5 years in the past. In 2022, over half of them spent that a lot or extra.
Supply: McKinsey
- 54% of the world’s massive language and multimodal fashions in 2022 got here from U.S. establishments.
- In 2022, the {industry} dominated AI improvement. Business produced 32 main fashions, in comparison with simply three from academia.
- The yr 2022 noticed the general public launch of generative instruments like DALL·E 2, Secure Diffusion, ChatGPT, and Make-A-Video.
- For the primary time in a decade, international AI personal funding declined 26.7%, from $93.5B in 2021 to $91.9B in 2022. Nonetheless, AI funding in 2022 was 18x larger than in 2013.
- 37 nations handed AI legal guidelines in 2022. This quantity elevated from 1 firm in 2016.
- The U.S. remained the worldwide chief in AI funding, and attracted $47.4B in 2022, 3.5 occasions greater than China.
Though funding decreased and adoption plateaued, AI fashions, legal guidelines, insurance policies, and capabilities rose in 2022. This was doubtless when the group gained maturity in implementing AI, main the {industry} towards the AI spring.
2023: AI adoption grew to 55%
In 2023, AI adoption in organizations elevated to 55%, whereas 33% of survey respondents confirmed that their agency used generative AI indirectly.
- In 2023, industry-led AI analysis launched 51 key machine studying fashions, whereas academia contributed solely 15. Collaborations between {industry} and academia hit a file with 21 joint fashions.
- AI organizations launched 149 basis fashions in 2023 — greater than double the quantity in 2022. Almost 66% of those fashions had been open-source, up from 44.4% in 2022.
- U.S.-based establishments produced 61 prime AI fashions in 2023, greater than the EU (21) and China (15) mixed.
- China led the world in AI patent origin with 61.1% in 2022. The U.S. adopted with 20.9%, down from 54.1% in 2010.
- Generative AI funding skyrocketed to $25.2B in 2023, 8x greater than in 2022.
67%
of firms had been anticipated to extend their AI investments over the subsequent three years.
Supply: McKinsey
- The U.S. AI funding hit $67.2B in 2023, almost 9 occasions greater than China. China and EU investments fell sharply.
- The U.S. AI laws grew by 25 in 2023, up from only one in 2016.
- 21 U.S. businesses regulated AI in 2023, up from 17 in 2022.
Investments in generative AI elevated in 2023, creating the preliminary setup that fueled its rise in 2024 and 2025. Let’s take a look at what precisely occurred in 2024.
2024: 72% of organizations used AI
From 50% adoption in 2022, AI adoption surged to between 72% and 78% in 2024, relying on which examine you belief extra.
Personally, I really feel the adoption fee is somewhat larger than what’s been reported. Stanford’s 2025 AI Index reported, “78% of organizations used AI in 2024.” Both means, it’s clear that the AI adoption trended upward. McKinsey and Stanford’s information mirrored this.
Listed here are just a few related statistics to this adoption pattern:
- In 2024, the {industry} constructed virtually 90% of the highest AI fashions, up from 60% in 2023. Academia led in essentially the most extremely cited AI papers.
- The U.S. produced 40 prime AI fashions in 2024, forward of China (15) and Europe (3)
- Video technology from textual content improved in 2024. New instruments like OpenAI’s SORA and DeepMind’s Veo 2 create higher video content material.
- AI incident studies hit a file with 233 circumstances in 2024, up 56% from 2023.
- 8 out of 10 professionals prioritized AI capabilities when choosing software program.
- 40% of firms relied on automation to streamline and enhance information entry.
- 83% of organizations that bought an AI answer noticed a optimistic ROI.
- 75% of companies applied two to 5 AI options, suggesting a measured but dedicated strategy. In the meantime, 17% have adopted six to eight options throughout their operations.
- Solely 2% of organizations reported fast AI adoption in IT. Nevertheless, advertising and marketing emerged because the quickest division to undertake AI, in accordance ot 53% of organizations.
- Solely 26% of firms turned AI pilots into actual enterprise worth. Furthermore, solely 4% had been on the chopping fringe of AI maturity.
- 62% of AI worth got here from core enterprise areas like operations, gross sales, and R&D.
- Solely 10% of AI implementation challenges got here from AI algorithms, but many firms wrongly overfocused right here. 70% of obstacles had been people- and process-related.
- BCG reported that with out decisive motion, 75% of firms risked falling behind within the AI race.
- Mentions of AI in international legislative information rose 21% in 2024.
- The U.S. federal businesses launched 59 AI laws in 2024, up from 25 in 2023.
- AI optimism rose globally, from 52% in 2022 to 55% in 2024.
- 60% of individuals believed AI would change their job; solely 36% feared it will substitute them.
AI adoption reached an all-time excessive, with a fee between 72% and 78% globally. With continued funding, this fee is predicted to rise even additional in 2025.
2025: Getting into the clever age
McKinsey analysis suggests that the majority firms are investing in AI, however just one% consider they’re at maturity. The problem will not be staff however leaders who will not be transferring quick. Whereas firms are trying ahead to the long-term positive aspects of AI, 92% are planning to extend their funding within the subsequent three years.
Under is an summary of what’s newest and but to return within the AI house in 2025.
- 69% of C-suite firms started investing in generative AI over a yr in the past. Regardless of that, solely 47% say they’re making gradual progress in constructing Gen AI instruments.
- C-suite leaders are 2.4x extra prone to say worker readiness is a major barrier to adopting AI. However staff are utilizing generative AI thrice greater than their leaders suppose.
- 48% of staff rank coaching as essentially the most essential issue for gen AI adoption.
These stats and different ongoing traits recommend that AI isn’t plateauing anymore; it’s on the rise from an innovation, implementation, and adoption perspective.
An MIT Expertise Assessment article suggests that giant language fashions (LLMs) will have the ability to “purpose.” It talks about 2023 being the age of generative photos and predicts 2025 to be the age of generative digital playgrounds.
Yr-by-year development traits in AI adoption
To spotlight the traits, here’s a temporary year-by-year abstract of notable AI adoption milestones:
- AI was principally in R&D (2010 to 2016). Early shopper merchandise like Apple’s Siri (2011) and Amazon Alexa (2014) launched AI to the general public, however enterprise use was uncommon. No exact international adoption surveys exist for this era.
- Surveys started (2017): A landmark McKinsey examine in 2017 discovered 20% of firms deployed AI in some operate. The Business buzz intensified, however broad adoption was nonetheless rising.
- Fast development (2018–2019): Roughly half of the corporations had experimented with AI. Generative AI was not but mainstream, however machine studying and automation instruments grew to become frequent in tech-focused firms.
- Consolidation and COVID impression (2020): World surveys round 2020 confirmed AI utilization round 50% in enterprises. In the meantime, shopper AI surged with voice assistants. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed many firms to spend money on automation and distant providers. Healthcare and retail noticed AI funding jumps, and digital assistants grew to become extra frequent at house.
- Continued adoption (2021): By 2021, many organizations had AI pilots or deployments, however adoption plateaued. Large tech releases equivalent to GPT-3, DALL·E, and many others. expanded AI capabilities. Nevertheless, the complete impression was nonetheless in pilots.
- Breakout of generative AI (2022): ChatGPT and different generative fashions had been launched in late 2022. They captured worldwide consideration. Corporations examined generative AI for content material, code, and design duties. Shopper consciousness elevated: roughly half of the folks had heard of ChatGPT by year-end.
- Report development (2023): ChatGPT reached 100 million month-to-month customers by January 2023, the quickest adoption of any shopper web app. On the similar time, enterprises resumed quicker AI adoption.
- Mainstream and mass deployment (2024–2025): The Stanford AI Index (2025) studies that 78% of organizations will use AI in 2024. By 2025, main economies will improve funding in AI improvement and regulation, and {industry} surveys count on continued development.
Sector snapshots: Key AI adoption figures throughout industries
Under are concise stats of AI adoption by {industry}, illustrating how AI use differs throughout industries:
| Business/sector | AI adoption pattern | Use circumstances |
| Finance | 72% of finance leaders use AI. | Fraud detection and danger administration |
| Healthcare | 90% of hospitals are estimated to make use of AI. | Diagnostic and monitoring |
| Retail | 53% of huge retail chains use AI | In-store analytics, demand forecasting, and buyer personalization |
| Manufacturing | 35% of producers used AI in 2023 | Predictive upkeep and high quality management |
Shifting towards effectivity
From roughly one-in-five firms utilizing AI in 2017, AI adoption grew to roughly three-in-four firms by 2024. The expansion is hanging, and it is nonetheless anticipated to rise for the remaining half of 2025. AI is right here to remain and can doubtless drive folks, processes, and expertise towards better effectivity within the foreseeable future.
As a person, it’s advisable to consider what components of your workflows may be automated by AI. If it’s saving you extra time, automate it. It will make it easier to keep aggressive, efficient, and environment friendly within the altering occasions. I personally don’t consider AI will substitute people of their jobs. Nevertheless, I strongly really feel {that a} human with an AI sidekick will make the duo irreplaceable.
As an organization, implement AI strategically and construct it over time moderately than sprinting towards it. It will make it easier to attain AI maturity whereas successfully realizing enterprise advantages.
Need to study extra about AI adoption? Try my colleagues’ article on AI Adoption in 2025.
