AI revolution reshaping global business: McKinsey survey shows Gen AI is driving transformative change

Generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) is here to stay and is not going anywhere. Not only has it become globally accepted, but, and most importantly, it has firmly embedded itself into the DNA of the world’s leading companies. According to the latest study published by the global consulting firm, McKinsey, organisations are not merely experimenting with Gen AI; they are actively reshaping their business models, workflows, and governance structures to unlock its transformative potential.

The McKinsey report, titled The Global Survey on AI, reveals that more than three-quarters of respondents say their organisations now use AI in at least one business function, with the adoption of Gen AI, in particular, rising rapidly.

Most importantly, the study reveals that companies that has over $500 million in annual revenue, are the ones who are leading this charge. These bigger companies are moving faster than their smaller counterparts to integrate AI into their core operations.

This momentum stems from a growing understanding that AI’s true value lies not in isolated use cases but in a fundamental rewiring of how businesses operate, McKinsey said in its report.

Talking about this shift, Alex Singla, Senior Partner and Global Co-leader of QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, argues that over the past two years, Gen AI has evolved rapidly.

"We’ve learned a lot about generative AI over the past two years. But perhaps the most important lesson is this: It pays to think big. The organisations that are building a genuine and lasting competitive advantage from their AI efforts are the ones that are thinking in terms of wholesale transformative change that stands to alter their business models, cost structures, and revenue streams—rather than proceeding incrementally," Singla said.

AI Governance Takes Centre Stage

Central to this transformation is the rise of AI governance at the highest levels of leadership, the study underscored.

The survey shows that 28% of respondents whose organisations use AI report that their CEO is directly responsible for overseeing AI governance.

This is particularly evident in larger companies, where CEO involvement is strongly correlated with higher bottom-line impact from Gen AI use.

According to Bryce Hall, Associate Partner at McKinsey, now the initial wave of excitement around Gen AI has now transformed into organisations looking to actively deploy Gen AI into their workflow.

"The initial wave of excitement and novelty around generative AI is evolving into an intentional focus on how to create value from these technologies. Executives are rightfully looking for a return on their AI investments; in many cases, they are paring back their strategies from trying to apply gen AI everywhere to prioritising the domains that have the greatest potential," he said.

Their is also a catch: Even though Gen AI deployment has become acute inside organisations, the latter are also cautious in rethinking their AI deployment structures.

For risk and compliance, as well as data governance, companies are more likely to adopt a fully centralised model, such as a centre of excellence. However, when it comes to AI talent and solution adoption, a hybrid approach is more common, with some resources handled centrally while others are distributed across business units, McKinsey underscored.

Reshaping Workflows and Driving Impact

One of the most significant findings from the McKinsey survey is the transformative impact of AI on workflows.

According to the survey, 21% of respondents whose organisations use Gen AI say they have fundamentally redesigned at least some workflows. The ability to embed AI into core business processes is emerging as a critical driver of profitability.

"We’re now far enough into the Gen AI era to see patterns among companies that are capturing value. One significant difference is that these companies focus as much on driving adoption and scaling as they do on the up-front technology development," Hall said.

The survey shows that successful AI integration often involves human oversight. While 27% of respondents say their organisations review all Gen AI-generated content before use, a similar share reports that 20% or less of AI-produced content is checked. Interestingly, businesses in professional services are more likely to monitor AI outputs closely, reflecting the higher stakes involved in client-facing work.

Managing Risks and Building Resilience

As organisations increase their reliance on Gen AI, they are also strengthening their ability to manage associated risks. The McKinsey report notes that more companies are actively addressing issues related to inaccuracy, cybersecurity, and intellectual property infringement—three of the most common AI-related risks that have caused negative consequences.

"Beginning with an overarching, enterprise-level transformative vision opens up possibilities down the line. That’s because a clear picture of where you’re going influences the data you capture and the models you build. This allows further functionality to be deployed faster and more cheaply than if you go use case by use case—which, in turn, becomes a competitive advantage that others will have a hard time keeping up with," Singla underscored.

AI and the Changing Workforce

The rise of AI is reshaping not only how businesses operate but also the skills they require.

Half of the respondents whose organisations use AI say their companies will need more data scientists over the next year. Larger companies, in particular, are more likely to hire AI data scientists, machine learning engineers, and data engineers.

Reskilling is also becoming a priority. Many respondents report that their organisations have retrained employees to adapt to AI-driven changes, and a significant share expects to undertake even more AI-related reskilling over the next three years. Meanwhile, 13% of organisations have hired AI compliance specialists, and 6% have brought on AI ethics specialists, highlighting the growing need to balance innovation with responsibility.

Thinking Big, Moving Fast

The McKinsey report makes it clear: the companies that are winning with AI are those that think big, act boldly, and align their leadership and operational structures to support transformative change. Incremental progress is no longer enough.

As Singla puts it: "Transformative thinking forces the CEO and top team to be aligned—something that use case thinking does not. This is critical because successful transformations require siloed parts of the enterprise to come together in a single orchestrated effort—and that can typically only happen when the CEO and other top leaders are involved."