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GenAI Delivering Strong ROI

Google Cloud says Among those with GenAI in production, 86% of those report an increase in revenue, estimating growth of 6%+

The majority of executives (61%) are harnessing the power of generative AI, with at least one application in production, and among these early adopters, 86% of those reported an increase in revenue, estimated at more than 6%, according to new  global research from Google Cloud.

The survey found that GenAI initiatives that are in production are driving benefits in four primary areas:

Productivity: Almost half (45%) of executives who reported improved productivity indicated that employee productivity has at least doubled as a result of GenAI rollouts at their organizations.

Security: 56% of executives reported that GenAI has bolstered their organization's security posture, with 82% of those execs citing improved ability to identify threats and 71% reporting a reduction in time to resolve a security issue.

Business growth: 77% of execs reporting business growth said they have improved leads and customer acquisition as a result of GenAI solutions.

User experience: 85% of executives reporting an improved user experience indicated specifically that user engagement has increased from GenAI, and nearly the same number reported improved user satisfaction (80%).

"Generative AI is not just a technological innovation; it's a strategic differentiator," said Oliver Parker, VP, Global Generative AI Go-To-Market, Google Cloud. "Our research shows that early adopters of GenAI are reaping significant rewards, from increased revenue, to better customer service, to improved productivity. Organizations investing in GenAI today are the ones that will be best positioned to succeed in the coming decade."

C-Suite Champions Key to Closing GenAI Adoption Gap

The speed by which organizations move from piloting GenAI to full-scale production is a strong indicator of its success, according to the research. Of the executives surveyed that are currently leveraging GenAI in production, 84% say their organizations were able to move from pilot to production in under six months.

However, a significant adoption gap remains: 39% of enterprises overall have still yet to implement the technology in production, with 21% actively testing, 12% evaluating use-cases, and 5% not started. This lag is particularly pronounced in regulated industries like financial services and manufacturing. In the EMEA region, organizations are significantly less likely to have been leveraging GenAI in production for more than one year.

C-Suite champions are key to GenAI success as 91% of respondents with robust C-level support of GenAI at their organization also report increased revenue estimates of 6% or more.

Additionally, "GenAI Leaders" — organizations that extensively utilize and invest in generative AI — exhibit key characteristics that set them apart:

Strategic alignment: 76% of leaders effectively aligned their AI strategies with broader business goals, compared to the global average of 69%.

Dedicated teams: 54% of leaders invested in dedicated generative AI teams, 13% more than their counterparts.

Significant investment: A staggering 86% of leaders plan to allocate at least half of their future AI budgets to generative AI, a stark contrast to the 67% average.

"Our data underscores the importance of executive-level support and strategic alignment for maximizing the potential of generative AI," said Carrie Tharp, VP, Strategic Industries, Google Cloud. "By connecting financial business drivers with technology drivers, organizations can ensure that AI strategies are not just innovative but also tightly intertwined with core business goals. This strategic alignment is the key to escaping the dreaded 'pilot purgatory,' and accelerating towards tangible business impact, leveraging AI to transform operations, enhance customer experiences, and unlock new avenues for growth."

An Emerging GenAI Reinvestment Cycle: Technology, Talent and Data

The early success of GenAI is sparking a reinvestment cycle that's driving further innovation and growth. Nearly half of respondents surveyed (49%) plan to reinvest the gains from GenAI to further improve operating profit margins. Specifically, the topic three areas for investment are:

Technology: 47% plan to invest in aligning business and technology to support change management for user adoption of AI.

Talent: 46% plan to invest in upskilling their workforce and attracting new talent with AI expertise.

Data quality: 43% said they plan to invest in data quality and knowledge management to ensure their GenAI applications are built on a solid foundation of accurate and reliable data

"The most successful organizations aren't just implementing GenAI. They're fostering a culture of innovation through experimentation," Parker added. "By reinvesting early gains in technology, talent, and data, these companies are building a sustainable AI ecosystem, creating a flywheel of innovation that will continue to drive growth and competitive advantage in the years to come."

Methodology: The report is based on a survey of 2,508 senior leaders of global enterprises ($10M+ revenue), conducted by Google Cloud and National Research Group from February 23-April 5. The survey respondents represent organizations from North America, Latin America, EMEA, and APAC, and across key industries including Financial Services, Manufacturing & Automotive, Retail & Consumer Packaged Goods, Telecommunications, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Media & Entertainment.

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GenAI Delivering Strong ROI

Google Cloud says Among those with GenAI in production, 86% of those report an increase in revenue, estimating growth of 6%+

The majority of executives (61%) are harnessing the power of generative AI, with at least one application in production, and among these early adopters, 86% of those reported an increase in revenue, estimated at more than 6%, according to new  global research from Google Cloud.

The survey found that GenAI initiatives that are in production are driving benefits in four primary areas:

Productivity: Almost half (45%) of executives who reported improved productivity indicated that employee productivity has at least doubled as a result of GenAI rollouts at their organizations.

Security: 56% of executives reported that GenAI has bolstered their organization's security posture, with 82% of those execs citing improved ability to identify threats and 71% reporting a reduction in time to resolve a security issue.

Business growth: 77% of execs reporting business growth said they have improved leads and customer acquisition as a result of GenAI solutions.

User experience: 85% of executives reporting an improved user experience indicated specifically that user engagement has increased from GenAI, and nearly the same number reported improved user satisfaction (80%).

"Generative AI is not just a technological innovation; it's a strategic differentiator," said Oliver Parker, VP, Global Generative AI Go-To-Market, Google Cloud. "Our research shows that early adopters of GenAI are reaping significant rewards, from increased revenue, to better customer service, to improved productivity. Organizations investing in GenAI today are the ones that will be best positioned to succeed in the coming decade."

C-Suite Champions Key to Closing GenAI Adoption Gap

The speed by which organizations move from piloting GenAI to full-scale production is a strong indicator of its success, according to the research. Of the executives surveyed that are currently leveraging GenAI in production, 84% say their organizations were able to move from pilot to production in under six months.

However, a significant adoption gap remains: 39% of enterprises overall have still yet to implement the technology in production, with 21% actively testing, 12% evaluating use-cases, and 5% not started. This lag is particularly pronounced in regulated industries like financial services and manufacturing. In the EMEA region, organizations are significantly less likely to have been leveraging GenAI in production for more than one year.

C-Suite champions are key to GenAI success as 91% of respondents with robust C-level support of GenAI at their organization also report increased revenue estimates of 6% or more.

Additionally, "GenAI Leaders" — organizations that extensively utilize and invest in generative AI — exhibit key characteristics that set them apart:

Strategic alignment: 76% of leaders effectively aligned their AI strategies with broader business goals, compared to the global average of 69%.

Dedicated teams: 54% of leaders invested in dedicated generative AI teams, 13% more than their counterparts.

Significant investment: A staggering 86% of leaders plan to allocate at least half of their future AI budgets to generative AI, a stark contrast to the 67% average.

"Our data underscores the importance of executive-level support and strategic alignment for maximizing the potential of generative AI," said Carrie Tharp, VP, Strategic Industries, Google Cloud. "By connecting financial business drivers with technology drivers, organizations can ensure that AI strategies are not just innovative but also tightly intertwined with core business goals. This strategic alignment is the key to escaping the dreaded 'pilot purgatory,' and accelerating towards tangible business impact, leveraging AI to transform operations, enhance customer experiences, and unlock new avenues for growth."

An Emerging GenAI Reinvestment Cycle: Technology, Talent and Data

The early success of GenAI is sparking a reinvestment cycle that's driving further innovation and growth. Nearly half of respondents surveyed (49%) plan to reinvest the gains from GenAI to further improve operating profit margins. Specifically, the topic three areas for investment are:

Technology: 47% plan to invest in aligning business and technology to support change management for user adoption of AI.

Talent: 46% plan to invest in upskilling their workforce and attracting new talent with AI expertise.

Data quality: 43% said they plan to invest in data quality and knowledge management to ensure their GenAI applications are built on a solid foundation of accurate and reliable data

"The most successful organizations aren't just implementing GenAI. They're fostering a culture of innovation through experimentation," Parker added. "By reinvesting early gains in technology, talent, and data, these companies are building a sustainable AI ecosystem, creating a flywheel of innovation that will continue to drive growth and competitive advantage in the years to come."

Methodology: The report is based on a survey of 2,508 senior leaders of global enterprises ($10M+ revenue), conducted by Google Cloud and National Research Group from February 23-April 5. The survey respondents represent organizations from North America, Latin America, EMEA, and APAC, and across key industries including Financial Services, Manufacturing & Automotive, Retail & Consumer Packaged Goods, Telecommunications, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Media & Entertainment.

Hot Topics

The Latest

AI is the catalyst for significant investment in data teams as enterprises require higher-quality data to power their AI applications, according to the State of Analytics Engineering Report from dbt Labs ...

Misaligned architecture can lead to business consequences, with 93% of respondents reporting negative outcomes such as service disruptions, high operational costs and security challenges ...

A Gartner analyst recently suggested that GenAI tools could create 25% time savings for network operational teams. Where might these time savings come from? How are GenAI tools helping NetOps teams today, and what other tasks might they take on in the future as models continue improving? In general, these savings come from automating or streamlining manual NetOps tasks ...

IT and line-of-business teams are increasingly aligned in their efforts to close the data gap and drive greater collaboration to alleviate IT bottlenecks and offload growing demands on IT teams, according to The 2025 Automation Benchmark Report: Insights from IT Leaders on Enterprise Automation & the Future of AI-Driven Businesses from Jitterbit ...

A large majority (86%) of data management and AI decision makers cite protecting data privacy as a top concern, with 76% of respondents citing ROI on data privacy and AI initiatives across their organization, according to a new Harris Poll from Collibra ...

According to Gartner, Inc. the following six trends will shape the future of cloud over the next four years, ultimately resulting in new ways of working that are digital in nature and transformative in impact ...

2020 was the equivalent of a wedding with a top-shelf open bar. As businesses scrambled to adjust to remote work, digital transformation accelerated at breakneck speed. New software categories emerged overnight. Tech stacks ballooned with all sorts of SaaS apps solving ALL the problems — often with little oversight or long-term integration planning, and yes frequently a lot of duplicated functionality ... But now the music's faded. The lights are on. Everyone from the CIO to the CFO is checking the bill. Welcome to the Great SaaS Hangover ...

Regardless of OpenShift being a scalable and flexible software, it can be a pain to monitor since complete visibility into the underlying operations is not guaranteed ... To effectively monitor an OpenShift environment, IT administrators should focus on these five key elements and their associated metrics ...

An overwhelming majority of IT leaders (95%) believe the upcoming wave of AI-powered digital transformation is set to be the most impactful and intensive seen thus far, according to The Science of Productivity: AI, Adoption, And Employee Experience, a new report from Nexthink ...

Overall outage frequency and the general level of reported severity continue to decline, according to the Outage Analysis 2025 from Uptime Institute. However, cyber security incidents are on the rise and often have severe, lasting impacts ...