State of AI: Widely Used for Planning -- Drives the Business at Just 25% of Firms

Why It Matters

The gap between AI spending and production use underscores that firms must mature data foundations before realizing AI‑driven business outcomes, making data governance a competitive imperative.

Key Takeaways

• Only 25% of firms place AI at strategy core.
• Data maturity remains primary bottleneck for scaling AI.
• Generative AI production at 34%; agentic AI at 15%.
• 55% see AI influencing planning but not central.
• Budgets rising faster than production deployments, funding data work.

Pulse Analysis

The latest Dresner Advisory Services survey paints a nuanced picture of enterprise AI. While enthusiasm is high—more than half of organizations report AI influencing strategic planning—the reality is that only 25% have elevated AI to a core strategic pillar. Generative and agentic AI are gaining traction, yet production deployments remain modest, with 34% and 15% respectively. This disparity signals that many firms are still in the experimentation phase, allocating funds faster than they can operationalize solutions.

A recurring theme across the data is the decisive role of data maturity. Companies with robust data governance, unified analytics platforms, and clear data leadership are the ones successfully moving AI into production. The survey shows that organizations investing in data modernization—cleaning silos, establishing quality controls, and defining stewardship policies—are better positioned to extract value from both generative and agentic AI. Consequently, a sizable portion of AI budgets is being funneled into foundational data work, effectively underwriting the next wave of scalable AI applications.

For CIOs and data leaders, the path forward is clear: shift focus from isolated pilots to integrated, governed AI workflows. Prioritizing use cases with measurable outcomes, embedding AI into existing ERP and CRM systems, and establishing rigorous governance frameworks will accelerate the transition from experimentation to execution. Companies that align AI investments with mature data ecosystems are poised to achieve tangible productivity gains, improve customer experiences, and unlock new revenue streams, while laggards risk falling behind in an increasingly AI‑driven market.