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TL;DR
A McKinsey survey of 1,719 respondents found that 37% said AI had some effect on their company’s EBIT, while 6% met the survey’s “high performer” threshold of attributing at least 5% of EBIT to AI. Separate research by BCG found 5% of 1,250 companies were getting value from AI at scale, underscoring the gap between adoption and measurable financial returns.
Only 6% of companies in a 2026 McKinsey survey qualified as AI “high performers,” meaning respondents said at least 5% of their company’s EBIT was attributable to AI, according to results reported by The Register and TechTimes. The finding highlights a gap between companies’ growing use of AI and the smaller share reporting a substantial contribution to operating profit.
The McKinsey survey included 1,719 respondents. Overall, 37% said AI had some effect on their company’s EBIT, a share reported as roughly unchanged from the previous year. The 6% figure uses a narrower threshold: it counts respondents whose companies attributed at least 5% of EBIT to AI, not all companies using the technology or seeing any benefit.
Boston Consulting Group’s survey of 1,250 companies points to a similar divide, though it uses a separate measure. BCG found that 5% of companies were getting value from AI at scale, while 60% reported no material value. The two surveys have different samples and definitions, so their percentages are not directly interchangeable.
Adoption is wider than those high-return figures suggest. Eurostat reported that 20.0% of EU enterprises with 10 or more employees used AI in 2025, up from 13.5% in 2024. Use varied by company size: 55% of large enterprises and 17% of small enterprises reported using AI. Those adoption figures measure use, not profit.
Infographic 01 · Who gets value from AI
Most companies use AI. About 6 percent profit from it in a big way
Adoption keeps rising. The share of companies that can show a large effect on profit has barely moved.
Share of McKinsey’s 2026 respondents who attribute at least 5 percent of their company’s EBIT to AI and call the impact significant. Flat versus 2025, as reported by The Register.
Wide use, thin profit
Different surveys, different bases: read each line with its source
Sources: McKinsey State of AI 2026 (n = 1,719), as reported by The Register, 25 Aug 2026 and TechTimes, 26 Aug 2026 · BCG, The Widening AI Value Gap, Sept 2025 (n = 1,250) · Eurostat, 11 Dec 2025 · Eurostat Statistics Explained (enterprises with 10+ employees). Survey figures are self-reported by executives; Eurostat counts use, not value.
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AI Use Is Outpacing Profit Returns
The findings matter because companies are spending time and money on AI while many have yet to show a material financial return. The survey results do not establish that AI has no value: McKinsey’s 37% figure includes companies reporting any effect on EBIT, while the high-performer category requires a much larger contribution. They do show that widespread experimentation should not be mistaken for broad, demonstrated profit gains.
For business leaders, the distinction affects how AI investments are judged. A tool can attract users or speed up a task without changing the economics of a whole operation. The report argues that stronger returns are associated with redesigning workflows end to end, choosing specific applications, tracking outcomes and setting controls for systems that can take actions. These are recommendations and reported associations, not proof that any one approach guarantees a return.
For employees, the results point to both productivity claims and uncertainty about work. The source report says 80% of McKinsey respondents who used AI reported that it made them more productive. It also says the share expecting job cuts rose to 39%, from 32% a year earlier. Those figures describe respondents’ reported experiences and expectations; they do not establish how many jobs have been eliminated because of AI.
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From Digital Tools to Automated Work
The report frames AI as a change from digitising a process to allowing software to handle parts of the work. Earlier business systems typically stored information and supported decisions made by employees. Newer AI tools can interpret inputs such as emails, invoices or support tickets, consult other systems and take bounded actions. The extent to which firms can rely on those capabilities in production varies.
AI agents are systems designed to take multiple steps toward a task, rather than only retrieve information or generate a response. BCG respondents attributed about 17% of their AI value to agents and expected that share to reach 29% by 2028. McKinsey’s survey, as reported by The Register and TechTimes, found that 40% of companies with more than $1 billion in revenue said they were scaling agents, compared with 27% previously. These are survey findings and expectations, not independent measures of agent performance.
Forecasts also point to obstacles. Gartner projected that more than 40% of agentic AI projects would be cancelled by the end of 2027 because of costs, unclear value or inadequate risk controls. Gartner also forecast that organisations would abandon 60% of AI projects lacking AI-ready data. These are forecasts, not observed cancellation rates. Eurostat data cited in the report found that among EU firms that considered AI but did not use it, 71% named a lack of relevant expertise.
Survey Measures Leave Gaps
The figures do not provide a single, independently verified count of companies making money from AI. McKinsey’s results are based on respondents’ reports, and the high-performer label depends on their attribution of at least 5% of EBIT to AI. The source material does not provide enough detail here to establish how companies calculated that contribution or how it was independently checked.
BCG’s “value at scale” measure is distinct from McKinsey’s EBIT threshold, and the surveys cover different groups. Their results suggest a similar pattern, but they should not be combined into one rate. The report also cites Gartner forecasts; the projected cancellations have not yet been established as actual outcomes.
It remains unclear from the material how returns vary by industry, which AI applications account for the reported EBIT effects, and how much of the contribution comes from generative AI, predictive systems or other forms of AI. The survey results also do not show whether reported productivity gains will lead to sustained profit growth or changes in staffing.
Watch for Measured Results
The next evidence to watch is whether companies can report sustained financial results as AI projects move beyond pilots. That means tracking more than adoption or employee use: firms would need to show how a particular deployment affects costs, revenue, quality or processing time, and how those results are measured over a defined period.
Gartner’s cancellation forecast sets an upcoming point of comparison: it projected that more than 40% of agentic AI projects would be cancelled by the end of 2027. Future reporting can test that forecast against actual project outcomes. For now, the surveys show that adoption is expanding, but substantial profit contributions remain concentrated among a small share of respondents’ companies.
Key Questions
What does the 6% figure mean?
In the McKinsey survey, 6% met the “high performer” threshold: respondents said at least 5% of their company’s EBIT was attributable to AI. It is not the share of all companies that use AI.
Does the survey say AI has no effect at most companies?
No. McKinsey reported that 37% of respondents said AI had some effect on their company’s EBIT. The 6% figure refers to a stricter threshold for a substantial reported contribution.
How does BCG’s 5% figure differ?
BCG reported that 5% of its 1,250 surveyed companies were getting value from AI at scale. This is a separate measure from McKinsey’s EBIT-based high-performer category, so the figures should not be treated as directly equivalent.
How common is AI use among European companies?
Eurostat said 20.0% of EU enterprises with 10 or more employees used AI in 2025, up from 13.5% in 2024. Use was reported by 55% of large enterprises and 17% of small ones.
Are AI agents expected to replace jobs?
The cited surveys report rising expectations of job cuts, but they do not establish how many jobs AI has eliminated. The source report says 39% of McKinsey respondents expected job cuts, up from 32% the prior year, while 80% of respondents who used AI said it improved their productivity.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
