Yet there is reason for optimism. We found manufacturers are already seeing major dividends from their AI investments. A whopping 89% report higher productivity, and almost as many cite cost savings and revenue growth from their use of AI over the past year. Manufacturers also report an average 7.6% increase in gross margins from AI. As a result of these gains, 82% plan to increase their AI investments over the next year.

Our most mature cohort of manufacturers, which we call Pacesetters (18% of the total), are seeing even higher margin growth from AI than their non-Pacesetter competitors. This cohort leads the pack across all five pillars of AI maturity: AI strategy and leadership, workflow integration, talent and skills, data governance, and realizing value in AI investment.

As a result of their efforts, manufacturing Pacesetters saw greater improvements in productivity, profitability, stakeholder experiences, and speed of innovation than their sector peers.