AI Adoption Accelerates Across EMEA as IBM Study Shows Strong Productivity Gains

A new IBM study shows that organizations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) are already realizing major productivity improvements through artificial intelligence (AI), with many expecting to achieve full return on investment (ROI) within the next year. However, the research also reveals a widening gap between large private enterprises and small to medium sized enterprises (SME) and public sector organizations in boosting productivity with AI.

The new report,"The Race for ROI," produced in partnership with Censuswide, surveyed 3,500 senior executives across 10 countries, and reveals 66% of respondents said their organizations have achieved significant operational productivity improvements using AI. 

In addition, nearly one in five reported achieving ROI from AI-driven initiatives. A further 42% expect to see returns within 12 months across cost reduction (41%), time savings (45%), revenue growth (37%), employee satisfaction (42%), and increased Net Promoter Score (43%).

AI Agents are also emerging as a key benefit with 92% of leaders expecting measurable ROI from agentic AI within two years.

The top business functions reporting productivity gains are software development and IT (32%), customer service (32%), and procurement (27%). Executives highlighted the top three benefits of enhanced productivity as greater operational efficiency (55%), enhanced decision-making (50%), and automation of repetitive tasks (48%).

However, AI’s impact is uneven. While 72% of large enterprises have realized productivity gains, only 55% of small and mid-sized businesses report the same. Similarly, public sector organizations are in earlier stages of AI's full potential, with only 55% citing significant productivity improvements.

AI Transforming Business Models

Across EMEA, the report shows that leaders are increasingly using AI to enable strategic business transformation. Of the 66% of respondents who reported significant productivity gains, 24% said AI has fundamentally changed their business models.

About a third of respondents said they are already using AI to accelerate innovation timelines (36%), move toward continuous AI-driven decision-making (32%), and redesigning value streams around AI rather than automating existing steps (32%). 

Nearly half of all senior leaders surveyed (48%) noted that AI is enhancing workforce capabilities, freeing employees to focus on innovation (38%), strategic decision-making and planning (36%), and engaging in creative work (33%), according to the report.

Ana Paula Assis, SVP and Chair, IBM EMEA and Growth Markets, said "The true value of AI for business goes far beyond individual productivity—it's about strategic transformation. Our research suggests that, while we are still in the foothills of AI adoption, enterprises in EMEA are seeing meaningful productivity gains from infusing AI into their operations, with many redesigning their business models.

She continues "On the question of technology autonomy, the response was emphatic: enterprises want to use technology on their terms, with transparency, choice and flexibility baked in."

Prioritizing Open Systems, Interoperability and Choice

The study found that openness, interoperability, and choice are critical priorities for all types of organizations adopting AI:

• 85% emphasized the importance of transparency in AI systems and models, ensuring that the technology operates ethically and responsibly.
• 84% stressed the need for interoperability, enabling seamless integration of AI tools into IT systems to maximize efficiency and adaptability.
• 85% said they valued having the flexibility to choose and adapt AI solutions or providers as needs evolve, underscoring strong demand for autonomy.

Overcoming Risk and Complexity

Despite strong progress towards greater ROI on AI, organizations still have concerns about security, privacy, and ethics—including data breaches and AI trustworthiness—as the top barriers to scaling successful AI pilots, cited by 68% of respondents. Similarly, IT complexity challenges, such as integrating AI with legacy systems, was cited by 68% of senior leaders surveyed.

To accelerate ROI from AI, the report outlines five priorities for enterprise leaders:

• Establish an effective operating model for AI: Establishing a common and universally understood approach for AI transformation across the organization, such as a federated or hub-and-spoke model, along with clear ownership, is crucial for delivering ROI.
• Cultivate AI literacy and a culture of innovation, from the board to entry-level: In the coming years, AI tools will become increasingly embedded in every interaction. Knowledge of how and why to use these tools across teams and functions will help the organisation to adapt and thrive as AI capabilities and the opportunities they create continue to evolve.
• Get comfortable with uncertainty and rapid change: The world is moving into an era of AI everywhere. AI tools will be embedded and procured into every interaction layer we have—whether it is search engines, the device people interact with or the companies they engage with. Success in this era means developing a culture that embraces change and uncertainty, and enables rapid, purposeful innovation.
• Understand the risks around AI deployment: As with any technology, AI must be applied with caution and a detailed understanding of regulatory, reputational and operational risks. Enterprises should apply AI governance tooling to monitor and mitigate potential risks, such as unauthorized data sharing and unwanted bias.
• Establish a cross company "AI Board" to mitigate risk: The AI Board's role is to define ethical principles and risk appetite and review higher risk AI use cases before they are implemented. This, combined with increased AI literacy, will give business units a high level of autonomy to implement AI use cases with confidence.

Source: IBM