Enterprises See AI's Main Value in Better Decision-Making Rather than as an Automation Tool: Survey

All large enterprises covered in a survey see the main value of artificial intelligence in improving the decision-making process rather than its use as a pure automation tool, a business-to-business publication firm CIO & Leader said on Friday.

Generative AI deployments have grown five times since 2023, transforming creative processes from marketing content to software code, and by the end of 2025, 30% of IT services will be fully automated by AI, the State of Enterprise Technology Survey 2025 said.

The survey is based on insight received between May and July 2025 from over 350 chief IT officers or chief technology officers of enterprises having an annual turnover of over ₹5,000 crore.

"100% of enterprises cite better decision-making through insights as their top AI priority, reflecting AI's role as a cognitive enabler rather than just an automation tool," the report said.

According to the survey, 98.4% of enterprises prioritise cost reduction and process efficiency and operational agility or business resilience for AI adoption, showing the technology is valued for both immediate returns and long-term adaptability, while 96% see AI's value in customer experience enhancement, as it offers personalisation, service automation, and interaction insights.

"93% of enterprises will increase AI and analytics investment in 2025, with more than half projecting significant budget hikes," the survey said.

The use of AI in IT operations has made it the most mature use for the technology, as 41% of enterprises are using it for functions such as automation, anomaly detection, and ticket triage.

AI adoption in Finance (31%) and customer service (28%) is being driven by forecasting tools, chatbots, personalisation, and self-service analytics.

Over 90% of enterprises see data security and privacy as top barriers to AI adoption, followed closely by data quality issues.

Over 85% of enterprises prefer building AI capabilities internally, with 51% rating it as their "most likely" approach.

"The investment intent is crystal clear: Indian enterprises want AI embedded into the fabric of decision-making. The challenge is ensuring that these investments mature into governed, measurable programmes rather than isolated experiments," CIO&Leader, executive editor and research lead Jatinder Singh said.