20+ AI Cost Savings Statistics (2026)

of AI-using businesses in software engineering & manufacturing report cost decreases — the highest of any function

McKinsey's 2025 State of AI survey found software engineering and manufacturing share the highest rate of reported cost savings among all business functions, with 7% of software engineering firms reporting savings of 20% or more.

of C-suite leaders expect AI to deliver cost savings — and roughly half of those expect savings exceeding 10%

BCG surveyed 1,400+ C-suite executives across 50 markets and 14 industries. More than half expected AI-driven cost savings in 2024, with the most ambitious anticipating over 10% — equivalent to $1 billion for a company earning $10 billion in revenue.

of UK businesses using AI report improved workforce productivity

A survey of 3,500 UK businesses by the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology found three-quarters of AI adopters reported productivity gains. Over half (57%) also developed new or improved processes or operations.

as many leaders report transformative AI impact in 2026 compared to the year prior

Deloitte surveyed 3,235 leaders across 24 countries and found the share reporting transformative business impact from AI doubled year-over-year. However, only 34% say they are truly reimagining their business with AI, and the AI skills gap remains the top barrier.

of AI-using businesses in IT report cost decreases from AI activities

IT was the third-highest function for reported AI cost savings, behind software engineering and manufacturing (both 56%). The data comes from McKinsey's 2025 global State of AI survey across 105 nations.

in strategy & corporate finance report AI-driven cost decreases

Strategy and corporate finance was also one of the top functions for revenue increases at over 60%, making it one of the strongest dual-benefit functions for AI adoption.

of businesses report cost decreases in service operations and HR from AI

Service operations and HR round out the top functions for AI-driven cost savings. Automated workflows for support ticket routing, scheduling, and employee onboarding drive the gains.

of AI investments at leading companies go toward reshaping key functions and inventing new offerings — yielding 2.1× greater ROI

BCG surveyed 1,800+ executives and found that AI leaders allocate over 80% of their investment to high-impact function reshaping rather than scattered experimentation. These leaders also focus on fewer use cases (3.5 vs 6.1) and anticipate 2.1× greater ROI than peers.

more weekly projects completed by programmers when assisted by AI

NN Group research found AI-assisted programmers more than doubled their weekly project completion rate — the largest measured productivity gain across all professions studied.

more documents produced per hour by business professionals using AI

Business professionals — including analysts, consultants, and writers — produced 59% more documents per hour with AI assistance. AI drafting, summarisation, and formatting tools drove the gains.

of UK businesses using AI reported increased employee productivity

Among the 3,500 businesses surveyed by DSIT, 56% of AI adopters saw increased productivity, 35% reported no change, and just 1% reported a decrease. Businesses cited the reduction of repetitive and admin tasks as the primary driver.

rise in worker access to AI tools during 2025 alone

Deloitte's survey of 3,235 leaders across 24 countries found that the share of workers with access to AI tools rose by half in a single year. The number of companies with 40%+ of AI projects in production is also set to double within six months.

reduction in operations costs at major US banks through AI automation

AI-powered automation reduced operations costs at major US banks by 13%, with processing errors falling by 40%. Compliance monitoring AI also cut audit preparation times by 50%.

reduction in banking call-centre costs via AI chatbots

AI chatbots can cut banking call-centre costs by up to 70% by handling routine enquiries, account lookups, and transactional queries without human intervention.

of retailers cite reduced operational costs from AI

Nearly all retailers using AI report lower operational costs. Additionally, 87% say AI positively impacted revenue, and AI chatbots are boosting conversions by up to 35%.

of healthcare leaders report positive ROI in the first year of GenAI adoption

Nearly three-quarters of healthcare and life-science leaders saw positive returns within their first year of generative AI adoption. 72% also cited increased productivity from GenAI tools.

of organisations say AI has improved innovation — the most-cited company-wide benefit

Innovation was the top qualitative benefit reported in McKinsey's 2025 survey. Nearly half of respondents also cited improved customer satisfaction and competitive differentiation.

of AI-using businesses in marketing & sales report increased revenue

Marketing and sales was the top business function for AI-driven revenue gains. Strategy/corporate finance and product development both exceeded 60%, while IT was the lowest at 53%.

of higher-growth companies expect significant or substantial ROI from AI within 2 years

Forbes Research's 2025 survey of 1,075 C-suite leaders at companies with over $1B in annual revenue found high-growth firms (≥10% revenue growth) far more optimistic about AI ROI — 62% vs. 49% of companies overall.

average improvement in customer engagement and satisfaction where GenAI has been deployed

Capgemini surveyed 1,100 executives at companies with $1B+ revenue across 14 countries and 11 industries. Beyond the 6.7% engagement lift, 80% of organisations increased GenAI investment since 2023, and 24% have integrated GenAI at scale — up from just 6% the year prior.