The State of AI: How Organisations Are Rewiring to Capture Value (McKinsey & Company)
Source: McKinsey & Company (2025)
This report is one of the most useful global indicators of where organisations really are with AI. For New Zealand businesses, it confirms what we see on the ground: plenty of experimentation, very little strategic scaling. The findings reinforce the importance of getting the foundations right - clarity of purpose, workflow redesign, upskilling your people, and simple governance.
The core takeaway for NZ leaders is that competitive advantage does not come from adding AI tools. It comes from integrating AI into the way your organisation works. The firms that succeed are the ones that align leadership, capability and process - not the ones who chase shiny tools.
Binary Refinery Summary
McKinsey’s global survey tracks adoption, value, challenges and risk across industries and functions. It identifies what separates high-performing AI organisations from the rest and analyses the shifts in behaviour, investment and outcomes year on year.
Key Findings & Highlights
High adoption, low maturity: most organisations use AI, few use it well.
The biggest value comes from workflow redesign, not tool selection.
Governance and risk management are now seen as value enablers, not blockers.
Organisations succeeding with AI have clear strategy, aligned leadership and strong capability building.
The performance gap between AI leaders and everyone else is widening quickly.
Report Strengths
Excellent global benchmarking and clear insights.
Strong evidence for the importance of strategy and capability.
Useful for shaping leadership conversations.
Report Limitations
Focused mainly on enterprise-scale organisations.
Assumes resources and teams that many NZ SMBs simply do not have.
Understates cultural resistance, which is a major factor in NZ adoption.
Why Read It
Ground your AI conversations in evidence, not hype.
Understand how high-performing organisations extract value.
Get a clear global benchmark for your leadership team.
Best For
Boards • CEOs • Executive Teams • Strategy & Transformation Leads • IT & Digital Leaders
