McKinsey’s latest Global Survey on the state of AI reveals a landscape defined by both wider use – including growing proliferation of agentic AI – and stubborn growing pains, with the transition from pilots to scaled impact remaining a work in progress at most organisations. It shows that while many companies may be capturing value in some parts of the organisation, they’re not yet realising enterprise-wide financial impact. The report proposes a path forward based on the experiences of the highest-performing companies. These organisations stand out for thinking beyond incremental efficiency gains: they treat AI as a catalyst to transform their organisations, redesigning workflows and accelerating innovation. It explores how, as AI tools improve and companies’ capabilities mature, the opportunity to embed AI more fully into the enterprise offers organisations new ways to capture value and create competitive advantage.