Before the COVID-19 pandemic, business leaders weren’t racing to understand the role artificial intelligence (AI) could play in optimizing business operations, boosting profitability, and driving innovation. In a 2019 survey of global executives, McKinsey found that only 58% said their companies had incorporated AI into at least one process or product. Many didn’t fully grasp the potential applications and value of AI, and, as a result, adoption wasn’t scaling quickly. In the same McKinsey survey, about three-fourths of companies that had adopted or planned to adopt AI said they would increase their investments over three years, the majority by just 10%.
