March 18, 2025, SAN FRANCISCO –Writer, a generative AI platform for the enterprise, today announced the release of its 2025 AI Survey: “Generative AI Adoption in the Enterprise.” The study, conducted in partnership with independent research firm Workplace Intelligence, is intended to provide a lens into the experiences of knowledge workers and C-suite executives actively using AI in the workplace.
The report examines the obstacles leaders are facing as they implement generative AI within their organizations, including internal power struggles, poor ROI, underperforming tools, and clashing perspectives among executives and employees. In fact, 72 percent of the C-suite say their company has faced at least one challenge on their journey to generative AI adoption.
Despite these challenges, the vast majority of workers and executives actively using AI say they’ve benefited from generative AI tools, and at least 9 out of 10 are optimistic about their company’s approach to generative AI. Additionally, among employees using AI, 77 percent are AI champions or have the potential to become AI champions. With this in mind, the survey also explored strategies to strengthen the AI adoption process, which 95 percent of the C-suite admit their company needs to improve.
Key findings around AI adoption obstacles:
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Power struggles and poor internal alignment: Around 2 out of 3 executives say generative AI adoption has led to tension and division within their company, and 42 percent say this is tearing their company apart. More than 1 out of 3 executives say generative AI adoption has been a massive disappointment.
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Friction between IT and business leaders: Two-thirds of the C-suite say there has been tension between IT teams and other lines of business, and 71 percent of the C-suite admit AI applications are being created in a silo within their organization.
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Lack of ROI and poor-quality tools: 73 percent of companies are investing at least $1 million each year in generative AI technology, but only around one third have seen significant ROI. Meanwhile, over a third of employees (35 percent) are paying out-of-pocket for the generative AI tools they use because their employer doesn’t provide the tools they want.
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Employee retaliation: For reasons ranging from fears about AI to concerns about the quality of AI tools, 31 percent of employees — including 41 percent of Gen Z — admit they’re sabotaging their company’s AI strategy, for example by refusing to use AI tools or outputs.
Key findings around improving AI adoption:
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Higher investment results in better ROI: When it comes to successfully adopting generative AI, there’s a 40 percentage-point gap between companies who invest the most and those who invest the least.
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Activating AI champions is key: Among employees using AI, 77 percent are either AI champions or have the potential to become AI champions. These workers have embraced AI and can add immense value by helping develop AI solutions. In fact, nearly all (98 percent) AI champions have either already helped build AI tools for their company or would like to do so, and 94 percent have seen a career benefit.
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An organization-wide strategy wins: Putting a clear organization-wide approach in place is the number one driver of successfully adopting and implementing AI. At companies that do not have a formal AI strategy, just 37 percent of executives say they’ve been very successful at adopting and implementing AI, versus 80 percent at companies that do have a strategy.
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Selecting the right AI vendor is critical: 98 percent of the C-suite feel vendors should help shape the vision for AI at work. Yet 94 percent report that they’re not completely satisfied with the vendors they use, noting a variety of ways in which vendors could be providing more support.
“Generative AI holds transformative potential for the enterprise, but it can also create deep rifts within organizations that rely on a patchwork of point solutions or IT-built applications developed in a silo,” said May Habib, CEO & Co-Founder, Writer. “At Writer, we’re ensuring AI is a catalyst for growth, not a source of conflict, by uniting IT teams, business leaders, and champions in a single collaborative AI platform and providing a strategic roadmap for success. The future belongs to the enterprises that can turn AI enthusiasm into business reinvention.”
“The companies who will lead in the next era of AI adoption are the ones putting the right processes and systems in place today,” said Dan Schawbel, Managing Partner, Workplace Intelligence. “They’re prioritizing their change management efforts, cultivating support for AI among their people, and ensuring they’re making the right investment in AI tools. Above all, they’re carefully assessing AI vendors, recognizing that the right vendor is key to unlocking the full potential of AI within their business.”
“AI transformation is ultimately about people,” said Alexis McBride, Vice President of Customer Success, Writer. “Over four years helping hundreds of the world’s leading enterprises scale AI, we have developed a blueprint for adoption that starts by uniting organizations around a common vision. This focus on human-centered solutions delivers dramatically stronger ROI, with employees who use Writer at work twice as likely to champion AI initiatives.”
To view the full findings, download Writer’s Generative AI Adoption in the Enterprise report.
Methodology: Research findings are based on a survey conducted between November 29 to December 24, 2024. The survey included 1,600 knowledge workers across the U.S., including 800 C-suite executives and 800 employees. Employees were required to be using generative AI tools at work, and executives were required to be working at a company that permits the use of these tools. The companies involved in the survey were enterprise organizations with between 100 to over 10,000 employees. These companies spanned industries including: technology, financial services, retail and consumer goods, and healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and life sciences.
