AI has a massive impact on value creation

EPAM has conducted an international study on the use of AI in large companies (>10,000 employees) with the opinion research institute Censuswide. It shows the extent to which AI is already being used in large companies in Germany and what specific share of company profits AI projects had in 2023 and will have in 2025. The results were evaluated with a view to German companies; conclusions were drawn about the position of the domestic economy in the use of AI in an international comparison.

Surprising findings

• Almost 40% of companies in Germany see the use of AI as the decisive factor for more than half of their own profits in 2023, and even more than 40% of companies expect this to be the case in 2025. AI is therefore already having a massive impact on value creation in Germany.
• Over 40% of German companies plan to invest at least USD 10 million in AI in 2025. Germany is in the midfield internationally in terms of the use of AI in companies - but has the highest proportion of disruptors.
• Germany is the global leader in proofs-of-concept, team-internal and process-related AI deployments, but brings up the rear when it comes to customer deployment - which speaks for an innovative, yet structured and responsible approach.

The degree of maturity

Globally, Germany is in the middle of the pack when it comes to the use of AI in companies. The respondents fall into the following categories: "beginners" 11.80%, "competent" 31.31%, "advanced" 48.48%, "disruptors" 8.41%.
Germany has the highest proportion of disruptors at 8.41%, followed by the UK in second place with 7.64% and France in third place with 6.38%. In the USA, the proportion is 4.95%. This means that the most innovative companies in Germany are already well advanced in their use of AI.

Applications

German companies already have experience with the following AI applications:

• We run AI pilot projects with customers: 20.09% (lowest figure in comparison, 1st place with UK 38.84%)
• We run AI programs internally in teams or processes: 41.71% (highest figure in comparison, 2nd place Canada with 33.05%)
• We have one or more proofs of concept: 15.42% (highest number in comparison, 2nd place USA with 13.61%)
• We have validated AI use cases in the market: 15.19% (6th place, 1st place Singapore with 29.69%)
• We use AI technology on a large scale: 5.26% (5th place, 1st place France with 6.25%)
• We have not used AI: 2.34% (6th place, 1st place Argentina with 19.08%, 9th place Singapore with 1.29%)
  
  

AI projects

German companies responded to the question "What results has your company already achieved from AI projects?":

• Improved productivity: 42.52% (5th place, 1st place Singapore with 54.69%)
• Greater operational efficiency: 43.81% (4th place, 1st place Singapore with 55.05%)
• Accelerated processing of customer inquiries: 40.30% (3rd place, 1st place Singapore with 52.00%)
• Improved customer satisfaction: 37.73% (3rd place, 1st place Singapore with 51.41%)
• Cost savings: 39.60% (3rd place, 1st place Singapore with 48.94%)
• Improved employee satisfaction: 35.51% (5th place, 1st place Singapore with 50.70%)

More than a third of German companies have already achieved positive results from AI projects in almost all areas of application.

These were the investments in 2023

German companies have already invested heavily in AI programs compared to other countries - more than half of the companies surveyed have spent between USD 10 and 50 million on AI in 2023.

Question: How much did your company spend on new AI programs in 2023?

• More than USD 50 million: 0.12% (average 0.13%)
• USD 20.1 - 50 million: 28.04% (1st place, average 11.14%)
• USD 10.1 - 20 million: 24.18% (2nd place, average 21.64%)
• USD 5.1 - 10 million: 17.64% (9th place, average 26.89%)
• USD 1.1 - 5 million: 14.25% (8th place, average 18.17%)
• 250,000 - 1 million USD: 8.76% (average 11.03%)
• Under USD 250,000: 1.05% (average 0.85%)
• 0 USD: 0.82% (average 1.08%)

Investments 2025

Question: "How much does your company expect to spend on new AI programs in 2025?"

• More than USD 50 million: 0.35% (average 0.26%)
• USD 20.1 - 50 million: 31.07% (2nd place, average 18.61%)
• USD 10.1 - 20 million: 24.42% (5th place, average 24.33%)
• USD 5.1 - 10 million: 18.93% (8th place, average 26.66%)
• USD 1.1 - 5 million: 11.92% (8th place, average 15.23%)
• 250,000 - 1 million USD: 5.96% (average 8.04%)
• Under USD 250,000: 0.58% (average 0.52%)
• 0 USD: 2.10% (average 1.74%)

The expected investments in new AI programs will remain almost unchanged at a high level in 2025.

About the EPAM AI Report
The report is based on a survey of 7,300 participants (Germany: 856 participants) from companies with more than 10,000 employees across nine countries and eight industries and examines the current state of AI adoption and the challenges and opportunities for companies looking to generate tangible business value from AI investments. The full report is available at www.epam.com/ai-report-2025.