Organizations are moving from AI experimentation to more structured investment. According to IDC’s August 2025 survey:

• Nearly 40% of organizations plan to increase AI spending by up to 19% over the next 24 months.
• Budgets are coming from multiple sources:
  • 34% are adding net new AI investment.
  • 24% are repurposing existing IT budgets.
  • 13% are repurposing non-IT budgets.
• Business functions are gaining influence: almost 44% of organizations say business units have complete or shared ownership of AI budgets.
• There is a clear shift in what companies buy: while about 40% use prebuilt GenAI applications today, that is expected to move toward 70% using customized or custom-built GenAI solutions in the next 24 months.

In practice, this means AI is no longer just an IT line item. Business leaders in areas like marketing, HR, finance, and supply chain are co-owning the budget and pushing for tailored solutions that fit their specific workflows and industry needs.

Frontier firms are organizations that sit at the leading edge of AI maturity. IDC classifies them based on broad and deep use of both generative AI (GenAI) and agentic AI, the number of business impact areas they reach, their ability to monetize AI, and their use of responsible AI practices.

Only about 22% of organizations worldwide fall into this Frontier category, but they stand out in several ways:

• Higher returns: Frontier firms report an average 2.84x return on AI investments, compared with just 0.84x for laggards.
• Broad GenAI adoption: 98% of Frontier firms already use GenAI, versus 31% of laggards. Most laggards (69%) are still only planning to use GenAI.
• Enterprise-wide usage: Frontier firms are nearly universal adopters of AI in IT (78%), product development (75%), cybersecurity (75%), and customer service (74%).
• Multi-function deployment: 97% of Frontier firms use GenAI in two or more business functions, and on average they use it in seven business areas.
• Strategic readiness: 84% of Frontier firms feel well prepared for AI, compared with only 19% of laggards. This includes data readiness, compliance, and responsible AI capabilities.
• Beyond productivity: They measure success not just in task efficiency, but in top-line growth, cost efficiency, brand differentiation, and customer experience.

For other organizations, the takeaway is that Frontier firms treat AI as an enterprise strategy, not a set of isolated pilots. They:

• Reimagine business models and processes with AI at the core.
• Invest in both functional (e.g., marketing, IT, supply chain) and industry-specific use cases.
• Adopt agentic AI early in areas like product development and customer engagement.
• Build strong foundations in data, governance, and responsible AI.

GenAI and agentic AI are moving from pilots to broader deployment, and most organizations are already seeing measurable value.

GenAI adoption and ROI

• 68% of respondents are using GenAI today, and another 26% plan to start within 12 months.
• GenAI users report an average 2.8x ROI, with payback in about 15 months on average.
• Organizations look beyond pure financial ROI and cite:
  • 51% – improved accuracy and consistency
  • 45% – time savings
  • 40% – enhanced customer experience
• Use is broad across functions: customer service, marketing, and IT each have over 40% adoption today.
• Looking ahead, 44% of organizations plan to monetize industry-specific GenAI use cases to boost revenue within 24 months, and among Frontier firms, 67% are already monetizing or using GenAI to drive revenue.

Agentic AI adoption and ROI

• 37% of organizations currently use agentic AI, 25% are experimenting, and 24% plan to adopt it within 24 months.
• Agentic AI users report an average 2.3x ROI, with payback in about 13 months.
• Even though many deployments are still in pilot or testing phases, agentic AI is already helping organizations rethink how they handle areas like customer service, cybersecurity, and product development.

Key challenges to scaling AI

• Nearly 30% of organizations identify security, privacy, governance, and compliance as the top barriers to scaling AI.
• More than 75% rate transparency as very or extremely important, emphasizing the need for explainability and human oversight, especially for agentic AI.

In short, organizations are seeing solid ROI from both GenAI and agentic AI, but scaling these gains depends on strengthening security, governance, and responsible AI practices while expanding from generic tools to functional and industry-specific solutions.