A widening gap between companies struggling to adopt artificial intelligence into their workflow and those using AI effectively "can be bridged", a report from the World Economic Forum has found.
Produced in partnership with Accenture, the report released on Monday, the first day of WEF's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, focuses on "measurable performance gains" from businesses using AI in more than 30 countries and 20 industries.
"AI offers extraordinary potential, yet many organisations remain unsure about how to realise it," said Stephan Mergenthaler, WEF managing director and chief technology officer, referring to the rapid release of new AI tools and how they could overwhelm many.
"The selected use cases show what is possible when ambition is translated into operational transformation and our new report provides a practical guide to help others follow the path these leaders have set."
The report cited France-based Schneider Electric as an example. The company was able to deliver energy optimisation through AI, resulting in 5 per cent to 15 per cent energy savings within only two weeks.
US-based PepsiCo was also among the dozens of companies praised by the WEF. The food and beverage giant used AI for "smart factory operations", which resulted in reducing environmental waste and saved the company more than $100,000 annually.
The report also referenced South Korea's Hyundai for using AI to improve the graphics processing unit (GPU) efficiency of its autonomous robots. It helped the car company achieve "240 per cent GPU-level performance at one-eighth of the power, and enabling low-cost, real-time robotics at scale".
WEF's report comes at a time when various polls underpin growing skepticism and fear from the general public about AI technology, their adaption and effect on their daily lives.
It also stands in stark contrast to a study released in 2025 by the MIT Media Lab, which said despite billions of dollars being spent over the past few years on AI investments, about 95 per cent of organisations have produced zero returns so far.
That research, however, came under ample criticism from those who questioned the methodology of the study.
All that aside, with no sign of AI investment slowing down, there is a rising sense of concern of a chasm opening up between expectations for what AI promised and the results.
US research firm Gartner has gone as far as to say that AI is entering a "trough of disillusionment", that more case studies would be needed before scepticism subsides.
"The improved predictability of ROI [Return on Investment] must occur before AI can truly be scaled up by the enterprise," John-David Lovelock, a Gartner analyst said in reference to the company's latest AI spending report.
That particular analysis, released last week, indicates that worldwide spending on AI is forecast to total $2.52 trillion in 2026.
However, at the WEF annual meeting, optimism, especially for the dozens of technology companies taking part, remains high despite fears of an AI investment bubble and AI-induced labour market disruption.
Monday's report should give those technology companies some breathing space.
"Trusted, advanced AI can transform businesses, but it requires organising data and processes to achieve the best of technology," Accenture's chief strategy officer Manish Sharma said about the WEF study.
"And – this is key – it also requires human ingenuity to maximize returns on AI investments."
