Corporate AI adoption is getting real
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Companies are starting to talk more about the real, quantifiable things they're doing with AI: from designing toys to writing marketing copy, according to a new analysis of investor earnings calls.
Why it matters: It was just a few years ago that many companies paid lip service to AI — now they're offering tangible details.
The latest: One-quarter of the companies in the S&P 500 mentioned at least one quantifiable impact from AI in the first three months of the year — up from 13% in the same period in 2025, according to a report Tuesday from Morgan Stanley, which used AI to analyze transcripts.
By the numbers: 42% of tech companies highlighted tangible benefits.
- No surprise there. Vibe coding has upended the industry — and employer demand for software engineers has dropped off.
- In second place is finance, with 40% of companies touting their efforts with AI, up from 15% the year before.
- Communications services ranked third.
The big picture: The pace of AI adoption is crazy fast, happening more quickly than with internet adoption at the turn of the last century. Even as geopolitics and uncertainty are ramping up, AI continues to be the story for investors.
- "Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, AI has emerged as a defining force across markets, reshaping how companies operate, invest and compete," Morgan Stanley equity analysts wrote in the note.
- "As in past cycles, companies across industries are beginning to realize tangible gains through technology diffusion."
Examples noted in the report: Toymaker Hasbro says it is using AI-assisted design to reduce "time from concept to physical prototype by roughly 80%." The company says humans still determine what final products to make.
- Bank of America said using AI "saves us about 2,000 people" who would typically write code. CEO Brian Moynihan spoke earlier this year about letting "headcount drift down," thanks to AI.
- Tobacco company Altria highlighted a 50% reduction in time required to create marketing content.
Reality check: This is still the early stages. 75% of the companies didn't point to quantifiable benefits, per Morgan Stanley.
- And this is a subjective analysis. A similar one from Goldman Sachs, released last month, found only 10% of S&P 500 firms noted AI impact in specific use cases. About half discussed AI "in the context of productivity."
- Analyst Ronnie Walker did find that 70% of firms were talking about AI, though.
What to watch: A survey out earlier this year of nearly 6,000 business executives found that though the vast majority are using the technology, they haven't yet reported much impact on their companies over the past three years.
- They predict that the productivity boost will land over the next three years.
- We're merely in the second part of the first phase of AI adoption, says Kevin Khang, senior global economist at Vanguard. He expects it to accelerate.
- "This is on just about every CEO's desk as their No. 1 priority this year."
The bottom line: Companies are spending billions of dollars on AI tools and have a big incentive to promote every little thing they're doing with this stuff.
