The ROI of AI 2025

The ROI of AI 2025

The study The ROI of AI 2025 by Google Cloud provides current data on the return on investment of artificial intelligence in large international companies. The results are based on a survey of 3,466 managers from 17 countries, including Germany.

First of all, there is a clear shift from AI tools that simply provide support to AI agents, i.e. “systems that combine the intelligence of advanced AI models with access to tools, so they can take actions on your behalf and under your control” (Google Cloud, p.2). 52 percent of the organizations surveyed already use such agents. Of the companies that have invested early, 88 percent report significant benefits. These early adopters are more likely to report a positive ROI across all cross-industry agent AI use cases. The areas of marketing, customer support and internal information work are benefiting particularly strongly. There, AI agents are used to create content, analyze interactions and free up employees for more strategic tasks.

Google Cloud (2025). The Roi of AI 2025. p. 3.

According to the survey, clear management structures, defined guidelines and central responsibility at C-level, which ensures that the AI strategy is in line with the company’s goals, are crucial for success.

The biggest challenges cited by respondents were the high integration effort, ensuring data sovereignty and internal training. Overall, the report makes it clear that the measurable benefits of AI arise where communication and technology are closely aligned. The study concludes with a practical checklist to help companies increase their ROI with AI in a targeted manner.