IFS released a global study revealing the accelerating scale of Industrial AI adoption across industries. The research identifies an “Invisible Revolution”: a rapid but under-recognised shift away from consumer productivity AI experimentation and toward embedded, operational AI across core business processes. But as with all revolutions, significant challenges are emerging.
The IFS Invisible Revolution Study 2025*, which surveyed over 1,700 senior decision makers at industrial enterprises globally, found that while organisations are adopting AI today, they are not fully prepared for its full implementation. This has created what IFS has dubbed the ‘AI Execution Gap.’
This gap has been formed by companies moving faster into AI adoption than their staff are able to upskill. In the next 12 months, the number of companies still in early AI experimentation will collapse from 24% to just 7% moving up in the maturity curve, yet 52% of seniorleaders say their management teams don’t fully understand AI, and 99% of global workforces will require major reskilling to harness the positive impacts of AI adoption on the industrial world.
“AI is a core driver of business performance, it’s time to plug the AI Execution Gap – bring people, process and product together to deliver tangible outcomes,” said Kriti Sharma, CEO, IFS Nexus Black. “The pace of adoption is inspiring, but the next big unlock will come from scaling trust, strategy, and talent. Industrial AI is a powerful force for good, and we’re in a moment of opportunity: those who move fast will lead the next decade of industry.”
Growing AI value, but lagging readiness and trust issues
The research reveals a striking contrast at the heart of the AI surge. While the technology is already delivering impressive returns, most organisations remain unprepared to scale its impact. More than half of business leaders (53%) admit their organisation still lacks a clear AI strategy, yet the study clearly finds opportunities available to companies that embrace AI. 70% of businesses report better-than-expected ROI from their AI investments, and on average 88% say AI has already improved profitability, rising to 92% in the US and 94% in Germany.
So how do enterprises adapt to ensure they stay competitive? Training and upskilling – supporting employees to thrive in an AI-First environment will be key to ensuring that industrial companies remain relevant. The study found that over half of the business leaders interviewed estimated that up to 60% of their employees will need new skills, with a third saying it could be as high as 100%.
Despite growing confidence in AI’s potential to boost productivity and growth, trust remains a major hurdle. Only 29% of global leaders are comfortable allowing AI to make strategic decisions autonomously, while 68% say a human must still confirm or approve AI-generated outputs. Concerns about bias also persist – particularly in the US, where 63% of respondents cite it as a top concern, compared to just 40% in the Nordics. Encouragingly, 65% of global leaders support the creation of an independent, international AI regulatory body to help close the trust gap.
Industrial AI triggers a business model shift
While AI has captured attention for revolutionising productivity and creative tasks for predominantly white-collar workers, it’s Industrial AI that is fundamentally reshaping the way industrial enterprises run. It is being embedded deep within core operations, automating maintenance, predicting disruptions, optimising supply chains, and orchestrating intelligent decision-making across field service, asset management, and manufacturing.
This isn’t a future ambition, it’s already happening. 54% of global organisations are using automation AI, while 45% are deploying predictive AI. Already, 35% are experimenting with Agentic AI, capable of autonomously executing decisions across workflows. Traditional business models are being influenced by AI with 77% of global leaders saying it is accelerating servitisation, the evolution from product sales to outcome-based services, where businesses deliver uptime, performance, and continuous value instead of just physical goods.
Kriti Sharma continued: “This is a bold new era where AI is redefining how industries create and deliver value. Industrial AI is moving into real-time, decision-grade intelligence embedded across the enterprise. It’s already securely automating the complex, predicting the unexpected, and powering new service-led business models. This is about shifting from tasks to transformation, and the organisations who embrace that shift will lead the next industrial chapter.”
The clock Is ticking
IFS’s research signals a new stage of enterprise AI, no longer confined to innovation labs, but powering frontline operations. The next 12 months will be decisive as those organisations that close the AI Execution Gap now will shape the future of industrial leadership.
Kriti Sharma concluded: “We’re experiencing one of the most profound and underestimated shifts in global business. Industrial AI is here and already reshaping how entire industries run, compete, and grow. The time is now.”
IFS Nexus Black applies deep domain expertise and industrial-grade AI to build production-ready products proven to minimise risk, maximise return, and deliver results in weeks, not years.
*Research conducted by 3Gem in May, 2025.
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