Bain survey: AI’s cost reduction effect is not ideal. 40% of the companies surveyed did not reduce costs by more than 10%.

Bain & Company's latest global survey of large companies shows that automation is generally helping to save less than expected. Missing the target "should be unsettling to executives," the company said in the report, especially since many of them are approving increased spending on AI based on expectations of cost savings.

“Purchasing past gains for the next wave may sound like some form of discipline. But in reality, it’s a circular bet with structural holes,” the report states.

A total of 951 executives from companies with revenues of more than $100 million responded to the survey, which was completed in April and spanned nine industries: retail, technology, high-end manufacturing, healthcare, consumer products, energy, financial services, telecommunications/media/entertainment, and insurance.

Among companies that measure the cost reduction effect of AI, fully 40% of companies have actual cost reductions of 10% or less, accounting for the largest proportion. Most companies had expected larger declines.