New EXL Survey Shows Most Australian Businesses Aren’t Ready for AI—But Expect It to Drive Growth

SYDNEY, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Australian enterprise leaders imagine synthetic intelligence (AI) and knowledge will play a serious function in future development, however most aren’t ready to make use of them. That’s the message from EXL’s new 2025 Enterprise AI Research, which surveyed executives throughout a variety of industries.

The findings present a transparent confidence hole. Whereas a majority of respondents are aiming for enterprise enlargement, with 64% assured of their development outlook, most are nonetheless in early or planning phases in relation to adopting AI, setting knowledge technique, or constructing inner functionality. Belief in AI can be low, with solely 27% of respondents saying they really feel assured within the accuracy of AI-generated insights to information choices.

The survey paints an image of ambition in want of follow-through.

Key findings embody:

• Most companies haven’t applied AI to help operations or decision-making. Solely 34% say they’ve achieved so, whereas 45% haven’t began.
• A big portion of organisations both don’t have an information technique (35%) or are nonetheless planning to implement one (18%), leaving greater than half with out clear course or governance.
• Solely 27% of companies overview their AI methods quarterly or extra typically.
• Few organisations have clear moral protocols in place for AI. Solely 41% say they’ve established guardrails, regardless of 44% ranking regulatory compliance as extraordinarily essential.

Villas Madan, EXL’s Head of APAC, says the findings aren’t a shock. They replicate what the group sees on the bottom day-after-day, however now they’ve the information to again it up.

“AI is not experimental, it’s anticipated. The truth that solely a 3rd of corporations have applied it, and fewer than half really feel assured of their strategy, tells us there’s an even bigger difficulty,” stated Madan. “The urge for food is there, however supply is lagging. That is the second to get critical about constructing the methods, groups, and habits that make AI work.”

The report means that with out common overview, robust management and a shift in inner operations, many corporations threat being left behind in a market that’s already accelerating.

EXL continues to work with purchasers throughout banking, insurance coverage, healthcare, retail and extra, serving to them transfer past pilot tasks to confirmed, scalable AI-driven options.

See the complete Enterprise AI Research HERE