Transforming Consumer Industries in the Age of AI 2025

Taking stock of the adoption journey1 While most companies are just beginning their reinvention journey, a common roadmap is emerging (Figure 5). Currently, about 10-15% of companies are in phase 0 – they are cautious or resistant, often due to resource constraints or leadership discomfort with technology. About 70% are in phase 1, experimenting with AI and piloting isolated use cases but largely maintaining traditional human-only processes. Leaders (10-15%) are working across phases 1 and 2, experimenting, piloting, reinventing functions, beginning to form use cases, rethinking complete processes and exploring how AI can drive both growth and operational transformation. By 2029- 2030, large-scale organizational transformations are expected as some companies reach phase 4 and AI becomes integral to operations and strategy.1.1 Early stages of adoption, with a roadmap emergingMost companies are in the early stages of AI adoption, but leaders are demonstrating valuable learnings and delivering early-stage results. Phases of AI-driven reinvention and adoption progression FIGURE 5 Company distributionPhase 0 No Al adoption, or Al bansPhase 1 Experimentation and pilotPhase 2 Functional reinventionPhase 3 Enterprise-level reinventionPhase 4 Cross-industry value chain reinvention Current state (2024-early 2025)Near-term Medium-termLong-term (2029-2030) Consumer industries adoption curveWhere companies fallLaggards 10-15%Transformers 70%Leaders 10-15%Not yet achieved by any consumer industries company Phase summaryOrganizations have not yet embarked on their Al journey due to barriers such as regulatory constraints, organizational risk aversion or a lack of awareness of Al's potential.Organizations are running multiple Al experiments, which are often disconnected from the core business strategy and might be driven by individual teams or tech-savvy leaders.Companies have begun to see measurable value from deploying Al at scale within a specific business domain such as marketing, supply chain or customer service.Companies are connecting Al initiatives across multiple functions throughout the organization, supported by foundational infrastructure, data governance and workforce upskilling.Al initiatives extend across the entire value chain, promoting innovative collaborations with partners, supplier and even competitors.Time Source: Accenture. Transforming Consumer Industries in the Age of AI 10