Transforming Consumer Industries in the Age of AI 2025

Images: Getty Images Disclaimer This document is published by the World Economic Forum as a contribution to a project, insight area or interaction. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are a result of a collaborative process facilitated and endorsed by the World Economic Forum but whose results do not necessarily represent the views of the World Economic Forum, nor the entirety of its Members, Partners or other stakeholders. © 2025 World Economic Forum. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system.Contents Reading guide 3 Preface 4 Executive summary 5 Introduction 6 1 Taking stock of the adoption journey 10 1.1 Early stages of adoption, with a roadmap emerging 10 1.2 AI adoption-in-action use cases 11 2 The trajectory of AI technologies 13 2.1 AI evolution 13 2.2 From answering questions to making decisions 14 and taking action: AI agents 2.3 Agentic teams as collaborators 15 2.4 The rewards of investing strategically are apparent 16 even as the bar continues to rise 3 A framework for planning end-to-end transformation 17 3.1 The need for a strategic framework 17 3.2 Strategy and planning 18 3.3 Innovation and growth 19 3.4 Customer and consumer engagement 20 3.5 Operations and supply 22 3.6 Intensifying cross-domain collaboration 23 4 Enabling reinvention 24 4.1 Leading people through the change 24 4.2 Digital core 26 4.3 Responsible AI 27 5 Opportunities for collective action 29 5.1 Which priorities, and when? 29 Conclusion 30 Contributors 31 Endnotes 33 Transforming Consumer Industries in the Age of AI 2