AI investment booms with major gap between AI ambitions and employee readiness
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WalkMe, the leader of the Digital Adoption Platform (DAP) category for effectively navigating technology change, today released its annual report, The State of Digital Adoption 2025, Special AI Edition. This year’s report focuses on AI adoption in the enterprise and highlights an alarming disconnect – while 79% of executives express confidence in meeting their AI transformation goals, only 28% of employees feel adequately trained and only 25% report being able to use AI to work more efficiently.
The report uncovers the staggering cost of digital inefficiencies, with enterprises losing over $104 million in 2024 alone due to underutilized technology and poor productivity practices. With AI spending expected to increase 64% in 2025 from $14M to $23M at large enterprises, companies must take proactive steps to ensure maximum ROI. According to the report, enterprises that implement even a single digital adoption best practice can nearly triple their digital transformation ROI from 22% to 64%. This gap reveals that without effective digital adoption, AI investments often fail.
These insights are drawn from a survey of 3,700 senior executives and employees, as well as proprietary data from a subset of WalkMe’s user base, 1.5 million users across 2,400 enterprise applications. The full report provides actionable strategies for business leaders to close the AI adoption gap, optimize IT investments, and enhance workforce productivity in 2025 and beyond.
“As we release the fourth annual State of Digital Adoption report, it’s clear that while AI is transforming enterprise ambitions, its success hinges on people,” said Dan Adika, Co-Founder & CEO of WalkMe. “Over a decade of innovation in digital adoption has shown us one truth: technology alone doesn’t deliver results – people do. This year’s findings outline actionable steps leaders can take to close the readiness gap and turn their AI investments into impact.”
The report also revealed an alarming visibility gap in how employees are using software in their roles. Executives believe an average of 37 applications are in use at their organizations, but WalkMe’s data shows the average number is actually 625, a 17x discrepancy. This gap is hindering organizations’ ability to manage their software investments and properly support digital transformation.
“WalkMe’s research highlights a clear need for organizations to bridge the AI adoption gap, and digital adoption platforms play a vital role in enabling organizations to maximize their AI transformation efforts,” said Andrea Lippin, Managing Director, Talent & Organization at Accenture. “The report showed that AI has sparked 93% of enterprises to reevaluate key parts of their digital organization, including IT infrastructure, software applications, and talent to unlock the benefits of AI. We are entering a new chapter of business innovation that will have lasting implications across industries. And that is why we recommend a WalkMe first approach—ensuring that AI adoption is not only strategic but also seamless, intuitive, and scalable.”
“The success of AI in the enterprise is all about execution and, as this research shows, much of that is in the hands of employees,” said Alexa Cordell, Sr. Learning Technology Manager, EDF Renewables. “It’s about ensuring employees can seamlessly adopt and integrate it into their workflows to drive both individual and organizational success.”
Additional highlights from the research include:
- Employees still deal with technology frustrations, wasting an average of 36 working days a year.
- Average digital adoption investment rose from $2.8 million in 2023 to $5.1 million in 2025.
- Digital adoption teams have grown: 73% of large organizations have six or more people responsible for driving software adoption, compared to 63% in 2024.
Download The State of Digital Adoption 2025 complete report here.
Register now
to join WalkMe and speakers from Accenture, State Farm, and EDF Renewables for an interactive webinar, Bridging the AI Divide: Insights from the State of Digital Adoption 2025 February 25th at 11:00 AM ET.
About WalkMe:
WalkMe, an SAP company, pioneered the world’s leading Digital Adoption Platform, enabling organizations to navigate the change brought on by technology. Leveraging over a decade of experience, WalkMe’s platform integrates generative AI to deliver proactive, accessible, and actionable insights. Our context-aware solutions guide users through any workflow, identifying and resolving digital friction to ensure seamless execution of critical processes across all departments. Trusted by global leaders like IBM, Nestlé, ThermoFisher Scientific, and the U.S. Department of Defense, WalkMe empowers organizations to maximize software ROI and drive people-centric digital transformation. Visit www.walkme.com.
Media Contact:
Melanie Pasch
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