01.08.2025

AI Readiness: Why Only One in Five German Companies Successfully Deploys Artificial Intelligence

New Study Shows: 57% of German Companies Have AI on the Strategic Agenda – Yet Only 20% Are Actively Implementing It

What Separates the AI Pioneers from the Laggards?

The figures speak volumes: artificial intelligence has evolved from hype to concrete business practice. With a leap from 9% (2022) to 20% (2024), the number of AI users almost doubles annually. Nevertheless, there remains a massive gap between intention and implementation.

The Uncomfortable Truth: AI Interest ≠ AI Success

The paradox of our time:

78% of industrial companies see AI as critical to their competitiveness
Yet over half are still waiting to "see what experiences others have"
Pilot projects peter out in organisational dead ends
IT teams struggle with data silos from long-past digitalisation waves

The harsh reality: The problem doesn't lie in the technology. It lies in how German companies approach AI transformation.

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What Separates the Successful 20% from the Waiting 37%?

ur current AI readiness study with the futureorg institute reveals systematic differences. The successful 20% have internalised a crucial insight: AI adoption isn't an IT project – it's organisational transformation.

Whilst many companies possess modern IT infrastructures, they fail on entirely different levers than most suspect.

Three Critical Success Questions That Determine Everything

Strategic Anchoring: Have you genuinely embedded AI in your corporate strategy – or are you collecting pilot projects like trophies?
Organisational Readiness: Are your data, processes, and people prepared for intelligent automation?
Scalability: Can you transform isolated AI successes into systematic competitive advantages?

Why the Financial Sector Is Under Particular Pressure

Whilst IT and financial services providers with over 85% digitalisation rates are considered frontrunners, established institutions particularly struggle with a modernisation dilemma: decades-old, monolithic systems significantly hinder the integration of modern AI applications.

The EU AI Act additionally intensifies time pressure – compliance requirements leave no time for further experiments.

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Dies ist ein Foto der Titelseite des Papers "KI-Readiness-Studie" von Intero Consulting.

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Battle-Tested Answers from the Consulting Front

In our new position paper, we share concrete insights from our ongoing study and years of transformation expertise in regulated industries.

You'll discover:

Why technical excellence alone isn't sufficient (the real stumbling blocks lie elsewhere)
Concrete case studies of successful AI implementations from the finance and insurance sectors
A proven framework with four critical success dimensions
Practical steps for your AI Readiness

The Race for AI Readiness Has Begun

The gap between AI pioneers and laggards widens daily. 2025 will be the year of decision: Will you make the leap from AI interest to AI value creation – or remain in the waiting queue?

Break through the pilot project plateau. Develop genuine AI readiness.

Intero Consulting supports leading companies in the structured development of their AI readiness. Grounded in years of digitalisation experience in regulated industries.