The Hackett Group Reports Accelerated AI Adoption in GBS

The Hackett Group has released findings from its 2025 Key Issues Study, revealing that global business services (GBS) organizations are rapidly advancing their AI adoption. In 2024, 42% of GBS organizations piloted generative AI (Gen AI), and 63% of these early adopters reported measurable gains in productivity, cost savings, and service quality announced in a press release.

The study highlights that GBS leaders are moving from early adoption to scaling Gen AI across their operations. Two-thirds of GBS leaders believe that Gen AI, including AI agents, will fundamentally reshape structured work this year. As a result, GBS technology budgets are set to increase by 10%.

The Hackett Group's report also identifies key challenges to AI adoption, such as process complexity, unrealistic expectations, and data quality issues. To overcome these obstacles, the report recommends cultivating a business culture that embraces co-intelligence, setting realistic performance expectations, and reskilling talent.

The Hackett Group emphasizes the importance of Gen AI in achieving business objectives like cost leadership and value creation, with plans to accelerate deployment across finance, IT, HR, and procurement shared services in 2025.