CreditorWatch’s newest Annual Enterprise Sentiment Survey reveals a major shift in how Australian companies are embracing Synthetic Intelligence (AI), with adoption charges, satisfaction ranges and expectations of its affect all rising sharply over the previous yr.

But the report additionally highlights a major divide. The September 2025 survey, which canvassed 1,017 enterprise decision-makers throughout all industries and enterprise sizes, reveals one in three (32%) Australian companies haven’t adopted any new applied sciences up to now yr – an issue much more widespread amongst smaller operators. Virtually half of sole merchants (49%) and round 40% of small and medium-sized companies haven’t embraced ‘newer’ applied sciences akin to AI, big-data analytics, or robotics up to now 12 months, in contrast with simply 4% of enormous companies.

Whereas that is an total adoption of latest know-how noticed a 15 share level enchancment – dropping from 47% to 32% when in comparison with CreditorWatch’s Could 2024 Enterprise Sentiment Survey – it’s regarding that companies should not profiting from the potential productiveness, effectivity, expertise and information advantages that these newer applied sciences assist ship.

Specializing in probably the most mentioned know-how on this combine, AI, reveals extra optimistic indicators. The survey discovered that 41.5% of companies adopted AI instruments up to now 12 months, up from 34.8% in Could 2024, marking a 6.7 share level improve. This development positions AI as probably the most broadly adopted know-how, forward of cloud-based finance platforms (28.4%) and big-data analytics (25.0%).

AI adoption is now not confined to early adopters or giant corporates. The survey reveals uptake is broadening throughout sectors and demographics, with notable positive aspects amongst female-led companies (+8.6 pts), Gen Z leaders (+13.4 pts), and companies in NSW, VIC and QLD, all of which noticed double-digit will increase.

CreditorWatch CEO Patrick Coghlan mentioned the findings replicate a maturing market and a rising recognition of AI’s strategic worth:

“AI is now not a simply fringe funding – it’s central to how companies compete. Whereas some corporations are nonetheless catching up, the info reveals that corporations embracing AI are seeing actual returns, and that’s driving broader adoption throughout sectors. We’re witnessing a shift from curiosity to functionality, however there’s nonetheless work to be accomplished to allow smaller companies particularly to maintain tempo and advance technologically – one thing that may be difficult, but presents vital advantages, particularly within the present panorama.”

How is AI being adopted?

Amongst companies which have adopted AI, the most typical purposes embody:

• Content material creation and modifying (46%)
• Knowledge insights and analytics (37%)
• Automation of routine duties (37%)
• Customer support/chatbots (35%)
• Gross sales and advertising analytics (33%)
• Undertaking and activity administration (31%)

Satisfaction with AI stays exceptionally excessive. 94.6% of adopters report optimistic outcomes, with 43% “very glad” – up from 37.6% in 2024. This means that AI instruments should not solely being deployed extra broadly however are delivering tangible worth throughout operational and strategic capabilities.

AI adoption by sector and enterprise measurement

The survey highlights a transparent divide in adoption and affect expectations throughout industries. AI adoption is accelerating throughout monetary providers and enterprise providers – reporting adoption charges of 49% and 53% respectively, and the best satisfaction round ROI.

These sectors are leveraging AI for automation, content material creation, and information insights, with satisfaction ranges exceeding 95%. In distinction, sectors akin to building, distribution and retail are lagging, with adoption charges under 35% and decrease confidence in AI’s transformative potential.

Bigger companies are main the way in which in AI adoption, spotlight an rising digital divide by enterprise measurement, with 69% of corporations with 200+ workers integrating AI instruments, in comparison with simply 33% of small companies and 30% of sole merchants.

These bigger organisations additionally report the best satisfaction (99.1%) and strongest expectations of affect, with over 73% anticipating vital or average transformation inside 5 years. Whereas smaller companies are more and more adopting AI, they continue to be constrained by monetary sources, time and technical functionality.

Limitations to tech adoption

Regardless of the momentum, challenges stay. The highest obstacles to tech funding embody:

• Cybersecurity considerations (29.8%)
• Restricted monetary sources (25.3%)
• Uncertainty about return on funding (ROI) (23.1%)
• Lack of tech data and expert workers (mixed 38.8%)

Whereas monetary and time constraints have eased since 2024, cultural resistance and strategic uncertainty persist, significantly in sectors with decrease digital maturity.

Wanting Forward

CreditorWatch’s information reveals that 49% of enterprise leaders count on AI to have a major or average affect on their operations over the subsequent 5 years. This forward-looking sentiment, mixed with rising adoption and satisfaction, means that AI is transitioning from a tactical software to a strategic enabler.