It turns out that jumping headfirst into artificial intelligence can be quite a costly endeavor, at least in the beginning. A recent global survey by EY, a major consulting firm, found that most large companies adopting AI faced financial setbacks right out of the gate.
This survey looked at 975 executives from companies worldwide. All these businesses use AI and pull in over a billion dollars in sales each year. The data was collected between July and August 2025. These initial losses mainly stemmed from companies failing to follow regulations, delivering faulty products, or struggling to meet their sustainability targets. Interestingly, very few companies reported issues with their reputation or legal battles.
Across all the surveyed companies, the total financial hit reached $4.4 billion. EY figured this out by looking at things like revenue growth, money saved, and how satisfied employees were. Despite these early financial bumps, most companies still see a bright future for AI. They believe it will eventually lead to huge profits.
Joe DePao, who leads innovation at EY, shed some light on this. He explained that AI definitely makes work more efficient and capable. People can get more done, faster. But, he noted, AI also requires significant upfront investment. That heavy spending is often what impacts a company’s performance early on.
Here’s the interesting part: the survey also highlighted a clear difference. Companies with a “Responsible AI” policy, meaning they use AI ethically and thoughtfully, performed better. They managed to cut costs more effectively and reported happier employees. Companies that didn’t have such policies, or only partly used them, didn’t see these same positive results.