Archive · 10 Oct 2026
McKinsey Executive Says AI Boosts Workers More Than Companies
AI tools can help people do some tasks more quickly.
But that does not always mean the whole company gets more work done or earns more money.
McKinsey executive Eric Kutcher said companies first need to find problems in how their work is organized.
He also said some businesses counted how many AI tokens employees used without realizing that tokens cost money.
In an August McKinsey survey, eight out of ten respondents said AI helped their own productivity.
But the share saying AI helped company profits stayed at 37%, the same as a year earlier.
A separate study found that most surveyed firms had seen no recent change in productivity or employment.
Still, executives expected AI to improve productivity and output over the next three years.
McKinsey North America chair Eric Kutcher said AI was making individual workers more productive, but not necessarily improving company-wide productivity.
Kutcher said businesses need to address inefficiencies before AI can produce sweeping increases in output.
McKinsey data for August found 80% of respondents said AI increased their productivity, while 37% said it contributed to company profits from core operations, unchanged from a year earlier.
A National Bureau of Economic Research study found more than 90% of surveyed firms reported no change in employment or productivity over the previous three years.
Executives surveyed expected AI to raise productivity by 1.4% and output by 0.8% over the next three years.
- Who
- Eric Kutcher, senior partner and chair of McKinsey North America, and executives and employees surveyed in the cited studies.
- What
- Kutcher said AI is improving individual productivity without yet delivering clear enterprise-wide productivity gains in most areas.
- When
- Kutcher spoke at McKinsey's media day on Wednesday, October 7; the McKinsey survey data cited was for August.
- Where
- At McKinsey's media day; the NBER study surveyed executives in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia.
- Why
- Kutcher said companies need to identify inefficiencies before AI can generate sweeping increases in output.
- Speaker
- Eric Kutcher, senior partner and chair of McKinsey North America
- McKinsey survey
- Eight in 10 respondents said AI increased their productivity.
- Profit contribution
- 37% said AI contributed to company profits from core operations, flat from a year earlier.
- NBER study
- Nearly 6,000 top executives across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia were surveyed.
- Reported impact
- More than 90% of firms reported no change in employment or productivity over the prior three years.
- Expected productivity change
- Executives expected AI to increase productivity by 1.4% over the next three years.
- Expected output change
- Executives expected AI to increase output by 0.8% over the next three years.