Corporate America’s enthusiastic embrace of artificial intelligence, widely anticipated to usher in unprecedented productivity gains, may be hitting a plateau, according to new findings from financial technology firm Ramp. After nearly ten consecutive months of growing AI adoption rates, Ramp’s AI Index—a metric derived from corporate card and bill payment data from roughly 30,000 companies—stalled at 41% in May.
The data reveals a pronounced disparity across company sizes, with 49% of large enterprises implementing some form of AI, compared to 44% of mid-sized businesses and just 37% among smaller organizations.
While Ramp’s measure isn’t flawless—since it identifies AI-related transactions primarily through merchant names and billing details, potentially overlooking AI expenses integrated into broader categories—it still reflects a notable trend. Businesses appear to be recognizing limitations inherent in current AI technologies, tempering the initial rush toward widespread implementation.
Recent setbacks illustrate these challenges vividly. Klarna, a digital payment firm previously committed to cutting hundreds of customer service jobs in favor of AI-driven alternatives, found itself rehiring human support personnel after experiencing significant drops in customer satisfaction and service quality. According to recent analysis by S&P Global, this shift aligns with a broader industry pullback—42% of companies now report abandoning most of their early generative AI pilot programs, a steep jump from 17% a year prior.
