Australian companies race to adopt AI, but just 15% have scaled

While Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to dominate boardroom conversations, new research from Australian spend management platform, Weel, reveals a stark execution gap. Just 15% of Australian companies have successfully scaled AI across their operations.

The findings paint a picture of rapid experimentation, but limited transformation. Weel’s latest survey shows that over 55% of companies are trialling AI in pockets of their finance function, yet most remain in early-stage pilots without broader organisational uptake. Strategic alignment, capability building, and data infrastructure are proving persistent barriers to scale.

“Finance teams are embracing AI with enthusiasm, actively experimenting with its potential,” said Damon Hauenstein, CFO and COO at Weel. “The challenge now is aligning strategy, capability, and infrastructure to transform this enthusiasm into lasting organisational success. Much like the shift from paper ledgers to digital spreadsheets in the 1980s, where early adopters gained decisive competitive advantages, AI is following the same trajectory – from scattered experimentation to essential infrastructure.”

Key insights from Weel’s Report: The True State on AI in Finance (2025 Snapshot) 

Weel’s 2025 research surveyed a broad cross-section of Australian finance professionals and uncovered several key trends:

• 55% of companies are running AI pilots in selected teams
• 15% are actively scaling tools
• 61% of respondents were SMBs (fewer than 100 staff), showing strong participation from agile, mid-sized firms
• Weekly AI usage is high among employees (41%), yet satisfaction with leadership’s alignment remains moderate
• Top barriers to scale include limited time and resources (55%), compliance concerns (43%), and lack of internal support (16%)

Despite healthy interest and uptake among individual employees, many teams report struggling with fragmented strategies, unclear accountability, and a lack of internal capability to move beyond experimentation.

Weel’s findings align with a growing body of national research that suggests Australia is at risk of falling behind on AI execution:

• Just 24% of the national workforce is AI-literate (KPMG, May 2024)
• Only 4% of Australian CFOs say AI is currently used effectively (ADAPT, Nov 2024)
•  73% of Australian SMBs say keeping pace with changing technology is a challenge (Salesforce, Dec 2024)

The trend is not unique to finance. Research from Asana published in June 2024, shows that only 14% of Australian organisations have scaled AI across their business. Most efforts remain siloed, concentrated in functions such as customer support and marketing. The broader shift to enterprise-wide AI strategy is still in its early stages.

“Finance leaders are uniquely positioned to champion AI adoption across their organisations. The willingness to experiment is strong, but organisations are increasingly valuing finance leaders who bring clear strategy, robust data foundations, and the skills to operationalise AI across teams,” added Hauenstein. “Finance leaders that invest and build the skills now will be best positioned for this new era.”