The report also shows that the majority leaders (58%) worry that shortcomings in their processes may hinder AI’s effectiveness.

Additionally, nearly four in five (79%) say they urgently need to better understand their processes to make the most of the opportunities in front of them with 92% believing there is untapped value in those processes.

The findings are from 1,620 business leaders from around the world including 10% from Australia and 25% from APAC. A company needed a minimum revenue of $US500 million to participate with 80% of companies in the $US2 billion to $US10 billion range.

As the global leader in Process Mining and Process Intelligence, Celonis has grown quickly off the back of AI and is the second most valuable privately held company in Europe with a valuation of $US13 billion and a market share of more than 50% according to Gartner. It works with one-third of the Fortune 500 companies.

The responses underscore the critical role Process Intelligence plays in ensuring AI provides actionable insights, suggests impactful recommendations, and takes effective actions.

Key survey findings:

Nearly all enterprises are deploying AI, with only 1% of the business leaders surveyed saying they’re not. AI expectations are high for the year ahead and leaders recognise that effective AI and processes are intrinsically linked.

• 89% of leaders believe AI must understand how their business processes run to deliver effective results.
• 81% of companies plan to use AI specifically to improve business processes in the next 12 months.
• 74% of respondents say their AI budgets are increasing.
• 64% of respondents believe AI will deliver significant ROI.
• 61% of businesses report that AI applications like GenAI chatbots and assistants are already being deployed to enhance operational efficiency.
• 58% of leaders worry that process inefficiencies could limit the value they achieve from AI initiatives. 

“AI agents need to be process aware - just like a GPS needs a map,” said Alex Rinke, co-founder and co-CEO of Celonis. “The survey results clearly demonstrate that business leaders recognise that there’s no effective AI without Process Intelligence. Our platform, powered by the Process Intelligence Graph, provides enterprise AI the data and context it needs to be truly game-changing.”

Overall, business leaders have high expectations for AI deployment in the near future. The majority (64%) believe that, in the next 12 months, AI will deliver significant ROI and 73% believe there will be established use cases in their departments along with associated policies and usage guidelines.

Additionally, 74% expect AI budgets to increase, although 58% say AI spend will come from a central pot rather than each department having its own budget.

The report says that for AI to meet these high expectations, the technology needs a complete understanding of how business processes operate. Almost nine in ten (89%) business leaders say it’s crucial that AI has the context of how their business runs – including how KPIs are calculated, their policies and procedures, and how the organisation is structured – if it is going to be deployed effectively.

And while 73% say their AI investments are currently delivering the expected ROI, 58% are concerned the state of processes in their organisation may limit the value they are ultimately able to achieve with this technology. At the same time, 81% say AI will be used to directly improve business processes over the next 12 months.

Process mining is currently being used by 39% of businesses, and a further 52% plan to adopt it in the next 12 months. This signals a significant increase in awareness of the

benefits of process mining since last year’s survey when 38% said they were using it and a further 32% said they were evaluating it.

As all the 1,620 leaders work in either Finance and Shared Services, Supply Chain, IT and Digital, or Process Improvement and Operations departments, Celonis also produced four separate reports specifically related to these sectors.

The key findings were:

Supply Chain

• 81% of leaders are using AI to optimise key areas like inventory management, demand forecasting, and logistics automation - unlocking efficiencies at scale.
• While 70% are leveraging advanced visibility tools like process mining, many struggle with disconnected systems and silos, underscoring a need to better integrate tools or consolidate tech stacks.
• Supply chain leads the way among functions, with 43% already using process mining and 49% planning to adopt it within a year.

Finance/SSC

• Process Mining Adoption Surges: 41% are already using process mining to visualise and optimise processes; 50% plan to adopt it within the next 12 months.
• AI Investment on the Rise: 75% say they’ll have established AI use cases, policies, and budgets within the year - surpassing other business functions.
• Top Goal: Productivity Gains: Process optimisation is primarily aimed at automating repetitive tasks, freeing teams to focus on strategic initiatives.

IT

• 75% of IT leaders expect AI budgets to grow in the next 12 months, with 87% confident in AI’s ability to deliver value. However, 90% stress that AI needs process context - understanding how systems and business processes work - to be effective.
• 75% say they aren’t maximising their tech investments, and 86% are prioritising consolidation to streamline applications.
• 36% of IT teams are already using process mining to optimise systems, with 55% planning adoption in the next year to drive better visibility and value.

Operations + Process Improvement

• Productivity is Priority #1: 68% cite improved productivity as their top goal for process optimisation, followed closely by better customer and employee experiences.
• 81% of leaders say AI will directly improve processes in the next 12 months, with a focus on intelligent automation and continuous improvement.
• While 37% already use process mining, 54% plan to adopt it in the coming year to move beyond traditional mapping and enable holistic optimisation.