AI in Energy Statistics: Adoption Across Operations, Sales & Customer Service
Energy & utilities executives report strong AI momentum: 49% expect high impact in 3 years; 47% say deployment is underway and 62% of AI users already see measurable value. Uses span forecasting (52%), predictive maintenance (46%) and cost reduction (43%), with cybersecurity (31%) and data quality (70%) shaping adoption.
Key Takeaways
Energy & utilities data show AI momentum: 49% expect high impact, 47% deploying now, and 31% cite cybersecurity as a key barrier. Focus areas include forecasting, predictive maintenance, and grid reliability.
- 63% of executives say AI will improve employee productivity.
- 41% of energy customers are more likely to choose utilities that use digital tools for personalized service.
- 36% of energy customers expect more proactive outage and restoration notifications via digital channels.
- 62% of companies that use AI report that they have already achieved measurable business value.
- 79% of executives report that they are using AI in at least one business function.
- 57% of organizations say they are using AI to optimize supply chain and logistics.
- 43% of executives expect AI to reduce operational costs in the next 12 to 24 months.
- 52% of organizations report AI is being used to improve forecasting accuracy.
- 40% of organizations report AI is being used to reduce asset downtime.
- 49% of energy and utilities executives say AI will have a high impact on their industry over the next three years.
- 47% of energy and utilities organizations say AI deployment is already underway.
- 31% of energy and utilities executives cite cybersecurity risk as a key barrier to AI adoption.
- 68% of energy companies say they plan to increase budgets for AI-related initiatives in 2025.
- 41% of energy and utilities organizations expect AI spending to grow faster than their overall IT budget.
- McKinsey estimates that generative AI could add $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion annually across the global economy by 2040.
Consumer Behavior
In consumer behavior, digital expectations are rising as 41% of energy customers choose utilities with personalized digital tools, 36% want proactive outage notifications, and 44% would use an AI-enabled app for real savings.
63% of executives say AI will improve employee productivity.
41% of energy customers are more likely to choose utilities that use digital tools for personalized service.
36% of energy customers expect more proactive outage and restoration notifications via digital channels.
44% of utility customers say they would use an AI-enabled app to manage energy usage if it offers real savings.
US utilities reported that 55% of customers have used online portals or apps to manage their energy usage during 2023.
25% of electricity customers in the U.S. used demand response programs during 2023.
4% of U.S. residential electricity consumers reported using third-party energy management services in 2023.
Corporate & B2b
In the Corporate and B2B energy sector, 67% of energy and utilities respondents say they are investing in AI to improve operational performance, with measurable value already reported by 62% of AI users.
62% of companies that use AI report that they have already achieved measurable business value.
79% of executives report that they are using AI in at least one business function.
57% of organizations say they are using AI to optimize supply chain and logistics.
28% of executives say AI initiatives are focused on workforce augmentation rather than replacement.
67% of energy and utilities respondents say they are investing in AI to improve operational performance.
70% of companies using AI report that data quality is the most important factor for success.
36% of energy and utilities organizations report they have already scaled AI pilots into production.
61% of utilities identify data integration and interoperability as a top challenge for AI deployment.
44% of utilities say they are building AI centers of excellence.
38% of utilities report using a vendor-managed AI platform for at least one production model.
47% of utilities report that AI improves the quality of operational reports and reduces manual effort.
46% of energy companies say they have already adopted AI for risk management and anomaly detection.
Digital Strategy
In energy digital strategy, executives are betting on near term value, with 43% expecting AI to cut operational costs and 52% improving forecasting accuracy, while governance readiness lags as only 33% have frameworks.
43% of executives expect AI to reduce operational costs in the next 12 to 24 months.
52% of organizations report AI is being used to improve forecasting accuracy.
40% of organizations report AI is being used to reduce asset downtime.
51% of utilities executives say generative AI is part of their near-term AI roadmap.
33% of organizations have implemented AI governance frameworks.
24% of organizations say they have fully deployed AI with monitoring and retraining mechanisms.
58% of executives say they are using AI to automate manual processes.
Gartner predicts that by 2026, 75% of large enterprises will have deployed AI governance capabilities that are auditable.
Gartner predicts that by 2025, 80% of enterprises will use generative AI in at least one function.
Gartner forecasts that by 2026, chatbots will be replaced by agentic experiences in most consumer and customer service use cases.
29% of utilities plan to deploy AI for transformer health monitoring in 2025.
58% of utilities say regulatory requirements impact how they deploy AI models.
72% of utilities say they need model explainability to satisfy internal stakeholders.
30% of utilities say they are using synthetic data to train AI models.
23% of utilities report having implemented real-time AI monitoring and alerting for production models.
63% of utilities say they prioritize AI initiatives that help with regulatory reporting and compliance documentation.
36% of utilities say they are using AI to automate parts of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting.
Industry Insights
Across energy and utilities, 49% of executives expect high AI impact in three years, and with deployment already underway at 47%, predictive maintenance and outage and load forecasting are leading use cases while cybersecurity remains a key barrier at 31%.
49% of energy and utilities executives say AI will have a high impact on their industry over the next three years.
47% of energy and utilities organizations say AI deployment is already underway.
31% of energy and utilities executives cite cybersecurity risk as a key barrier to AI adoption.
46% of organizations report AI is being used for predictive maintenance.
45% of utilities executives expect AI will improve demand forecasting and grid operations.
35% of energy and utilities organizations are prioritizing AI projects related to grid management and reliability.
McKinsey reports that AI can reduce peak energy demand by 1% to 4% through improved forecasting and load optimization.
McKinsey estimates that AI could reduce energy trading losses by 10% to 15% via better predictions and anomaly detection.
McKinsey estimates that AI could reduce maintenance costs by 10% to 40% depending on how well data and models are integrated into operations.
37% of utilities report using AI for outage prediction.
33% of utilities say AI is already used for load forecasting.
26% of utilities say they use AI for fraud detection in billing and payments.
19% of utilities say they have stopped or rolled back AI projects due to performance issues.
22% of utilities say AI is used to detect non-compliance events from operational data streams.
52% of energy companies say AI improves operational safety monitoring.
39% of energy companies cite AI-enabled maintenance as a way to reduce safety incidents.
Market Size & Growth
In energy, budgets are clearly shifting toward AI, with 68% of companies planning higher AI spending in 2025 and 41% expecting faster growth than overall IT, while generative AI could drive $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion annually by 2040.
68% of energy companies say they plan to increase budgets for AI-related initiatives in 2025.
41% of energy and utilities organizations expect AI spending to grow faster than their overall IT budget.
McKinsey estimates that generative AI could add $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion annually across the global economy by 2040.
$70 billion is the projected annual value-at-stake for generative AI in the U.S. oil and gas sector by 2030 (model year).
IDC forecasts that worldwide spending on AI systems will reach $xxx.x billion in 2027, up from $xxx.x billion in 2024.
IDC projects that worldwide spending on AI will grow at a CAGR of about 20% through 2027.
2024 spend on AI software and services in the power and utilities sector is projected to reach $xxx million (per publisher estimate).
Marketing & Advertising
In Marketing and Advertising, AI momentum is clear, with 62% of utilities expecting generative AI to boost customer engagement and 25% of marketers already using it for content creation, while 17% say it has replaced at least one content role.
53% of executives believe AI will be central to customer experience improvements.
62% of utilities expect generative AI to help enhance customer engagement and service delivery.
38% of marketing leaders say generative AI will be included in their marketing technology stack within 12 months.
25% of marketers report they are already using generative AI for content creation.
17% of respondents say generative AI has replaced at least one content role in their organization.
