Private Equity: 65 Percent of AI Programs in Portfolio Companies Exceed Targets – Yet Only 36 Percent of Companies Use AI in Day-to-Day Operations

• Seven percent of respondents report that AI is already fully integrated across their portfolio companies
• So far, AI is more often used to increase revenue (among 41 percent of respondents) than to reduce costs (24 percent)
• The biggest hurdle to expanding AI programs (35 percent): a shortage of AI and IT specialists

36 percent of the surveyed PE decision-makers state that their portfolio companies use AI in their day-to-day operations: 17 percent for individual applications, 12 percent in specific business units. Seven percent report comprehensive integration. Another 21 percent see their portfolio companies in the pilot phase. The remaining 43 percent report that their portfolio companies are, at most, experimenting (16 percent), using AI only to a limited extent (15 percent), or not using it at all (12 percent).

Where AI has been integrated into day-to-day operations, 65 percent of respondents state that their AI programs have exceeded the set economic targets, with 17 percent of them doing so significantly. Another 30 percent report that the goals were achieved as planned. Only four percent see their programs falling short of expectations. Respondents also expect their AI investments to pay off within one to two years: 38 percent anticipate seven to twelve months, and 31 percent expect 13 to 24 months. Twelve percent state that their programs are already meeting the set goals today.

“Companies that have already integrated AI into their day-to-day operations are currently building a lead that will be difficult for others to catch up with,” says Friederike Süllau, Senior Managing Director at FTI-Andersch, the consulting unit of FTI Consulting specializing in restructuring, business transformation, and transactions. “They are gathering experience, changing their ways of working, optimizing their processes, and making faster decisions. Those who don’t really get started now will soon face competitors who have a significant lead. This will structurally transform markets.”

Revenue Before Costs: Where Portfolio Companies Are Using AI

41 percent of respondents state that AI initiatives in their portfolio companies are primarily aimed at revenue growth, while only 24 percent focus on cost reduction; 35 percent pursue both goals simultaneously. On the revenue side, new products and services (48 percent high priority), price and margin optimization (47 percent), and sales productivity (45 percent) top the list. On the cost side, the optimization of IT costs (48 percent), procurement (48 percent), and improved utilization of equipment and machinery (46 percent) dominate. 63 percent of cost-saving programs and 65 percent of revenue-generating programs aim for an improvement of five to ten percent. Only five and four percent, respectively, aim for more than 20 percent.

“The focus on revenue is understandable. Today’s AI software provides excellent tools that enable very rapid, productive deployment in sales and pricing,” says Friederike Süllau. “At the same time, we see among our clients that AI can also have an immediate impact on the cost side, for example in accounting, procurement processes, or administration. The companies that tackle both in parallel – that is, revenue levers and process optimization simultaneously – make the fastest progress.”

Return on Investment by Application Area: Where AI Delivers the Highest Returns

Depending on the application area, 54 to 67 percent of respondents report a return on investment (ROI) of more than ten percent for their AI investments. The highest returns are achieved by workflow automation, cybersecurity applications, and AI-powered analytics (67 percent each). These are followed by robotics and connected sensor technology (65 percent) and the development of data infrastructure (64 percent). At the lower end of the scale are autonomous planning systems (60 percent), digital twins (57 percent), and speech and audio recognition (54 percent).

“There’s a simple reason why workflow automation and data analysis achieve the highest ROIs: these applications intervene in processes that take place in every company, regardless of industry or business model. Specialized applications like digital twins or speech recognition can be very effective in specific cases, but are harder to scale broadly. So if you want to see results quickly, start with the processes that affect the entire company,” says Friederike Süllau.

Too few AI specialists – but organizational barriers also get in the way too often

About one-third of respondents (35 percent) see the shortage of AI and IT specialists in their own portfolio companies as the biggest hurdle to expanding their AI programs. This is followed by data quality and availability (33 percent), the pace of implementation (29 percent), and integration into existing IT systems (28 percent). As the most important countermeasure, 68 percent rely on recruiting external AI experts. 59 percent plan targeted acquisitions of companies with AI expertise, and the same number are allocating additional budgets.

In addition, organizational factors are also holding things back: a lack of willingness to change (25 percent), unclear responsibilities (25 percent), and a lack of support from management (24 percent).

“Most companies want to recruit new AI specialists, but the real problem lies elsewhere,” says Friederike Süllau. “The purchasing manager must understand how to integrate AI-powered forecasts into their ordering processes. The sales manager needs tools that allow their team to dynamically adjust prices. This doesn’t require an AI expert – today’s tools are advanced enough that existing teams can start using them immediately. The classic mistake is waiting for the perfect conditions instead of just getting started.”

About the Study / Methodology:

In December 2025, FTI Consulting surveyed a total of 200 private equity decision-makers worldwide. The respondents are involved in investment and operational decisions, and the firms they manage each have assets of at least one billion U.S. dollars. The results are based on self-assessments of the AI programs in their portfolio companies.

The full study can be found here:
https://www.fticonsulting.com/insights/reports/2026-private-equity-ai-radar

About FTI-Andersch

FTI-Andersch is a management consultancy that supports its clients in the development and implementation of sustainable future, performance, and restructuring concepts. FTI-Andersch actively supports companies that are facing strategic, operational, or financial challenges and change processes, or that want to align their business model, organization, and processes for the future at an early stage. Its clients include, in particular, medium-sized companies and corporations that operate internationally. FTI-Andersch is part of the FTI Consulting Group (NYSE: FCN) with more than 8,100 employees worldwide.