A recent survey by AI solution provider Nvidia reflects the remarkably rapid growth of this technology over the past year. Based on responses from hundreds of CPG and retail executives, the third annual Nvidia State of AI in Retail and CPG survey revealed that 58% of organizations are actively deploying AI solutions, up from just 42% in 2024.
These deployments already are paying off: 89% of respondents said AI is helping increase annual revenue, and 95% said it’s helping cut costs. Given these results, it’s unsurprising that 90% of respondents reported that investment in AI will continue to grow in 2026, with 58% of the executives saying it would grow by more than 10%.
“Across the business landscape, companies are transitioning from running numerous AI pilots to selecting and scaling solutions with proven business value,” according to the survey report. “This trend is especially pronounced in retail and CPG, where active AI usage has significantly increased.” The report also showed that AI is driving measurable results in three broad areas for these companies: operational efficiency, customer experience and employee productivity.
Nearly Half of Companies Using or Assessing Agentic AI
Agentic AI — advanced AI systems that autonomously reason, plan and execute — may be just emerging as a solution, but many retail and CPG companies aren’t waiting: 47% of respondents are using or assessing AI agents, including 20% actively deploying them and 21% planning deployments within the coming year.
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The top usages for agentic AI are for internal workflow automation and knowledge management and retrieval, both chosen by 59% of respondents. At 48% each, these are followed by agentic AI’s use as customer support assistants; employee assistants; and for personalized marketing and advertising.
Everyone acknowledges that AI adoption carries risks. For 48% of survey respondents, one key concern involves the relevance of the models that these AI agents are trained on, a factor that shapes implementation strategies for 48% of respondents.
“Retail and CPG organizations operate with unique products, processes, customer behaviors and business rules that general models may not understand,” according to the report. “Companies are navigating the challenge of tailoring foundation models with proprietary data and domain expertise, increasingly turning to open-source models and tools to maintain performance while avoiding long-term technical debt.”
