What’s the future of generative AI? An early view in 15 charts

Generative AI has hit the ground running—so fast that it can feel hard to keep up. Here’s a quick take pulled from our top articles and reports on the subject.

Since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022, it’s been all over the headlines, and businesses are racing to capture its value. Within the technology’s first few months, McKinsey research found that generative AI (gen AI) features stand to add up to $4.4 trillion to the global economy—annually.

The articles and reports we’ve published in this time frame examine questions such as these:

• What will the technology be good at, and how quickly?
• What types of jobs will gen AI most affect?
• Which industries stand to gain the most?
• What activities will deliver the most value for organizations?
• How do—and will—workers feel about the technology?
• What safeguards are needed to ensure responsible use of gen AI?

In this visual Explainer, we’ve compiled all the answers we have so far—in 15 McKinsey charts. We expect this space to evolve rapidly and will continue to roll out our research as that happens. To stay up to date on this topic, register for our email alerts on “artificial intelligence” here.