Only 2% of Hong Kong firms are fully AI-ready: report

Only 52% of local firms think they can capture financial value in AI, Cisco study finds.

Only 2% of organisations in Hong Kong are prepared to use artificial intelligence (AI), the lowest amongst surveyed markets globally, Cisco said.

The report identified these organisations as "Pacesetters," or a small but consistent group of companies that outperform their peers across every measure of AI value. 

Cisco said Pacesetters comprise only about 13% of organisations globally for the last three years. 

The report, which measured the AI-readiness of firms in a global study of over 8,000 AI leaders across 30 markets and 26 industries, also found that 52% of companies in Hong Kong think they can gain stronger financial and non-financial value in AI, versus 90% of “pacesetters.”

Fourteen percent of businesses in Hong Kong have an AI-change management plan, versus 91% of firms around the world.

Budgets match intent, with 79% making AI the top investment priority, versus 9% overall in Hong Kong and 96% with short- and long-term funding strategies, versus 23% overall in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, 71% of organisations in Hong Kong plan to deploy AI agents, and nearly 32% expect them to work alongside employees within a year, Cisco said.

“But for the majority of these companies, AI agents are exposing weak foundations — systems that can barely handle reactive, task-based AI, let alone AI systems that act autonomously, and learn continuously,” it added.

The report introduced AI Infrastructure Debt, where firms risk falling in the gap between “AI ambition and operational readiness.”

“Pacesetters are not immune from the debt, Cisco said, “but their foresight, governance, and investment discipline help position them to avoid problems compounding into more costly risks.”

AI-ready organisations can set the pace for others to follow, it added.