New Intel-initiated study conducted by IDC reveals Canada’s AI maturity, key challenges, and business drivers for adoption
Agentic AI, the emerging wave of artificial intelligence that enables more autonomous decision-making and proactive execution of tasks, is gaining traction among Canadian companies. According to a new Intel-initiated study, 16.3 per cent of organizations are experimenting with Agentic AI, the highest level of Agentic AI adoption measured in the Americas region, backed by nearly half (47 per cent) of Canadian respondents seeing Agentic AI as transformational and capable of driving major or meaningful advances across their organizations.
Additionally, more than half of the Canadian companies that participated in the study reported active use of both Traditional AI (54.7 per cent) and Generative AI (52.4 per cent) technologies, just below the regional adoption averages of 56.2 per cent and 56.1 per cent respectively.
“Canada is leaning into the future of AI in a way that could set it apart. The study confirms what we are seeing on the ground: AI is already transforming business outcomes, with the majority of respondents reporting up to 49 per cent performance improvements in targeted activities,” said Asma Aziz, General Manager, Intel Canada. “Yet these positive results are tempered by challenges, particularly around data readiness. While data is the most critical asset in the AI journey, too often, it proves to be the Achilles’ heel.”
According to the study, a little over half (54.68 per cent) of internal data is considered available for AI models and analysis as cited by Canadian respondents – just shy of the regional average (55.3 per cent), indicating that many organizations still face significant data accessibility challenges. However, there is a silver lining: only 14.7 per cent of Canadian companies have not yet started or planned to run a data asset inventory – the lowest proportion of companies compared to the regional average (35.8 per cent).
“Canadian companies exhibit a higher degree of AI maturity and pragmatism, excelling in experimenting with new AI technologies, with 56 per cent of organizations feeling extremely or highly prepared to leverage AI. With continued investment in infrastructure, data governance, and workforce skills, Canada can move from being an early adopter to a global leader. Intel’s technology, from the AI PC and Edge to the Cloud and Data Centre, is one of the key enablers of unlocking the full value of AI,” said Aziz.
Additional Key Findings
- Canada is Focused on Customer Support: While IT Operations was cited across the board as the top business function to reap the benefits from Agentic AI, followed by Security, Canada stood out among the countries in the region for prioritizing Customer Service and Support as the second most important use case for the technology, reflecting a client-centric approach in the application of AI.
- Bringing AI Closer to the Edge: Over three quarters of Canadian respondents (76.8 per cent) see real-time analytics and insights as the most beneficial outcome of Edge computing. Accordingly, IT investment in Edge computing is expected to grow from 16.1 per cent to 16.6 per cent of IT budgets over the next 12 months – the highest in the region.
- High Score on Government and Socio-Economic Impact: Canada scored 4.07/5 on the combined measure of government and socio-economic impact on AI-adoption, second only to the U.S. Nearly six-in-ten Canadian respondents point to government R&D funding (56.9 per cent) and Data Privacy and Regulation (57.8 per cent) as the most significant AI enablers.
Methodology
The study, commissioned by Intel to IDC, was designed to assess the AI adoption readiness among mid- and large-sized organizations with over 500 employees across the Americas region (Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the U.S.), covering 15 industry sectors. Fielded in June 2025, the study includes responses from over 460 companies, including 102 based in Canada and that already use AI.
All respondents in the study are decision-makers within their organizations, holding positions at the C-level, Vice-President, Directors or Head of Unit.
About Intel
Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) is an industry leader, creating world-changing technology that enables global progress and enriches lives. Inspired by Moore’s Law, we continuously work to advance the design and manufacturing of semiconductors to help address our customers’ greatest challenges. By embedding intelligence in the cloud, network, edge and every kind of computing device, we unleash the potential of data to transform business and society for the better. To learn more about Intel’s innovations, go to newsroom.intel.com and intel.com.
Source: Intel
