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According to the research, 58% of airlines risk falling behind other consumer industries by treating generative AI as an “add-on” rather than embedding it within an integrated digital framework. Many carriers continue to layer AI tools onto legacy systems, limiting the scale and operational impact of deployments.
Adoption levels are high in customer-facing functions. The study reports that 99% of airlines apply AI in marketing, while 100% use it in e-commerce and customer service and experience. However, just 48% of airline executives describe generative AI as central to their corporate strategy, compared to 100% of leaders in the Consumer Goods and Retail sectors.
The research also highlights differences in deployment maturity. While 44% of airlines state that they have deployed generative AI in key workflows, most initiatives remain limited to between one and five pilots. Only 14% report running between six and ten pilots. In contrast, 99% of Consumer Goods and Retail companies have live deployments, with 48% managing more than ten pilots and 52% running between six and ten proof-of-concepts.
Agentic AI systems, capable of acting autonomously on behalf of businesses or customers, remain at an early stage in aviation. The study found that 61% of airlines have no live agentic AI projects. In comparison, 98% of Consumer Goods and Retail organisations report having between one and five pilots, and 59% operate six to ten proof-of-concepts.
Emily Weiss, Travel Industry Lead at Accenture, stated: “While the airline industry has made progress in applying AI to customer-facing areas such as marketing, e-commerce, and service, the far greater opportunity lies in transforming the core of the business: from operations and crew management to pricing, revenue growth, and retail platforms. At present, too many airlines are still experimenting with small pilots or layering AI on top of legacy systems, which constrains scale and impact. To capture the full value, airlines must re-architect their systems with AI at the core, scale initiatives across functions, and tie them directly to revenue outcomes. For the industry, this means unlocking new growth through smarter operations, higher-margin retail, and more resilient business models. For consumers, it translates into more personalized journeys, smoother travel experiences, and greater value at every step of the trip.”
Tags: Emily Weiss, Accenture Artificial Intelligence, airlines
