Further solidifying AI as tech’s latest golden child, a new report says generative AI could boost the global economy by as much as $4.4 trillion per year.

OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Amazon and others are betting it all on generative AI and the possibilities it brings. From ChatGPT to Bing Chat to Bard, companies have been pushing the boundaries of AI, bringing new capabilities to customers.

According to McKinsey & Company, AI’s appeal goes far beyond its status as “the next big thing”” technologically, or even the many ways it is poised to revolutionize industries. The tech will have a major impact on the global economy, as McKinsey highlights in its report:

Generative AI’s impact on productivity could add trillions of dollars in value to the global economy. Our latest research estimates that generative AI could add the equivalent of $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion annually across the 63 use cases we analyzed—by comparison, the United Kingdom’s entire GDP in 2021 was $3.1 trillion. This would increase the impact of all artificial intelligence by 15 to 40 percent. This estimate would roughly double if we include the impact of embedding generative AI into software that is currently used for other tasks beyond those use cases.

McKinsey also reinforces the transformative impact generative AI will have across industries:

Generative AI will have a significant impact across all industry sectors. Banking, high tech, and life sciences are among the industries that could see the biggest impact as a percentage of their revenues from generative AI. Across the banking industry, for example, the technology could deliver value equal to an additional $200 billion to $340 billion annually if the use cases were fully implemented. In retail and consumer packaged goods, the potential impact is also significant at $400 billion to $660 billion a year.

McKinsey’s full report can be found here and is well-worth a read.