New McKinsey Survey Shows Potential For Gen AI
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Packaging companies’ attitudes and actions on leverag- ing generative AI are changing fast, according to recently released results from a McKinsey survey. “It is truly becoming a big focus area,” said Partner Abhinav Goel. “They are walking the talk in many ways.” While there’s been plenty of buzz around the poten- tial for artificial intelligence to transform material discov- ery, design for packages and their artwork, and end-of- life sorting, McKinsey’s most recent report explores how packaging companies are thinking about using it for com- mercial optimization. This could apply to sales and mar- keting, procurement, and supply chain and logistics. The most recent survey of 110 senior leaders at pack- aging companies in the U.S. and Europe was conducted in August and September 2025. The firm reported that the survey covered all major substrates (flexible and rigid plastics, glass, metal and paper) and end markets (cos- metics and beauty, e-commerce, food and beverage, in- dustrial products, pharmaceuticals and medical and retail). When McKinsey conducted a larger version of the sur- vey in 2024, a majority of respondents reported not hav- ing yet taken action on gen AI solutions. Yet come 2025, a majority of respondents reported that they were consid- ering, developing or had launched such efforts. One area where AI could transform competition in the packaging space is with contracts and pricing. AI is en- abling more efficient and granular analysis of customer segments across different product types and time hori- zons, allowing companies to zero in on price points that make sense for different customers, Goel noted. AI can also help analyze how a company’s product stacks up against competitors. “All of that used to be desk- top analysis [and] through word of mouth and things like that,” said Senior Partner Gregory Vainberg. “Think about how much quicker that is with gen AI.” That competitive intelligence could be especially beneficial when bidding for contracts. One factor that’s helped packaging companies ad- vance more quickly is the growing understanding that they don’t necessarily need well-organized, structured data to start. “You could actually train your models on un- structured forms of data, contracts, websites, things like that,” Vainberg said. Still, other barriers to adoption remain. The most com- monly cited ones are intellectual property or privacy con- cerns, as well as limited understanding of which use cas- es drive value in commercial activities. In the survey, organizations were asked what challeng- es or limitations they encountered during their respective adoptions of generative AI. The top challenges noted in 2025, in order, were: • Use of gen AI could result in privacy concerns CONTINUED ON PAGE 32
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30 March 9, 2026
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