If you're not using any form of automation in your business yet, I'm silently judging you. It's not a disrespectful judgement, mind you; it's more sympathetic and vaguely condescending. I have to assume you're either trapped in the '90s, working off Post-it notes and manual spreadsheets, or you're open to the idea but just don't know where to start.Â
My roundup of business automation statistics speaks to both of these wayward souls. I can help those with 27 neon squares of paper clinging to the side of their desktop see the light, and I've also sprinkled in some guidance to get the curious and willing started on their automation journey. No matter where you fall, you'll find something of value in this list.
Table of contents:
Key business automation statistics
The top three roles by AI automation usage across Zapier workflows are marketing, IT, and project management. (Zapier)
More than 90% of RevOps teams use automation. (Zapier)
IT teams that use AI and automation cut out upwards of 30 minutes per support ticket. (Zapier)
The evolution of business automation
I remember when automation was a glorified party trick. I can still close my eyes and see groups of people huddled around a computer, amazed at a simple Excel macro or basic email sequence. Now, automation has expanded in scope and become a non-negotiable: almost every company uses it, no matter the industry.
The top three roles by AI automation usage across Zapier workflows are marketing, IT, and project management. (Zapier)
Almost 60% of businesses have already implemented automation solutions. (Duke)
58% of employers expect robotics and automation to transform their business by 2030. (World Economic Forum)
Less than half of work tasks are performed by humans alone. (World Economic Forum)
Nearly 1 in 4 work tasks are performed mainly by technology. (World Economic Forum)Â
Work tasks delivered by humans are decreasing—and 82% of that decrease is due to automation. (World Economic Forum)Â
9 in 10 professionals think that agentic automation has high potential over the next three years. (UiPath)
75% of professionals are using or experimenting with agentic automation. (UiPath)
Nearly 90% of automation professionals say agentic automation has already changed their daily work. (UiPath)
Automation technologies can complete 57% of U.S. work hours today. (McKinsey Global Institute)
Zapier is an AI orchestration platform that connects all of your apps, data, and departments so you can build end-to-end workflows. Don't know where to start? Poke your head into one of our pre-made templates for some grab-and-go ideas.
Marketing automation statistics
There's always a million things to do in marketing: what are the updates on that A/B test? Do you have the figures on your CPC performance last month? Can you send Sam from sales the updated enablement doc so you don't have to keep avoiding him in the coffee room? It's a lot to handle, but automation keeps marketing teams sane—at least, the 80% that use it.Â
62% of RevOps professionals solve business challenges with multiple types of automation. (Zapier)
Nearly 7 in 10 RevOps teams use AI and automation simultaneously. (Zapier)
More than half of RevOps teams use automation to fill gaps in their tech stacks. (Zapier)
6 in 10 RevOps teams say their challenges are fully or mostly resolved with automation. (Zapier)
85% of marketing teams use Salesforce as a marketing automation platform. (Zapier)
31% of respondents said they are primarily building automations to improve the customer experience. (UiPath)
19% of automation professionals have built an automation for the marketing department within the past 12 months. (UiPath)
Nearly 80% of marketers actively use marketing automation. (Salesforce)
You need to link all your tools to build an automated marketing machine. Zapier connects to 8,000+ apps so you can synchronize your CRM, advertising software, social media platform, and whatever else you have buried in the back of the drawer. Less busywork, more results for your team.
HR automation statistics
When people think of HR, they may think of hiring, firing, and that vacation request that got denied two years ago that you're still not over. But the human resources team does a lot more than that behind the scenes, and automated processes help them work more efficiently (and perhaps, approve more vacation requests).
42% of automation professionals have built an automation for the HR department within the past 12 months. (UiPath)
Nearly 40% of organizations say AI and automation are extremely important to HR solutions. (ISG)
4 in 10 organizations say embracing HR onboarding process automation has resulted in savings of 10-20%. (ISG)
You don't have to start from square one in your HR automation journey. Zapier offers a collection of HR automation templates that you can use—or tweak—to fit your needs.Â
IT automation statistics
It should come as no surprise that IT personnel are leading the charge with AI and automation adoption. These teammates live and breathe code and emerging tools, so IT automation is just the next iteration of time-saving technology.
IT teams that use AI and automation cut out upwards of 30 minutes per support ticket. (Zapier)
Professionals who code their own automations are primarily using Python, SQL, and VB/VBA. (UiPath)
Professionals who use LLMs to build their own automations are primarily using ChatGPT, Gemini, and Anthropic. (UiPath)
52% of automation professionals have built an automation for the IT department within the past 12 months. (UiPath)
Over 60% of professionals say the number of people working in software automation at their company has increased in the past year. (UiPath)
You may be wary of automating a department like IT that handles sensitive information. We get it. Zapier offers enterprise-grade security, including audit logs, access controls, and a smorgasbord of compliance certifications, so you can build with confidence. See how the IT team at Remote used Zapier automation to maintain a secure, automated system—while saving 616 hours on IT support tickets and $500k in potential hiring costs.
The future of business automation
AI and automation are Pandora's Box: we've opened it, and there's no slowing down now. Multiple sources believe that by 2030, much of our world will be automated, with the economic benefits to match.Â
By 2030, employers expect work tasks to be evenly completed by humans alone, humans and automation, and automation alone. (World Economic Forum)Â
73% of employers intend to accelerate the automation of processes and tasks by 2030. (World Economic Forum)Â
Over 60% of automation professionals hold professional certifications, showing industry workers are committed to improvements and growth. (UiPath)
87% of professionals believe automation roles will have an increasingly significant impact on the organization next year. (UiPath)
By 2030, automation adoption could generate nearly $3 trillion in U.S. economic value. (McKinsey Global Institute)
Automatable activities account for roughly 40% of total U.S. wages, highlighting a potential need for employers to pivot or for employees to learn new skills. (McKinsey Global Institute)
90% of small businesses are considering AI and automation services to improve their competitive position. (Visa)
You don't need to get a CS degree to build workflows; Zapier offers no-code automation so you can construct complex processes easily—no dev team required.
Build better business automations with Zapier
I hope this list helped you see the light of automation. At the very least, I hope you slowly took down a few of those Post-it notes as you scrolled. Automation isn't some high-tech tool that requires a team of developers to implement—you just need the right partner.
Zapier is an AI orchestration platform that syncs with 8,000+ apps to help you set up automations across your tech stack with just a few clicks. Explore one of our workflow automation templates that you can tweak to fit your needs, or dive into a full trial of Zapier today.
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