According to new research by the Graduate Management Admission Council, 78% of business schools have integrated Artificial Intelligence into the curriculum or learning experience.

The report found that the most popular way that AI was integrated focused on exploring AI in society and business ethics (44 per cent), closely followed by developing courses using AI in decision-making (43 per cent) and adding practical applications of AI into the classroom (42 per cent).

These findings come from this year’s GMAC Application Trends Survey – an annual report focusing on current application trends to graduate management education programmes across the world’s best business schools.

The report interviews applicants from over 1000 business school programmes, spread across almost 300 business schools, across 40 countries globally. The report identifies trends such as growth or decline in applications to programmes, the impact of financial assistance, and the characteristics of applicants.

Regionally, Asian programmes were more likely to actively embrace AI in the application process, whereas European programmes are more likely to prohibit it. In terms of the curricula, programmes in Canada, Asia-Pacific, and Europe were slightly more likely than programmes in the United States to have integrated AI.

Though the number of business schools implementing AI into the curriculum was high, the report found that when it comes to the admissions process the implementation of AI is less common.

Almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of business schools have no policy in place when it comes to Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the admissions process, according to new research by the Graduate Management Admission Council.

The report also shows that just five per cent of business schools are embracing AI in the admissions process, whilst eight per cent of schools have prohibited its use, and 21 per cent have a case-by-case approach to this.

“As AI's integration into everyday life rapidly accelerates, there is a need for well-defined policies at business schools on these technologies”, says Nalisha Patel, Regional Director for Europe and Americas at GMAC. “Clear policies not only foster trust but also ensure AI benefits the whole educational landscape equally – widespread best practices and regulation could help business schools grapple with this issue”.

AI was also a focus for other GMAC reports throughout the year, with several interesting results on the use of AI at business schools, and the importance of this as a skillset for the future.

GMAC’s 2024 Prospective Students Survey revealed a jump in the number of candidates who say AI is essential to their ideal business school curriculum—now up to roughly 40 per cent.

The 2024 Corporate Recruiters Survey showed that employers are not too concerned about GME graduates’ knowledge of AI just yet—but its importance is expected to grow in the next five years, and likely will be one of the most important skills for the future.