- UNESCO notes that the application of AI in education can accelerate progress toward the Education 2030 Agenda (SDG 4).
- Business schools have overwhelmingly embraced AI. In its 2024 Application Trends Survey, the Graduate Management Admission Council(GMAC) found that only 22% of programs surveyed haven’t integrated AI into student learning.
- According to GMAC’s latest Corporate Recruiters Survey, global employers predict that knowledge of AI tools will be the fastest growing essential skill for new business hires over the next five years.
- A new report – The 2025 Graduate Business Curriculum Summary Report(GBCR)*– shows AI has become a foundational pillar of MBA and business master’s programs worldwide, signaling a dramatic shift in how business schools are preparing the next generation of leaders.
“AI isn’t being taught in a vacuum,” the report states. “It is being embedded across disciplines, serving as a tool to understand markets, manage risk, and lead organizations more effectively.”
An MBA provides the strategic, operational, and cross-functional lens needed to bridge the gap between technical teams and business outcomes.
For professionals who want to lead AI-enabled change, an MBA provides the strategic, operational, and cross-functional lens needed to bridge the gap between technical teams and business outcomes. An MBA equips future leaders with the fluency to ask the right questions, make informed decisions, and drive value through AI. In a business world increasingly shaped by automation and intelligence, that’s a critical advantage.
Revolution in Program Delivery
The GBCR report, based on curriculum data collected between November 2024 and February 2025 states that the structure and delivery of business education are undergoing sweeping change.
Drawing on data from 110 business schools and 245 graduate business programs, the study provides a detailed snapshot of how AI, analytics, and digital transformation are redefining the core of business education.
“Over the next decade, business school curricula will undergo a significant transformation, driven by technology, market demands, and changing student expectations,” the report said.
The report highlights several major trends:
- Flexible and modular formats: Rigid degree structures are giving way to stackable credentials, micro-credentials, and certificates, allowing students to personalise their learning journey and build skills over time.
- Hybrid and online-first programs: More than 40% of MBA and business master’s programs now offer online or hybrid formats, driven by demand for flexibility, accessibility, and work-life balance.
- Experiential learning: Real-world projects, live consulting engagements, and AI-driven simulations are becoming standard components of the curriculum, helping students apply their learning in practical, high-stakes settings.
- Renewed focus on soft skills: While AI fluency is essential, schools are also doubling down on communication, empathy, collaboration, and ethical leadership — qualities that differentiate successful leaders in an increasingly automated world.
Impact of AI in Industry Sectors
AI is influencing nearly every industry, but some sectors are undergoing especially rapid transformation. In these environments, the demand for MBA graduates who can navigate technological disruption while driving strategy is surging.
Understanding where AI is having the biggest impact can help you target industries that align with the student’s interests and long-term potential.
- Finance: Fewer entry-level analyst roles, more demand for strategic thinkers who can interpret AI outputs
- Healthcare: Hospital ops and diagnostics are being optimized by AI, demanding managers with both tech and patient-centered insight
- Retail & E-Commerce: MBAs are leading AI-powered personalization and pricing strategies
- Consulting: Firms are building out digital transformation units, with MBAs as the linchpin between tech tools and client needs
How MBA Programs Are Adapting
Leading business schools are recognizing that staying competitive in an AI-driven world means more than just adding a course or two. They’re rethinking their curricula from the ground up, integrating technology and analytics into the core of the MBA experience.
“AI and data analytics will become core components of business education, both as subjects of study and as tools to enhance learning experiences,” says the GBCR report:
- AI & Analytics Electives: All top programs now offer electives in AI strategy, machine learning, data ethics, and automation – giving students foundational knowledge of the technologies shaping business.
- Tech-Focused MBA Programs: Schools like NYU Stern (Tech MBA), Carnegie Mellon Tepper, and MIT Sloan are leading the way. Tepper’s curriculum is especially notable for its deep integration with CMU’s world-class AI and computer science departments, creating a hands-on, analytics-rich environment.
- Cross-Disciplinary Learning: Many schools are actively fostering collaboration across business, engineering, and data science. At Berkeley Haas, for example, students can pursue dual degrees or take electives through UC Berkeley’s top-ranked tech departments, allowing them to build fluency in both business strategy and technical innovation.
The New MBA Roles Emerging From AI
AI isn’t replacing MBAs – it’s redefining what they do. New hybrid roles are appearing that require both business acumen and AI fluency.
The report says: “Traditional degree structures will give way to flexible, modular, and personalised learning paths, with more emphasis on stackable credentials and micro-credentials.”
- AI Product Manager: Leads strategy and development of AI-driven solutions
- AI Strategy Consultant: Advises on adoption and ROI for AI initiatives
- Head of AI Business Development: Drives growth through AI-enabled partnerships
- AI Transformation Lead: Oversees enterprise-wide initiatives to integrate AI
- Director of AI Operations: Oversees enterprise-wide AI implementation
- AI Ethics & Governance Officer: Ensures ethical deployment of AI tech
- VP of Data & AI Strategy: Aligns AI capabilities with business growth
These roles demand strong leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and the ability to connect technical innovation with strategic business value – all hallmarks of a top-tier MBA education.
AI Is Automating Traditional MBA Skill Sets
In today’s business environment, MBAs must be fluent in interpreting data and making decisions with AI-driven insights. Leaders are expected to challenge black-box assumptions, understand limitations of predictive models, and guide teams through data-informed strategies. Familiarity with platforms and tools like Python, SQL, Tableau, ChatGPT and Salesforce Einstein is becoming the norm in tech-forward roles.
AI and data analytics will become core components of business education, both as subjects of study and as tools to enhance learning experiences
Roles that once relied heavily on manual business modeling, operational planning, and market analysis are now being supported – or even replaced – by AI tools. This doesn’t mean MBAs are obsolete. Quite the opposite: as automation scales, the human layer becomes more valuable. MBA graduates are now expected to move upstream – using insights from AI to lead initiatives, drive innovation, and guide ethical, customer-centered strategies.
“At the same time, the importance of soft skills, experiential learning, and interdisciplinary education will grow,” says the report. “Business schools must ensure that graduates not only understand technological advancements but also develop critical thinking, leadership, and ethical decision-making skills.”
Conclusion
AI is rapidly reshaping future careers, and so is the future of MBA programs. It is not just a passing trend — it is a strategic imperative for business schools seeking to remain relevant.
Survey respondents overwhelmingly agreed that AI’s influence will continue to grow over the next decade, affecting both content and delivery. From automated assessment tools to real-time analytics dashboards, AI is already shaping the way students experience business education.
With the advance of AI and the automation of traditional generic skill sets, the recognition and search of ‘soft skills’ is on the rise. Human-centric soft skills, which artificial intelligence can’t replicate, are most critical for businesses to function properly: ethical decision-making and moral judgment; human networking and relationship-building; emotional intelligence and empathy; and conflict resolution.
Presumably, as MBAs gradually integrate AI to meet the market’s increasing demand for roles that require AI skills, they should consider including lectures and classes on soft skills. As employers increasingly seek these human skills from professionals, recruitment processes will assess candidates based on the degree to which they possess these soft skills.
The knowledge acquired in an MBA and the learning on how to handle AI appropriately should align with the human skills that will add key value to the lot for professionals’ contributions in the work space of the future.
*The participating schools in the report represent more than 112,000 enrolled students, supported by nearly 8,000 full-time faculty, and span a mix of public and private institutions, as well as urban and rural campuses around the world.
