New data on the adoption and readiness of generative AI (GenAI) by senior business leaders has been published by Deloitte.
Nearly 2,000 global business leaders including board, president, vice president and director levels took part in the second wave of The State of Generative AI in the Enterprise: Now Decides Next. Various industries are represented, with most organisations’ revenues exceeding £1 billion annually – 200 of them being from the UK.
Here are some key takeaways from UK executives:
• Three quarters of UK business leaders expect their organisation’s investment in AI to increase over the next fiscal year. For around half of UK organisations surveyed (47%) GenAI is less than 20% of their overall AI budget. As budgets for total AI spend increase over the next year, we expect greater capital to be allocated to GenAI.
• Seven in ten (71%) of UK business leaders believe that GenAI will substantially transform their organisation within the next three years.
• Currently only a third (34%) of those surveyed in the UK believe that their organisation currently possesses a high or very high level of expertise in the technology.
• 76% of UK leaders expect to adjust their talent strategy due to GenAI within the next two years. A minority of organisations report that they are already concentrating a high or very high level of effort into reskilling workers (31%) and recruiting and hiring technical talent (34%).
• The biggest fear for UK leaders is being able to comply with regulations (38%).
• Misuse of client / customer data and lack of confidence in results (33%) are the second most prominent concerns for business leaders in the UK.
Lorraine Barnes, GenAI lead at Deloitte UK:
“Business leaders in the UK are becoming bullish about the potential of GenAI and we can see this being matched by increasing investment in the technology. Our research shows that most executives expect AI investment in their organisations to increase over the next fiscal year.
“As more companies experiment and implement GenAI, upskilling the workforce becomes essential. The challenge for organisations, however, will be keeping pace with rapid advances in the technology.
“Many business leaders are also mindful of the risks which GenAI may present, the biggest being around regulation. Regulations are developing quickly and organisations expect to face a level of uncertainty over their ability to meet them.”
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