Recent research report shows rapid, wide adoption of generative AI

The hype around artificial intelligence is at an all-time high. Sometimes, in tech, the truth never matches the hype. With AI, though, I do consider it’s warranted.

I view the adoption of AI as much like the adoption of web technologies. We talked concerning the web, hyped it, created economic reports, after which we stopped talking about it since it became embedded into all the pieces we do. From an adoption perspective, we aren’t quite there yet with AI, but a recent report shows that many organizations already use AI, and it’s on the verge of widespread adoption across most business sectors.

C1, a world technology solution provider specializing in “elevating connected human experiences,” published a report this month showing how quickly and pervasively generative AI is utilized by businesses. The report “The Era of AI-Powered Connected Human Experience is Underway” examines how organizations use AI to enhance automation, develop recent services and products, create software and more.

C1 surveyed greater than 500 decision-makers from several sectors, including education, finance, healthcare and manufacturing. The findings show the strategic role AI is already playing. Listed below are some highlights:

• 100% of the organizations surveyed are creating recent key performance indicators for monitoring AI applications of their businesses. The chief focus is on improving the standard of interactions.
• 99% have stepped up their AI adoption, and 51% of the leaders surveyed said they’re “significantly expediting” AI integration across their operations.
• 80% of respondents said gen AI is “essential for enhancing worker collaboration and the standard of labor.”
• On the shopper front, 76% of organizations feel AI might be “integral to elevating customer interaction quality and experience.”

Of the information points above, the primary is probably the most notable. The creation of recent KPIs will help firms understand easy methods to measure processes within the AI era. For instance, with contact centers, a legacy tried and true KPI is “average handle time,” or AHT, to measure how long a customer call takes.

With virtual agents handling mundane tasks, AI-enabled contact centers see AHT increase as live agents do more complex tasks. Early adopters of AI use metrics like upsell opportunities or AI generate CSAT as recent metrics. That is something all businesses could have to do and the information shows that’s happening now.

Not a one-trick pony

One among the more interesting facets of the research is the range of the way organizations depend on gen AI for critical activities.

• 85% are using gen AI to reinforce automation.
• 84% use it to co-develop services and products.
• 84% say gen AI helps them develop code.
• 68% are using it for virtual assistants or copilots.

Given how rapidly gen AI has taken hold in so many businesses, it’s interesting to notice that in relation to its effects on staff, 90% of the corporate leaders who participated within the survey say AI “enhances the human experience within the workplace.” Examples cited include adopting virtual assistants, automation solutions, and tools to support dynamic workflows.

One interesting dynamic of that is how AI changes work. If AI saves staff time and enables tasks to be accomplished sooner, should firms change people’s goals? For instance, if salespeople are not any longer required to place information in customer relationship management services because AI can automate that, should more meetings and closed business be expected? I’ve asked CEOs, heads of human resources and line-of-business managers this, and there is no such thing as a consensus opinion, but it surely does appear staff’ goals will must be adjusted.

Executives not oblivious to gen AI risks

As with every recent technology, it may well take time to find out with a high degree of certainty whether the innovation is benign and useful or potentially dangerous. That process could also be moving faster on gen AI than with almost another technology that has hit the market in many years.

Whilst organizations rapidly innovate with gen AI and deploy it widely, the report acknowledges that business leaders “must recognize the potential risks and challenges of adopting generative AI.” The areas where the report states “organizations should exercise caution” include data privacy, mental property concerns, and cybersecurity risks. In line with survey respondents, the “shortage of expert professionals” in AI development, deployment, and maintenance is tied to those concerns.

Some 65% of respondents said their organization has “revised its cybersecurity protocols” regarding potential AI-related risks to deal with these concerns. C1 notes within the report that the caution amongst early adopters “underscores the importance of strategic AI planning and implementation.”

It is a case where security and compliance have to be built into the design of the brand new AI-infused processes. Often, firms adopt recent technologies, and the safety issues are checked out post-production. Given the risks with AI are so high, and might be public, making it a part of the rollout is prudent.

Early AI adoption tied to first-mover benefits

Survey respondents who reported “high to very high use” of gen AI come from a broad group of industries:

• Utilities: 86%
• Healthcare: 81%
• Manufacturing: 75%
• Finance and insurance: 68%
• Hospitality: 68%
• Education: 65%

What’s notable concerning the above industries is that the best adopting ones are typically slow-moving, with processes full of “human latency.” AI could have an enormous payback in these verticals. I recently talked to a hospital administrator who told me every missed appointment costs the organization 1000’s of dollars due to staffing and equipment costs. AI is getting used at that facility to automate patient reach-out and appointment confirmation, resulting in a 90% reduction in missed appointments.

C1 cites the “potentially significant” implications of being a primary mover in gen AI. “Organizations learning from their generative AI implementations have a bonus over those without generative AI-based capabilities in use. Those gaining experience are doing so at an accelerating rate while those cautiously approaching implementation of generative AI are prone to falling too far behind.” We saw this play out within the Web era as firms we had never heard of before disrupted the tried-and-true vendors. Expect to see the identical with AI.

The AI era is here and can change every aspect of our lives. I’ve asked business and data technology leaders for recommendations on how their peers should start with AI in the event that they haven’t yet. Their advice is to leap and begin trying things. There’s an expression that some people make things occur, some people watch things occur, and the remaining wonder what happened. You don’t need to be on this last category with AI.

Zeus Kerravala is a principal analyst at ZK Research, a division of Kerravala Consulting. He wrote this text for SiliconANGLE. 

Image: SiliconANGLE/Ideogram