With more than 1,400 C-level executives surveyed, 89 percent of executives rank Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) as a top-three priority for 2024, a new report shows.
The report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) titled ‘AI Radar: From Potential to Profit with GenAI Ahead’ emphasised that despite the potential, leaders are struggling to convert hype into reality as GenAI faces major challenges in realising their impact.
According to a new report, 66 percent of executives are ambivalent or outright dissatisfied with their organisation’s progress on AI and GenAI so far, citing three primary reasons for their dissatisfaction: a lack of talent and skills (62%), an unclear AI and GenAI roadmap and investment priorities (47%), and absence of strategy regarding responsible AI and GenAI (42%).
“This is the year to turn GenAI’s promise into tangible business success,” said Christoph Schweizer, BCG’s CEO. “Almost every CEO, myself included, has experienced a steep learning curve with GenAI. When technology is changing so quickly, it can be tempting to wait and see where things land. But with GenAI, the early winners are experimenting, learning, and building at scale.”
The report further disclosed that 2024 will be the year to turn GenAI magic into business impact.
Analysis of the data sighted by BusinessDay disclosed that 71 percent of executives surveyed say they plan to increase tech investments in 2024—an 11-point jump from 2023 and even more 85 percent plan to increase their spending on AI and GenAI. 54 percent of leaders already expect AI to provide cost savings this year, primarily through productivity gains in operations, customer service, and IT.
This data was based on a survey of 1,406 C-level executives in 50 markets and 14 industries, the report stated.
“Generative AI is radically reshaping businesses. Leading companies on the GenAI front are planning to realize up to $1 billion in productivity gains, and they are already looking at ways to reinvest into new business models and growth,” said Sylvain Duranton, global leader of BCG X.
“This is a second chance for companies who missed the first AI wave,” she said.
Although a small percentage of companies are already reaping the rewards of AI and GenAI, others are either playing catch up or standing on the sidelines. More than 60 percent of executives surveyed say their firms are still waiting to see how AI-specific regulations develop, and just 6 percent of companies have trained more than 25 percent of their people on Generative AI tools so far.
According to the report, “winning” companies acknowledge GenAI’s permanence and recognize its potential for enhanced productivity and topline growth. It outlines several characteristics that set the winners apart from observers, including:
“To unlock GenAI’s full potential, executives should deploy it to improve the efficiency of everyday tasks, reshape critical functions, and invent new business models,” said Schweizer.
“Doing so can increase productivity by up to 20 percent, enhance efficiency and effectiveness by up to 50 percent, boost revenue, and create long-term competitive advantage,” she added.
