74% of executives believe the benefits of generative AI will outweigh the associated concerns

Paris, July 6, 2023 – 70% of executives believe that generative AI will enable organisations to widen the scope of the roles of knowledge workers.[1] Nearly all executives (96%) recognise that generative AI is a key topic in the boardroom, with the majority confirming that their leadership are strong advocates. This is according to Capgemini Research Institute’s latest report, ‘Harnessing the value of generative AI: Top use cases across industries’, which examines the transformative force of generative AI for innovation across enterprises.

Organisations see generative AI as an opportunity to drive revenues

Despite apparent risks, such as copyright infringement or cybersecurity, 74% of executives believe that the benefits posed by generative AI outweigh the associated concerns. While 21% anticipate a disruption in their industries, 40% of organisations across industries have already established teams and budget for the technology, with a further 49% contemplating doing so within 12 months.

The research also found:

• Organisations believe that the most relevant generative AI based platforms or tools for their industries are chatbots for automating customer service and improving knowledge management (83%) and designing, collecting, or summarising data (75%)
• Most executives believe that generative AI will make product and service design more efficient (78%) and accessible (76%)
• They also said it will make customer experiences more interactive and engaging (71%) or improve customer service with automated and personalised support (67%).

A range of further benefits within three years

Within three years’ time, and following the successful implementation of generative AI, executives foresee a range of benefits. They believe that its integration will lead to an 8% increase in sales and a 7% decrease in costs. Alongside this, those surveyed indicated that they could expect to see a 9% improvement in both customer engagement and satisfaction, and operational efficiency.

“Generative AI is a transformational force for innovation in organisations, accelerating industry specific use cases to create value, and it’s no surprise that it’s already at the top of the agenda of virtually every large organisation,” comments Franck Greverie, Chief Portfolio Officer and Group Executive Board Member at Capgemini. “While generative AI can enable numerous benefits for businesses and employees alike, adopting a human-centric approach while scaling the technology and implementing necessary guidelines will be key to fostering trust in the workplace. As businesses accelerate their generative AI journeys, they must prioritise implementing it sustainably across the organisation.”

The high-tech industry is leading the way in generative AI integration

Executives in the high-tech industry are the ones most convinced (84%) that the overall impact of generative AI will be positive. Nearly 70% of executives in that industry said their organisations have generative AI pilots underway, and 18% state that they have already implemented generative AI across some locations or business functions. The top two use cases are 3D modelling for detailed shapes and predictive maintenance.

The majority (67%) of executives across sectors see the most potential for generative AI in the IT function – this is particularly true within the high-tech sector which holds the largest percentage of executives (86%) saying their organisation is using or plans to use generative AI in IT. Other areas where executives see generative AI driving value are sales (54%), and marketing and communications (48%).

The rise of generative AI will create new roles and will require investment in upskilling

According to 69% of businesses, generative AI will begin to provide concepts and initial designs for projects and, as such, employees’ roles will shift away from ideation and creation, to review and refinement. This sentiment was also echoed by consumers, with 70% saying that they believe generative AI will make them more efficient at work, free them from routine tasks and enable them to explore more strategic aspects of their job.[2]

The research reveals that 69% of executives believe generative AI will lead to the emergence of new roles such as AI auditors and AI ethicists. With the introduction of new generative AI-based roles, 68% of executives believe that integration of the technology into the workforce will require significant investment in upskilling and cross-skilling of talent.

Most organisations understand the need for sustainable generative AI

Nearly 80% of organisations understand the criticality of implementing and scaling generative AI sustainably. Alongside this, 78% of enterprises understand that generative AI can have a larger carbon footprint than traditional IT programs. However, out of the organisations that plan to train their own models (8%), roughly half have taken steps to mitigate their environmental impact, highlighting the need for more concrete efforts towards sustainability.

 

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[1] Knowledge workers are defined as professionals who use their intellectual abilities and expertise to contribute value within their fields. They rely on cognitive skills, problem-solving, and specialised knowledge.

[2] According to Capgemini Research Institute report ‘Why Consumers Love Generative AI’, June 2023

 

Methodology  

For this report, the Capgemini Research Institute surveyed 1,000 organisations interested in exploring generative AI across 13 countries across the US, Europe, and Asia Pacific: UK, US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, and Sweden. Alongside this survey, they conducted in-depth interviews with 10 industry executives. The vast majority (99%) of organisations surveyed had annual revenue of over $1 billion, and over half (55%) had revenue over $5 billion.