Organisations are rapidly increasing their deployment of generative AI, according to a new report from the Capgemini Research Institute.
The study, titled "Harnessing the value of generative AI 2nd edition: Use cases across sectors," highlights noteworthy growth both in investment and utilisation of this technology across various functions within businesses.
The report indicates that nearly a quarter of the organisations surveyed are integrating generative AI into some of their locations or functions, a significant rise from 6% in 2023. Chief Innovation Officer at Capgemini, Pascal Brier, commented, "Generative AI is starting to transform business and organisations are already seeing concrete growth in revenue, whilst also accelerating innovation. As a result, rather than solely focusing on cost optimisation, businesses are actively exploring new avenues to leverage its capabilities and drive value creation."
A striking 80% of organisations have increased their year-on-year investment in generative AI. Three-quarters of the companies surveyed agree that generative AI is helping drive revenue and innovation. Benefits reported by early adopters include improved operational efficiency, enhanced customer experience, and boosted sales figures. Specifically, organisations experienced an average 6.7% improvement in customer engagement and satisfaction in areas where the technology has been piloted or deployed over the past year.
The report underscores the potential of advanced AI systems to significantly impact business operations. Brier elaborated, "As investment increases, the rise of more complex, autonomous AI systems signals a new era of generative AI that could impact the way companies operate. To propel their AI journeys forward, organisations should establish strong data foundations with clear processes to manage siloed data and enable data integration across functions."
The transition of AI chatbots into multi-agent systems is expected to further accelerate value creation. These systems are designed to function independently, plan, reflect, and execute complex workflows with minimal human oversight. "Almost three quarters of organisations (74%) agree that generative AI is helping them drive revenue and innovation," the report states. "As AI technology progresses, it will transition from the role of supportive tool to that of independent agent with increased execution capability."
Trust and ethical transparency remain vital as businesses continue to integrate AI into their operations. Despite the rapid growth, only 3% of organisations have imposed a ban on the use of public generative AI tools in the workplace. Nearly all organisations (97%) allow employees to use generative AI in some capacity, with over half enforcing specific guidelines for its use.
The survey suggests that embracing generative AI responsibly will be crucial. The report advises organisations to proceed with a sense of responsibility by establishing clear guardrails to validate AI-based decisions. "Clear guardrails to validate decisions made by multi-agent systems are essential to ensure transparency and accountability in operations and to mitigate the future risks that public tools may pose to their organisation," the Capgemini Research Institute advises.
The comprehensive survey from Capgemini included 1,100 executives from organisations with more than USD $1 billion in annual revenue across 14 countries. Organisations across 11 sectors participated in the survey, nearly all of which (96%) have commenced the exploration of generative AI's potential. Executives surveyed held director-level positions or higher and represented various functions within their organisations.
