The tech industry is amid its innovation boom: Artificial Intelligence (AI). As we continue to see innovations through generative AI (GenAI) like ChatGPT that push the boundaries of traditional customer and employee experiences, it can take time for business leaders and their board members to decide the best investments to make.
After all, even CNN reports massive investments into the industry, while investment experts say long-term winners will be difficult to see clearly for a while.
They do agree AI is here to stay and will continue to grow. Here are five key considerations as your business looks to implement and invest in GenAI tools.
1. The competitive advantage with Generative AI
The current AI boom provides companies an opportunity for growth and innovation that could ultimately give them a competitive advantage against competitors that lag. While many high-profile companies like Apple have already decided to ban AI tools in their workflows, the long-term GenAI market is expected to expand. Can your company afford to out? Bloomberg also anticipates the market to grow into a 1.3 billion dollar industry by 2032. If you or your company aren’t actively interested in integrating AI, then your competitors and peers likely are.
GenAI opens up possibilities for expanded roles and increased efficiency, but nearly every program is still in its early stages. Most business leaders see GenAI as tools with large potential to give competitive advantages, meaning now is the time to begin building out company policies and use regulations in anticipation of adoption.
2. Generative AI tools and their impacts on productivity
GenAI tools are quickly being introduced to various use cases across industries, such as content creation and data analysis. In fact, 64 percent of businesses anticipate GenAI will increase overall productivity, according to a Forbes Advisory survey. Another example includes customer support agents, who, according to a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, saw almost a 14 percent increase in productivity. GenAI also has the potential to save software developers time writing and understanding large amounts of code and data, as well as simplifying repetitive tasks.
By giving employees the tools to reduce time spent on tasks like sorting materials, summarizing long documents, and even simplifying workflows, companies will ultimately see employees putting their efforts toward more rewarding project efforts.
3. Keeping innovation at the forefront with generative AI
To avoid getting left behind, companies need to begin restructuring and implementing new workflows that accommodate the influence of AI in the workplace. In a recent survey, 59 percent of responding C-suite executives indicated a need for more proper resources to meet GenAI innovation expectations set by business leaders. GenAI can be a powerful tool to augment natural creativity and innovation, but how do business leaders and executives encourage this use of GenAI? Companies that begin instituting new workflows, new positions, and new ideas geared toward the best use of AI will be the ones to come out on top.
4. Generative AI and finding the Return on Investment (ROI)
In Deloitte’s third quarter CFO Signals survey for 2023, over half of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) respondents indicated cost reduction as a top priority when determining if GenAI will be incorporated. However, business leaders should be prepared for the high costs associated with operation costs and infrastructure setup. In a recent study, Tirias Research estimates these costs will exceed 76 billion dollars by 2028. Enterprise leaders looking to mitigate the rising investments in GenAI may consider replacing human employees with new AI tools. Still, a better approach is considering the ROI from increased employee productivity and efficiency enhanced by GenAI.
5. Necessary visibility and governance into generative AI use
Lastly, maintaining overall insight and visibility into GenAI use within internal networks and systems will be a critical ability as more companies look to implement their GenAI adoption strategies. With an in-depth knowledge of how employees utilize these tools, teams can worry less about compromising company intellectual property (IP) and other sensitive internal information. In turn, this insight allows savvy business leaders to keep pace, or even accelerate their plans, with emerging innovations.
Furthermore, the rise in Shadow AI, the unregulated and unmonitored use of GenAI tools, and concerns about where AI fits within security regulation compliance can make it difficult to justify adding a volatile new element to your workflow.
Due to rapid GenAI adoption, companies are implementing education and training on usage, but they may not be investing enough resources for success. More than half indicated employees were provided at most five hours of GenAI tool training annually since adoption, and none responded that their employees received more than 10 hours of training annually. While GenAI has enormous upside potential, it all falls to the wayside if employees don’t fully understand the power they wield. As we’ve seen with Shadow IT, and now in Shadow AI, it’s best to allow employees appropriate space and education to responsibly and easily use the tools they need. Without visibility into internal GenAI usage, any attempts at regulations or policies on tool use are moot.
Making the call on GenAI
Since GenAI’s abrupt entrance onto the world stage, swift advancements in GenAI have presented companies and their boards with a dilemma that cannot be ignored: embracing or rejecting AI. Increased productivity and a sharpened competitive edge are undeniable benefits of AI’s inclusion in the enterprise workflow. However, concerns over AI governance and visibility as concepts like Shadow AI continue to grow in popularity are significant topics of discussion that organizational leaders and their boards should be having. Employees are already using AI tools, with or without company knowledge, making now the correct time to discuss guardrails and regulations that allow the safe and ethical use of AI internally. As we move through 2024, investments in AI governance and visibility technologies will become crucial for the widespread adoption of AI.
Whether you’re late to AI adoption or already implementing best practices in adoption, it can always be a challenge to determine which investments are the right ones. By taking the time to consider your organization’s needs and asking the right questions with your board members, business leaders can feel reassured and confident they are making the right decisions regarding GenAI.
