New research from Accenture suggests that C-Level executives across many industries are planning to increase their companies’ AI investments in 2024, and that some of those execs already are using generative AI technology tools themselves on a weekly and even daily basis.
Accenture’s latest Pulse of Change report was based on a survey fielded last month that included 2,207 C-suite executives across 13 countries and a variety of industries and functions. Broadly, more than 90% of these executives said their companies are planning to increase technology investments in 2023, with 75% planning to increase level of spending with a specific focus on data/AI, including generative AI, the report noted. Last year, that figure stood at 50%, Accenture said, suggesting a rapid increase in C-Level folks ready to commit dollars to AI.
Also, the Accenture research found that 9 in 10 of C-Level executives surveyed said they use generative AI tools “in their professional activities at least once per week,” while 1 in 4 said they use these tools daily. Still, while almost all survey respondents said generative AI will be a transformative technology, only one-third have started investing “significantly.”
This finding comes at a time when AI enablers–everyone from semiconductor giants to device makers and application developers–continue to be excited about AI, but real enterprise investment remains in its early stages, particularly for generative AI applications and services. For example, neXtCurve Executive Analyst Leonard Lee told Fierce Electronics recently his firm’s research found “a paucity of enterprise GenAI initiatives” coming out of early proof-of-concept projects.
Among other Accenture survey results, 61% of respondents said at least half their workers have received AI training, but only 5% that this training has reached the full extent of their workforce. Surveyed executives also reported that they sense hesitancy among employees to use AI, in part because of the time-consuming training necessary.