[OTTAWA] — [May 22, 2024] — The Canadian Chamber of Commerce's Business Data Lab (BDL) today revealed how Canadian businesses are slow to adopt generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) and how, in addition to a lack of trust in the new technology, many barriers We have published a report detailing what is holding up adoption. It could impede the level of adoption needed to improve Canada's economic growth.
The report, Driving Productivity: How Canadian Businesses Adopt Generative AI, explores how Gen AI is helping tackle low productivity, one of the most critical economic challenges facing Canada's prosperity and standard of living. While we highlight the benefits, we also explore what is holding Canadian companies back from adopting AI. technology.
Gen AI is a generational opportunity to improve Canadian productivity at a time when Canada's performance is steadily trending in the wrong direction. Now is the time to be productive and take action. Canadian businesses must innovate or die, and that means embracing Gen AI. Adoption is starting across all industries, but not fast enough for Canada to be competitive on the world stage, especially since three out of four Canadian companies have yet to try Gen AI. Most likely not.
Patrick Gill, senior director of operations and partnerships at BDL and lead author of the report
The report offers specific recommendations to both businesses and policymakers to accelerate Gen AI adoption in Canada. It explores and forecasts the adoption of Gen AI by Canadian businesses within the context of Canada's productivity issues. In addition to identifying known barriers preventing businesses from integrating new technologies, the report also provides a detailed breakdown of early Gen AI adoption by industry, region, and business size.
We see a potential inflection point in the adoption of Gen AI by Canadian companies over the next three to six years. Depending on the pace of implementation, Canada's productivity could increase by 1-6% over 10 years. According to our report, early adopters (1 in 7) are using Gen AI to accelerate the production and quality of their goods and services. We hope these insights serve as a call to action for businesses and policymakers to work together to accelerate Gen AI adoption.
Patrick Gill, senior director of operations and partnerships at BDL and lead author of the report
Canadian businesses and policymakers must act quickly to secure competitive advantage for the Canadian economy. With Gen AI emerging as a transformative technology with wide applicability across a variety of sectors, there is no excuse for Canadian companies to fall behind their global counterparts.
Key findings from the report
- Approximately one in seven Canadian companies (14%) are early adopters of AI. These can be found in all industries and regions in Canada, but are more likely to be exporters, large companies, industries with highly educated workers, or start-ups.
- Large enterprises are almost twice as likely to use Gen AI compared to small businesses.
- On the current trajectory, Gen AI adoption by Canadian companies could reach a slope in the next three to six years, potentially too late to catch up with global competitors.
- Depending on adoption rates, Gen AI could increase productivity in Canada by 1% to 6% over the next 10 years.
- The trust factor will be important for future adoption, and public interest and acceptance of AI will be positively correlated with business adoption rates in each country. IPSOS' global survey reveals that Canadians know less about AI and are more nervous than citizens of most other countries.
- Most companies using Gen AI are primarily looking to speed up content creation (69%) and automate work without reducing headcount (46%).
- Approximately 3 in 10 companies cite hiring skilled employees and access to capital as their biggest challenges when implementing new technology.
- Almost three in four Canadian companies (73%) have not yet considered using Gen AI.
- Canadian businesses are encouraged to move quickly to adopt Gen AI to gain a competitive advantage over global competitors. This will begin with a small pilot project to validate the feasibility and impact of Gen AI, and then build on the success of the proof of concept and gradually scale up to a larger effort while simultaneously accelerating workforce adoption of Gen AI. This means training and preparing personnel.
- Governments can support the adoption of the AI generation by upskilling the workforce, setting adoption targets, leveraging the private sector and ensuring regulation is appropriate and risk-based.
About the Canadian Chamber of Commerce — The Future of Business Success
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is Canada's largest and most active business network. More than 400 chambers of commerce and trade boards, more than 200,000 businesses of all sizes, organizations representing every sector of the economy and every region of the country, working to create the conditions for our collective success. doing. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is the undisputed champion and catalyst for the future of business success. From working with governments on economy-friendly policies to providing services that inform and enable trade, we provide each member with insights into markets, competitors and trends that drive business success. We give you more of what you need to succeed, including influence over decisions and policy, and impact on business and economic performance.
contact
Karl Oszkowski
Senior Director, Corporate Communications and Public Relations
613.238.4000 (2231)
koczkowski@chamber.ca
