Three quarters of UK businesses plan to invest significantly in AI over the next 12 months. Its penetration rate is significantly higher than the global average, as British companies seek to establish a leading position in the market.
As the hype around generative AI continues to grow, a recent poll shows that 75% of business leaders are concerned that their companies won't be able to take advantage of the technology. And while technology “first movers” may have exaggerated their hand thus far, companies are at risk of losing out to competitors in applying technologies that promise significant productivity gains. We are increasing our vigilance.
In line with this, 73% of global business leaders told Deloitte they are adopting technology at a “fast” or “very fast” pace, yet only 40% of organizations have a “some” level of expertise. Nearly 2,000 global business leaders, including executive, president, vice president and director levels, were interviewed by Deloitte, and researchers found that 61% of companies with high levels of expertise are increasing their investments in hardware for AI, and 80% are investing more in cloud usage to drive business performance.Generative AI strategies.
Source: Deloitte State of Generative AI in the Enterprise, Q2 Report
The UK is leading the way on this front, with three-quarters of UK business leaders expecting their organization's investment in AI to increase over the next year. 47% of UK organizations surveyed said GenAI accounts for less than 20% of their overall AI budget, so capital allocated to GenAI is expected to explode over the next 12 months.
Of Deloitte's respondents, 200 companies are based in the UK, with most organizations having revenues in excess of £1 billion a year. Additionally, 71% of them said they believe GenAI will significantly transform their organizations over the next few years, highlighting why they are putting resources into GenAI now.
Lorraine Burns, Head of GenAI at Deloitte UK, commented: “British business leaders are bullish about the potential of his GenAI and will match this by increasing investment in the technology. Our research shows that most executives We expect our investment in AI to increase in the coming year.”
Source: Deloitte State of Generative AI in the Enterprise, Q2 Report
However, like any digital transformation, getting the most out of AI will still require necessary upgrades to the human workforce. To gain the skills to properly utilize AI tools, 76% of UK leaders expect to adjust their talent strategy with GenAI within the next two years, which is higher than the global average. That's over 48%. Meanwhile, a small number of organizations (31%) report that they are already focusing high or very high levels of effort on employee reskilling.
At the same time, companies need to address how regulation may impact their use of technology. When asked what their biggest concern is with AI adoption, 38% said they would be able to comply with regulations, and 33% said their second biggest concern was misuse of customer data, leading to future adoption cycles. It emphasizes how important it is.
Barnes added, “As more companies experiment with and deploy GenAI, upskilling their workforce has become essential. However, the challenge for organizations is to keep up with the rapid advances in technology.” Many business leaders also recognize the risks that GenAI can pose, with the biggest one being regulatory. We expect to face some level of uncertainty about our capabilities.”
