Generative AI, though still an emergent technology, has been within the headlines since OpenAI’s ChatGPT sparked a world frenzy in 2023. The technology has rapidly advanced far beyond its early, human-like capability to boost chat functions. It shows extensive promise across a variety of use cases, including content creation, translation, image processing, and code writing. Generative AI has the potential not only to reshape key business operations, but additionally to shift the competitive landscape across most industries.

The technology has already began to affect various business functions, equivalent to product innovation, supply chain logistics, and sales and customer experience. Firms are also starting to see positive return on investment (ROI) from deployment of generative-AI powered platforms and tools.

While any assessment of the technology’s likely business impact stays more forecast than empirical, it’s essential to look beyond the inevitable hype. To look at enterprises’ technological and business needs for effective implementation of generative AI, 300 senior executives across a variety of regions and industries were surveyed. Respondents were asked concerning the extent of their corporate rollouts, implementation plans, and the barriers to deployment. Combined with insights from an authority interview panel, this global survey sheds light on how firms may or will not be able to tackle the challenges to effective adoption of generative AI.

The overarching message from this research is that plans amongst corporate leaders to disrupt competition using the brand new technology—slightly than being disrupted–—may founder on a bunch of challenges that many executives appear to underestimate.  

Executives expect generative AI to disrupt industries across economies. Overall, six out of 10 respondents agree that “generative AI technology will substantially disrupt our industry over the following five years.” Respondents that foresee disruption exceed those who don’t across every industry.

A majority of respondents don’t envision AI disruption as a risk; as an alternative, they hope to be disruptors. Somewhat than caring about risk, 78% see generative AI as a competitive opportunity. Just 8% regard it as a threat. Most respondents hope to be disruptors: 65% say their businesses are “actively considering latest and revolutionary ways to make use of generative AI to unlock hidden opportunities from our data.”

Despite expectations of change, few firms went beyond experimentation with, or limited adoption of, generative AI in 2023. Although most (76%) firms surveyed had worked with generative AI indirectly in 2023, few (9%) adopted the technology widely. People who used the technology experimented with or deployed it in just one or a couple of limited areas.

Firms have ambitious plans to extend adoption in 2024. Respondents expect the variety of functions where they aim to deploy generative AI to greater than double in 2024. This may involve frequent application of the technology in customer experience, strategic evaluation, and product innovation.

Firms need to handle IT deficiencies, or risk falling wanting their ambitions to deploy generative AI, leaving them open to disruption. Fewer than 30% of respondents rank each of eight IT attributes at their firms as conducive to rapid adoption of generative AI. Those with probably the most experience of deploying generative AI have less confidence of their IT than their peers.

Non-IT aspects also undermine the successful use of generative AI. Survey respondents also report non-IT impediments to the extensive use of generative AI. These aspects include regulatory risk, budgets, the competitive environment, culture, and skills.

Executives expect generative AI to impress a wave of disruption. In lots of cases, nonetheless, their hopes to be on the best side of this innovation are endangered by impediments that their firms don’t fully appreciate.