8 of 10 business leaders globally adopting AI for growth: Study

More than eight out of 10 senior business leaders have already deployed artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance existing revenue streams or create new ones, a new study by Tata Consultancy Services, a global leader in IT services, found recently.

The ‘TCS AI for Business Study’, a report on the state of AI adoption and its impact on businesses, also found that 69 per cent of businesses are more focused on using AI to spur innovation and increase revenue than on productivity improvement and cost optimization.

The study found that executives are generally positive about the impact of AI, with 57 per cent reporting excitement or optimism about the potential impact of AI on businesses.

Among respondents in the study, 45 per cent expect up to half their employees will need to use generative AI capabilities to do their job in three years’ time — and another 41 per cent think even more will do so.

Most, at 65 per cent, believe AI will augment and enhance human capabilities, enabling people to focus on higher-value activities that require creativity and strategic thinking.

Harrick Vin, Chief Technology Officer, TCS, said, “2023 was a year of exuberance, with every enterprise experimenting with AI/GenAI use cases.”

Enterprises are realizing that the path to production for AI solutions is not easy, and that building an AI-mature enterprise is a marathon, not a sprint, said the CTO.

The survey also highlights the need for businesses to take a strategic approach to AI adoption and develop the right performance indicators to measure the impact of the technology on their businesses.

TCS itself was one of the first organisations in the industry to bring together the capabilities of cloud computing and artificial intelligence under the AI.Cloud unit to cater to the emerging needs of customers.

TCS surveyed nearly 1,300 CEOs and other senior executives with profit and loss responsibilities, across 12 industries and 24 countries. About half the companies had USD 1 billion to USD 5 billion in annual revenue and the other half had over USD 5 billion in revenue.

During the study, it was found that 65 per cent of senior executives say their competitive advantage will still come from humans — with their creativity, intuition, and strategic thinking unleashed by AI’s augment and assist capabilities.