A McKinsey AI survey has revealed that 65 percent of organisations regularly use Gen AI for at least one business function, up from one-third last year.
According to the survey respondents, average organisations using Gen AI do so in two functions. These are primarily in marketing and sales; they also use it for product and service development and IT. McKinsey indicated that the biggest increase from 2023 was in marketing and sales, where adoption has more than doubled.
The global management consultancy firm noted that the respondents are much more likely to use Gen AI at work and even more likely to use it both at work and in their personal lives.
It said, “2023 could be described as the year of AI discovery for many businesses globally, but 2024 has been the year of adoption.”
The online survey was conducted from February 22 to March 5, 2024, and garnered responses from 1,363 participants representing different regions, industries, company sizes, functional specialities, and tenures.
The firm further disclosed that businesses’ adoption of AI has surged to 72 percent in 2024 from 55 percent in 2023, even though fears of risks persist. According to the survey results, more than two-thirds of respondents in nearly every region said their organisations use AI, with professional services leading the pack.
Ultimately, the report noted that businesses are beginning to see the benefits of Gen AI and recognise the diverse risks associated with its use.
McKinsey said the risks of using AI range from data management to others, such as data privacy, bias, or intellectual property (IP) infringement to model management risks, which tend to focus on inaccurate output or lack of explainability.
“About half continue to view cybersecurity as a risk,” it highlighted. It added that some organisations have experienced negative consequences from using Gen AI, with 44 percent of respondents saying their organisations have experienced at least one consequence.
