New research from Accenture Ireland has revealed that three-quarters (73%) of Irish executives plan to increase their spend on generative AI (Gen AI) this year while nearly two-thirds (64%) say they will have fully scaled-up Gen AI enterprise-wide in the next six to twelve months.
However, just under three-in-five (59%) of Irish executives say they have ‘limited experience’ with using Gen AI and 82% admit they need further training, highlighting the gap between implementation and knowledge.
The study, which surveyed business leaders from across the world and Ireland, also found that 65% of Irish executives are either ‘confident’ or ‘extremely confident’ that they will see a return on investment from their spend on Gen AI, following a period of experimentation in 2023.
A further 82% of Irish executives believe they will have to make ‘significant adjustments’ to their reskilling initiatives following the emergence of Gen AI, on par with global responses.
Responses were nearly split between investment priorities, with 51% stating that ‘digital core’, such as cloud, data, AI, security and ESG, will be their priority for the year, while 49% will focus on existing and new talent.
A majority of Irish executives (69%) see IT as the biggest driver for AI productivity, far ahead of the 36% who believe this will come from customer service.
However, there still remains a large gap between the planning and designing of AI and its implementation, with just 14% of Irish executives saying they have progressed from plans for AI scale up to a full onboarding within their organisation.
“While Irish organisations are at varying stages of generative AI adoption, one thing is clear: adopting the technology remains a priority investment, and an area where Irish companies continue to spend in order to meet their growth objectives,” said Denis Hannigan, data & AI practice lead, Accenture Ireland.
“Encouragingly, our findings also show that Irish businesses are confident they’ll achieve their expected return on their investment.
“In our experience, which includes extensive sessions with clients at our Gen AI Studio in Dublin, Irish organisations are not yet seeing the full transformation potential or the challenges across digital infrastructure, skilling, and responsible scaling which could impede the success of these investments.
“This is highlighted in the research findings, as businesses don’t appear to have sufficient plans in these area. Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, but experimenting and adopting early will lead to competitive advantage as the technology develops,” said Hannigan.
Accenture’s ‘Pulse of Change Index’ surveyed more than 2,800 C-Suite executives across the world, including 100 in Ireland.
(Pic: Getty Images)
