70% of executives believe that generative AI will enable organisations to widen the scope of the roles of knowledge workers, according to a Capgemini survey of 1000 business across 13 countries.

Despite apparent risks, such as copyright infringement or cybersecurity, 74% of executives believe that the benefits posed by generative AI outweigh the associated concerns.

While 21% anticipate a disruption in their industries, 40% of organisations across industries have already established teams and budget for the technology, with a further 49% contemplating doing so within 12 months.

The research also found:

• Organisations believe that the most relevant generative AI based platforms or tools for their industries are chatbots for automating customer service and improving knowledge management (83%) and designing, collecting, or summarising data (75%)
• Most executives believe that generative AI will make product and service design more efficient (78%) and accessible (76%)
• They also said it will make customer experiences more interactive and engaging (71%) or improve customer service with automated and personalised support (67%).

A range of further benefits within three years

Within three years’ time, and following the successful implementation of generative AI, executives foresee a range of benefits. They believe that its integration will lead to an 8% increase in sales and a 7% decrease in costs. Alongside this, those surveyed indicated that they could expect to see a 9% improvement in both customer engagement and satisfaction, and operational efficiency.

“Generative AI is a transformational force for innovation in organisations, accelerating industry specific use cases to create value, and it’s no surprise that it’s already at the top of the agenda of virtually every large organisation,” comments Franck Greverie, Chief Portfolio Officer and Group Executive Board Member at Capgemini.

“While generative AI can enable numerous benefits for businesses and employees alike, adopting a human-centric approach while scaling the technology and implementing necessary guidelines will be key to fostering trust in the workplace. As businesses accelerate their generative AI journeys, they must prioritise implementing it sustainably across the organisation.”

Executives in the high-tech industry are the ones most convinced (84%) that the overall impact of generative AI will be positive. Nearly 70% of executives in that industry said their organisations have generative AI pilots underway, and 18% state that they have already implemented generative AI across some locations or business functions. The top two use cases are 3D modelling for detailed shapes and predictive maintenance.

The majority (67%) of executives across sectors see the most potential for generative AI in the IT function – this is particularly true within the high-tech sector which holds the largest percentage of executives (86%) saying their organisation is using or plans to use generative AI in IT. Other areas where executives see generative AI driving value are sales (54%), and marketing and communications (48%).

The research reveals that 69% of executives believe generative AI will lead to the emergence of new roles such as AI auditors and AI ethicists. With the introduction of new generative AI-based roles, 68% of executives believe that integration of the technology into the workforce will require significant investment in upskilling and cross-skilling of talent.