Eighty percent of organizations have increased their investment in generative AI since 2023, and 20% have maintained their investment level, according to Harnessing the value of generative AI: 2^nd edition – a new report from Capgemini Research Institute.

The report also found that 24% of organizations have integrated generative AI into some or most of their locations or functions. This represents an increase compared to only 6% reported just 12 months ago.

Although nearly three in five executives surveyed recognize that, in order to employ generative AI to its full potential, there is a need for significant alterations to data collection, storage, retrieval, reusability, and governance.

Much data remains trapped in silos, with only half of organizations possessing clear processes for integrating data across functions. Only 51% of data executives say that their organization has clear processes to manage siloed data and data integration across functions.

Moreover, 49% of data sources are in the cloud, with the remainder still residing in local servers, posing accessibility challenges.

Harnessing the value of generative AI: 2^nd edition draws on insights from a global survey of 1,100 executives at organizations with more than $US1 billion in revenue across 14 countries and 11 industries and sectors.

The report reveals that generative AI is increasingly integrated into organizations, causing changes in operational paradigms. Over the past year, adoption of generative AI has grown across all sectors, and most organizations embrace generative AI among their employees, with only 3% enforcing a complete ban on publicly available generative AI tools in the workplace.

According to the research, 70% of organizations are exclusively using external applications or a combination of external and in-house solutions. Commonly used tools include OpenAI’s ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, Scribe, Microsoft Copilot, and AWS Gen AI.

Recently, The Coca-Cola Company committed $US1.1 billion over a five-year period to accelerate cloud and generative AI initiatives.

The report found large organizations are increasingly embracing the transformative potential of generative AI technology more fervently than perhaps other recent technological advancement.

Over 70% of organizations with annual revenues exceeding $US20 billion believe that failing to adopt generative AI will place them at a considerable disadvantage relative to their competitors. This sentiment is lower among organizations with annual revenues under $US5 billion (56%).

On average, organizations have seen a 6.7% improvement in customer engagement and satisfaction in the areas in which generative AI has been piloted or deployed. As a result, businesses are adjusting their strategic approaches and exploring innovative ways to harness generative AI’s capabilities.

The report also looks at AI agents and the potential they have to transform automation and productivity across sectors. AI agents, once supportive tools, now operate autonomously and can perform tasks independently.

The majority of organizations (82%) plan to integrate them within 1-3 years, trusting them for tasks like email generation, coding, and data analysis. Organizations planning to implement AI agents should establish safeguards to ensure transparency and accountability for AI-driven decisions.

​Download the full report HERE