Let it be officially said: the era of Big AI has arrived, evident in the deeper-pockets investments many businesses are now making in the revolutionary (yes, AI is worthy of the buzzword) and powerful technology. New research from tech consulting firm Searce shows an early but significant group of companies in the US and UK planning to invest over $25 million in AI by the end of the year.
The firm’s new 2024 State of AI report found that nearly one in 10 decision makers in both the UK (8 percent) and US (7 percent) are planning those large investments, despite lingering concerns around some challenges to AI adoption which differ across the UK and the US. For those surveyed in the US, data privacy and security were ranked as the number one hurdle (20 percent), whereas UK execs ranked lack of qualified talent as their number one challenge (19 percent).
The researchers surveyed 300 C-suite and senior technology execs—including Chief AI Officers, Chief Data & Analytics Officers, Chief Transformation Officers, and Chief Digital Officers—at organizations with at least $500 million in revenue. The study examines some of the biggest trends, successes, and challenges facing businesses in their AI decision making, strategy, and execution.
“As global investments in AI continue to rise, as our research has found, it is crucial for businesses to focus not just on spending, but on the tangible returns these investments can deliver. Strategic AI adoption can transform operations and drive significant growth,” said Julian Mulhare, Managing Director, EMEA at Searce, in a news release.
“From speaking with our European clients, we also know how much pressure businesses face to keep up with the latest technological demands,” said Mulhare. “A lot of the findings in our research reflect some of those conversations including the challenges to AI adoption. Lack of qualified talent has been something we’ve been talking about since our inception in 2004 and is why many businesses come to us to help plug that internal skills gap—key for empowering teams by making work better, and people happier.”
Additional findings:
- About one-third of businesses in the UK (31 percent) and the US (35 percent) are investing in AI to drive new business growth.
- The majority (96 percent) of UK participants view AI adoption as a key business priority with most (92 percent) rating the success rate of their AI initiatives as ‘successful’ and 31 percent planning to increase AI spend by 26-50 percent.
- When it comes to the build vs. buy debate, over half (51 percent) of UK respondents said they had purchased solutions and partnered with external service providers when it came to fulfilling their AI needs rather than building the solution or servicing it in-house. This number was higher in the US, with 57 percent saying the same.
Download the full report here.
The 2024 State of AI Study polled 300 C-Suite and senior technology executives across organizations with at least $500 million in revenue in the US and UK. The study was conducted in late June and early July 2024 in conjunction with PureSpectrum.
