The State of AI Implementation Today – Bloor Research

Generative AI is a hot topic, but how are companies actually using it in practice? Has the level of media excitement about the technology translated into practical applications in companies, or are people using it mostly do to school homework or come up with names for their new kitten?

In December 2023 Bloor carried out a market research survey of AI deployment in corporations, sponsored by Holistic AI, a London-based AI software vendor. 179 corporations completed the survey from several countries. Respondents ranged from IT specialists through to senior executives

The survey findings confirmed the high level of interest in the technology, with 90% of large companies having at least one AI application in production; the proportion was lower in medium and small companies, at 60% and 57% respectively. The main areas of deployment have been in software development, data management and content creation. The highest levels of adoption have been in the financial services industry (90%), dropping to 63% in the services vertical. These areas of deployment are unsurprising, as generative AI can writ code as well as articles, and many technology companies have deployed “co-pilot” AI assistants.

Two-thirds of large companies have a dedicated AI business unit. Fully 75% of US companies have such a business unit, compared to just 50% in Europe and 33% in the UK. Operational risk is considered the main area of concern regarding AI, with government regulation and security next highest. Privacy issues with generative AI have been widely publicised, and companies have taken measures to address this. A staggering 97% of large enterprises have banned the general use of AI at work, as have 69% of medium-sized companies and 46% of smaller companies. It can be seen from this data that corporations have been deploying generative AI mainly in proprietary applications using private large language model deployments.

Full details of this extensive survey can be obtained on request; please contact Bloor if you are interested.