While most generative AI investments achieve strong ROI, organizations often get stuck in “pilot purgatory.”
A new study from Google Cloud has found that seven in ten UK businesses are already seeing a positive ROI from generative AI for at least one use case, with 32% to 45% saying they expect to achieve this within the next year.
The areas considered most promising are customer and field service, at 45%, new products and services at 39%, and digital commerce and enhanced experiences at 38%.
Of those using generative AI for customer service and productivity, about a third said they are seeing a significant return on investment for each.
Other popular use cases include individual productivity tools such as email, documents, presentations, meetings and chat, along with business/back office processes – over half of UK businesses currently use it for these purposes.
Overall, more than six in ten UK businesses have adopted generative AI and have at least one use case in production. Similarly, almost three in five plan to allocate more than half of their AI budget to generative AI.
However, it is not all smooth sailing: many companies struggle to move beyond pilot projects, mainly due to a lack of clear leadership and prioritization of adoption.
Google Cloud found that two in five have yet to deploy generative AI in production, indicating a “substantial hurdle” to scaling to actual deployment.
The report notes that comprehensive C-suite sponsorship is a crucial factor in this regard. The vast majority of organisations with C-suite sponsorship reported revenue growth of more than 6%.
“The UK is clearly embracing the transformative power of next-generation AI, with many businesses already seeing a significant return on their investments. However, it’s equally clear that successfully scaling next-generation AI across the enterprise is a complex process,” said Helen Kelisky, General Manager, UK and Ireland, Google Cloud.
“The Next-Gen AI ROI Survey highlights the transformative potential of this technology for UK businesses. However, transitioning from pilot to production remains a critical challenge. To fully harness the power of next-gen AI, UK organisations must prioritise strategic alignment, invest in change management and training, and improve data quality and knowledge management.”
The findings echo other reports on generative AI ROI. A recent report from Ardoq, for example, found that seven in ten IT directors viewed predicting ROI from technology investments as a “hands-on-deck” task, with only about half delivering measurable benefits.
Meanwhile, an overwhelming 99% admitted that the success rate of emerging technologies, such as AI, tends to be much lower than that of established technologies.