Outlook on Artificial Intelligence in the Enterprise
2018
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Outlook on Artificial Intelligence in the Enterprise 2018
Presented by Narrative Science in partnership with the National Business Research Institute
CONTENTS
Introduction AI Application Today AI Potential Requirements for Success Conclusion
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Introduction
Artificial intelligence has often felt like tomorrow's story- flush with promise, but always just out of reach. But the truth backed by real-world deployment data and examples is that AI is here today, and quickly growing in its applications and impact on business and society.
AI ADOPTION GREW OVER IN THE LAST YEAR
60%
...In 2017, that number rose to In 2016,
61%.
of respondents said they had implemented AI.
38%
As AI moves deeper into mainstream enterprise, it's important to realize this is just the beginning, not the end-point. Sectors that have pioneered the use of AI, like financial services and healthcare, will be joined in leveraging the power of artificial intelligence by sectors from product manufacturing to retail. Within those industries, AI will go from being a specialty innovation, to being involved in mainstream operating functions. At each step, AI's progression must be driven by reality, not hype: it should be deployed at the right time and deliver quantifiable business benefits and returns on investment. To reach that potential, AI must not be feared, but rather used as a humanizing force: putting a story, via intelligent language interfaces, and
a face, via image recognition, in front of technology in the workplace. To better understand the evolving impact of AI in the enterprise, we recently surveyed leading business and technology executives from a variety of industries. The results, presented below, paint a picture of AI having a significant and imminent impact on everything from company strategy, to business operations, to job functions. The time has come for every enterprise to come to grips with AI's impact and challenges, and begin to build a roadmap to harness its potential to transform businesses and industries.
Outlook on Artificial Intelligence in the Enterprise 2018AI is here today, and its impact and application is growing
Because artificial intelligence has been on the radar for so long often through headlines trumpeting its most sensational aspects it's easy to miss that 2017 may very well represent a tipping point for AI as a mainstream business tool. Our survey data tells the tale:
AI IS HERE TODAY
TECH INNOVATION IS DRIVING BUSINESS STRATEGY
INVESTMENT IS ON THE RISE
61%
of respondents say they are implementing AI.
71%
said their company has an `innovation strategy' to drive investments in new technologies like AI.
59%
A majority of companies said they had budget dedicated to enabling innovation...
62%
...with most citing their budget had increased over the past year.
That near-term focus, driven by allocated budget and inproduction deployments, is all about taking advantage of AI in the present, not the future, to enhance productivity, create new products, personalize interactions, and
automate rote tasks. AI has emerged as a practical tool with real-world applications, led by uses that should be familiar to anyone that has followed the technology, such as predictive analytics and machine learning (see chart).
THE MOST WIDELY USED AI-POWERED SOLUTIONS
PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS MACHINE LEARNING NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING OR GENERATION VOICE RECOGNITION AND RESPONSE VIRTUAL PERSONAL ASSISTANTS / CHATBOTS DIAGNOSIS / RECOMMENDATION ENGINES OTHER
24.51% 21.9% 14.38% 14.38% 11.44% 11.11% 2.29%Outlook on Artificial Intelligence in the Enterprise 2018
Just as notable, however, is the growing use of AI to help `humanize' technology. Natural language processing/generation and voice recognition/response
enable more natural speech-based communications, and personal assistants and chatbots put an even more personal touch on people-machine interactions.
According to our survey, these AI capabilities are having an impact on a growing number of business departments and functions:
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
90% of respondents working in business intelligence said they would be interested in incorporating AI to make their data analytics tools smarter.
FINANCE
87% of respondents working in finance departments said they would be interested in using AI to automatically generate insights and reporting in human-sounding language.
COMPLIANCE/RISK
55% of corporate compliance risk officers said they use AI today or would be interested in using an AI-enabled technology to help create regulatory reporting.
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
68% of respondents working in product management said they would be interested in using AI technologies to generate performance information (profit and loss, revenue, usage, churn, etc) about the products they manage.
MARKETING/SALES
77% of respondents working in marketing and sales said they would be interested in applying AI to automatically generate reporting in natural language.
COMMUNICATIONS
43% of respondents said they send AI-powered communications to internal employees today; 35% said they send AI-powered interactions to customers.
Outlook on Artificial Intelligence in the Enterprise 2018To reach full potential, AI must be a transparent and ultimately humanizing force, bridging the people-machine worker-technology gap
AI is ultimately about people helping people better interact with technology, automate mundane tasks, and generate analysis. So it's crucial to understand what individuals think about AI: What are their expectations What role do they see it playing in their everyday work What roles and tasks do they believe it can address How do they prefer to interact with it
Survey respondents anticipate an array Survey respondents anticipate an array of high-level benefits from artificial intelligence, including: of high-level benefits from artificial intelligence, including:
THE TOP 4 BENEFITS ENTERPRISES SEE FROM USING AI SOLUTIONS
1. Identifying business opportunities
3. Improving workforce productivity
These are some of the most crucial tasks any business can undertake. Getting day-to-day work done. Pleasing customers. Anticipating and responding to business challenges, both tactically, in the near-term, and strategically, in the long run. Taking full advantage of artificial intelligence in these scenarios can be a tricky balance.
Outlook on Artificial Intelligence in the Enterprise 2018
2. Automating repetitive tasks
4. Competing with peers
Concerns about the potential negative impacts of AI from privacy to de-personalization to job replacement demand that AI be deployed transparently and in a clearly-defined manner. Workers and customers both want to understand where AI is being deployed and how AI is being used. At the same time, for AI to be most effective, the AI must also be seamless, bordering
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