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HALF OF BUSINESSES HAVE NO PLANS TO USE AI
The BCC ’ s new Digital Revolution Challenge has held its first meeting to discuss ground-breaking research on how businesses are using Artificial Intelligence ( AI ).
The survey , by the BCC ’ s Insight Unit – of more than 700 firms , mostly SMEs , found that :
• Almost half of all firms ( 48 %) have no plans to use AI technology
• Customer facing businesses ( B2C ) are even less likely to use AI , with 58 % stating they have no plans to use it
• One in four respondents ( 26 %) think AI is going to lead to fewer jobs in their sector , with more B2B firms ( 29 %) predicting a negative impact
• Alongside the 48 % that have no plans to use AI , the survey found a further 22 % were not currently using it but planned to in the future .
Businesses were also asked what types of AI they are currently using , with chatbots , such as ChatGPT , being the most popular application ( 18 % of all respondents ). Other technologies cited included :
• Machine learning data analysis ( 6 %)
• Speech recognition ( 6 %)
• Virtual agents for customer service ( 3 %)
• Robotic process automation ( 3 %)
• Natural language generation ( 3 %)
• Deep learning or neural networks ( 1 %)
The data also showed that companies with more than 50 employees were more likely to be currently investigating the use of AI in their operations than smaller ones , with 24 % using chatbots , and only 37 % stating they had no plans to use it at all .
Why firms are , or are not , using AI ? Of the respondents who are currently using AI , common uses cited included coding , data analysis , language translation , content creation , and as a sounding board for ideas .
The research also found that 36 % of businesses thought it was still too early to predict the impact of AI on jobs , while just one in 8 firms ( 12 %) thought it would lead to an overall net increase in jobs in their sector .
Responding to the implications of the data , Priya Guha , Chair of the BCC ’ s Digital Revolution Challenge , said : “ With AI being considered so central to boosting the UK ’ s productivity this research on current levels of business engagement is an eye opener .
“ It is certainly a concern that almost half of firms say they do not plan to use AI either now or in the future .
“ But when we consider the economic conditions that businesses have been grappling with since the pandemic , it is no surprise that 51 % of firms with fewer than 50 employees aren ’ t planning to use AI against 37 % of larger businesses .
“ The BCC ’ s Digital Revolution Challenge is clear that the benefits to business from using AI are many . It will lead to efficiency gains , improved decision-making , better customer experiences , enhanced risk management and game-changing innovations .
“ It is essential for competitiveness in the modern business landscape , so we must make sure that every UK company is involved in this journey .
“ Our task now is to pull together a set of clear and pragmatic recommendations , for both Government and UK companies , to make this happen .
“ We have a position of responsibility here , and we must use our influence to improve awareness of the benefits of AI .
“ Improving clarity and certainty amongst businesses on AI will drive confidence to use it effectively . As it stands , it is alarming that a sizeable number of firms think it is irrelevant .”
By contrast , of the respondents who have no plans to use cited the following barriers : lack of relevance , investment cost , reliability , lack of understanding , and risks around scams or privacy .
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