Generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) is not unfamiliar to McKinsey & Company, with as of earlier this summer, about half of the company’s staff reportedly employing the technology.
However, it’s not the only organization to observe a quick acceptance of gen AI. In fact, a recent annual study from McKinsey’s AI arm QuantumBlack reveals that the application of general artificial intelligence is already very common.
By conducting an online survey with 1,684 participants from diverse locations, industries, and firm sizes between April 11 and April 21, 2023, McKinsey came to this result. The bulk of respondents (79%) stated that they had “at least some exposure to generation AI, either for work or outside of work, while 22% stated that they were utilizing it frequently for their work.
Where and who uses gen AI?
We are aware that businesses and individuals are acquiring gen artificial intelligence, but who and how are they employing it? The most notable insights in the latest McKinsey report are presented here.
By using the technology in their professions and outside of work, 28% of respondents from North America currently lead the world in terms of the adoption of gen AI, compared to 24% from Europe and 22% from Asia-Pacific (Greater China was just 19%).
Given that the generation AI craze began in the United States in November 2022 with the release of ChatGPT by OpenAI, this might be expected.
Similar to this, technology, media and telecom, which has a 33% adoption rate, is followed by “financial services” and “business, legal and professional services,” which have 24% and 23% adoption rates, respectively, of technology for use at work and/or outside of work.
Once more, this is not very surprising: the technology industry has been driving the adoption curve in gen AI technologies.
The C-suite and senior managers both registered 24% regular usage for work and outside of work, which is interesting when considering which job titles use gen AI the most. Although they were more likely to have had no exposure (19%), midlevel managers trailed closely behind at 23%.
What gen AI is being used for
The business functions that make the most use of these more recent tools are similar to those where AI usage is most popular overall.
These include back-office support and customer service, product and service development, marketing, and sales.
In reality, marketing and sales accounted for the majority of functions where gen AI was being employed as of April 2023 (14%), followed by product/service development (13%).
Manufacturing was at 2% and supply chain management was at 3%, both of which were very low on the list.
Supply chain management particularly would seem to be a ripe area for new gen AI products and services to take hold — as it does involve planning, analyzing market conditions, and providing insights based on vast volumes of data, all of which gen AI excels at. However, these areas may prove more difficult and time-consuming for AI adoption and have some physical constraints that make them more resistant to it.
Almost all of the capabilities of general artificial intelligence (gen AI) are currently focused on creating, summarizing, and analyzing papers. But trend prediction comes in second.
More than a fleeting trend
The survey also showed that for many organizations, gen AI is not simply a passing fad but a strategic priority. Due to gen AI, over half (40%) of respondents who reported their organizations’ AI adoption said they planned to increase total AI investments. In addition, for 28% of these organizations, the technology is already on the board’s agenda.
