New global research from ServiceNow, an AI platform for business transformation, has found British businesses are among Europe’s leaders when it comes to AI optimism and maturity.
However, concerns over issues such as skills and AI-generated inaccuracies remain.
In the UK, AI-powered business transformation is in its early days. More than half of organisations (58%) are still experimenting with or assessing AI technology. Despite this, an elite group of ‘Pacesetters’ are already turning AI into business value.
The UK has the third-highest AI maturity of territories within EMEA, after the Middle East and Benelux, with 85% of organisations also planning to increase their AI investments in the coming year.
Nearly a fifth (18%) of UK organisations were identified as ‘Pacesetters’. These scored more than 50 out of 100 for AI maturity based on AI strategy and leadership, workflow integration, talent, AI governance and realising value in AI investments.
Business leaders were likelier than those in other European territories to believe that AI can deliver results for their business. Over four-fifths (86%) also hope that AI can deliver increased efficiency and productivity, compared to an EMEA average of 76%.
Customer experience and revenue growth were also identified as key opportunities, while 85% hope for AI to improve customer experience and 79% hope for AI to drive revenue growth.
Despite these ambitions, British business leaders are also aware of the limitations of AI technologies such as Large Language Models, with 34% concerned about inaccuracies. They are also conscious of the need to hire new talent and upskill existing employees. More than half of UK organisations (57%) are still working out what skills they need, and only 27% feel that they currently have the right mix of talent and skills.
To address this problem, British business leaders are taking a multi-pronged approach. More than half are enabling autonomous problem-solving in teams (58%), while also hiring new talent and upskilling existing employees for in-demand roles.
For example, in the UK, 48% of organisations plan to hire more data scientists, while a further 38% plan to upskill existing employees.
Damian Stirrett, Group Vice President and General Manager UK&I, at ServiceNow, said: “The race to put AI to work is still in its early stages. Yet, it’s clear that some organisations have already gained a head start in adopting and integrating it.
“ServiceNow’s customers are already seeing some real business transformational benefits from their investment in our AI platform, like unlocking productivity and enhancing experiences, achieving greater cost savings and huge efficiencies at scale and all in a matter of weeks and months, rather than years too,” added Stirrett.
