Popularity of ChatGPT has influenced executives’ investment in AI

With the current boom of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, it has begun to push executives into investing more into artificial intelligence.

A new study from Gartner noted that 45 percent of executives are now increasing AI investments and 70 percent of executives are in exploration and investigation mode with generative AI.

Frances Karamouzis, distinguished VP analyst at Gartner said the generative AI frenzy shows no sign of abating.

 “Organisations are scrambling to determine how much cash to pour into generative AI solutions, which products are worth the investment, when to get started and how to mitigate the risks that come with this emerging technology,” she said.

The poll found that 68 percent of executives believe that the benefits of generative AI outweigh the risks, compared with just 5 percent that feel the risks outweigh the benefits. However, executives may begin to shift their perspective as investments deepen.

Karamouzis said initial enthusiasm for a new technology can give way to more rigorous analysis of risks and implementation challenges.

She said, “Organisations will likely encounter a host of trust, risk, security, privacy and ethical questions as they start to develop and deploy generative AI.”

Despite ongoing economic headwinds, only 17 percent of executives indicated cost optimisation as the primary purpose of generative AI investments. Customer experience was the most common primary focus of investments, cited by 38 percent of respondents.

As organisations begin experimenting with generative AI, many are starting with use cases such as media content improvement or code generation. While these efforts can be a strong initial value-add, generative AI has vast potential to support solutions that augment humans or machines and autonomously execute business and IT processes.

Karamouzis explained that autonomous business, the next macrophase of technological change, can mitigate the impact of inflation, talent shortages and even economic downturns.

She said, “CEOs and CIOs that leverage generative AI to drive transformation through new products and business models will find massive opportunities for revenue growth.”

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