UK firms are stuck in an “AI pilot purgatory” – here’s how they can drive success

While most generative AI investments achieve a strong return on investment (ROI), organizations frequently get bogged down in 'pilot purgatory'. 

New research from Google Cloud found seven-in-ten UK businesses are already seeing a positive ROI from generative AI for at least one use case, with between 32% and 45% saying they expect to achieve that within the next year.

The areas seen as most promising are customer and field service, at 45%, new products and services at 39%, and digital commerce and enhanced experiences at 38%.

Of those using generative AI for customer service and productivity, around a third of said they're seeing a significant ROI for each.

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Other popular use cases include individual productivity tools like emails, documents, presentations, meetings, and chat, along with back office/business processes; more than half of UK businesses currently use it for these purposes.

Overall, more than six-in-ten UK businesses have adopted generative AI, and have at least one use case in production. Similarly, nearly three-in-five plan to allocate more than half their AI budget to generative AI.

However, it's not all plain sailing, with many companies struggling to move beyond pilot projects, thanks mainly to a lack of clear leadership and prioritization of adoption.

Google Cloud found two-in-five have yet to implement generative AI in production, indicating a 'substantial hurdle' in scaling up to actual implementation.

Comprehensive C-suite sponsorship is a crucial factor here, the report noted. The vast majority of organizations with  C-level sponsorship said they experienced increased revenue growth of more than 6%.

"The UK is clearly embracing the transformative power of gen AI, with many businesses already seeing a significant return on their investments. However, it's equally clear that successfully scaling gen AI across the enterprise is a complex journey," said Helen Kelisky, UKI MD, Google Cloud.

"The ROI of gen AI survey underscores the transformative potential of gen AI for UK businesses. However, the transition from pilot to production remains a critical challenge. To fully harness the power of gen AI, UK organizations should prioritize strategic alignment, invest in change management and upskilling, and enhance data quality and knowledge management."

The findings echo other reports about the ROI for generative AI. A recent report from Ardoq, for example, found that seven-in-ten CIOs felt predicting the ROI of tech investments is a ‘finger in the air’ exercise, with only around half delivering measurable benefits.

Meanwhile, an overwhelming 99% admitted the success rate for emerging technologies such as AI tends to be much lower than for established technologies.