Three out of five companies say that AI is important to their organization, while on 17% say it is not important at all.
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The latest technology taking front and center in businesses, education and society as a whole is artificial intelligence. Another common phrase is Generative AI – a type of artificial intelligence with the ability to create text, images, or other media in response to prompts. Exciting and potentially transformative, there are also many questions about what role Gen AI will play for businesses in the middle market.
The middle market is certainly not ignoring the implications of AI. Three out of five companies say that AI is important to their organization, while on 17% say it is not important at all. Differences by industry are distinct, as manufacturing, financial services, and technology firms naturally have more interest in the potential to incorporate AI into their work, while construction and healthcare are a bit less certain.
Where does the middle market stand in its journey toward adoption? Only 9% of companies say they are currently using AI on a regular basis and have embedded it into their business. On the other hand, about two-thirds of companies say they are only in the learning/discovery phase or are doing some limited testing of the technology. There are some important factors cited for consideration, not surprisingly the foremost being cost. Other key factors in the AI journey are concerns around data privacy/security, having a solid business use case, and ease of use for employees and the current team. Despite some of these issues, it will be critical for the middle market to closely monitor developments around regulations, security and cost/use benefits without getting left on the sidelines of this fascinating yet uncertain technology.