A new report by the National AI Centre (NAIC), which is funded by the Australian Government and coordinated by CSIRO, highlights how Australian businesses are using AI to increase revenue and enhance efficiency. The report, titled ‘Australia’s AI Ecosystem Momentum’, was conducted by a global consulting firm, and analysed the experiences of 200 IT and business decision-makers, as well as AI service providers, to determine the momentum of AI adoption among Australian businesses. It emphasised the need for the successful implementation of AI to be a collaborative effort.
According to the report, there is a growing interest in AI initiatives among Australian businesses. It also identifies the challenges that companies, regardless of their size, encounter when implementing AI technologies and solutions. The Director of the National AI Centre noted that AI has shifted from being a futuristic concept to a crucial priority for business leaders throughout Australia.
The report demonstrates how Australian businesses have experienced average revenue growth of AU$361,315 for each AI-enabled solution that they have implemented, regardless of which aspect of the business was targeted. Furthermore, over 80% of the surveyed businesses anticipate their revenue to increase year-on-year, with technology being the core of their growth strategies.
The report also highlights that the implementation of AI projects can be complicated due to the fragmented and niche service provider ecosystem. According to the findings, a majority of respondents engaged with at least four AI technology and service providers to execute an AI project, while 28% of respondents worked with over six providers. Only 17% of the participants reported collaborating with a single provider for their projects.
The report suggested that businesses require assurance that they have access to the appropriate combination of skills to make the most of the benefits provided by AI. As the AI landscape evolves, there may be a shift towards AI providers that can offer end-to-end solutions. However, for the time being, businesses should be willing to collaborate with multiple providers to ensure they receive comprehensive solutions that yield positive business outcomes.
The Director of the National AI Centre advised that before engaging external partners for their projects, business leaders should first take the time to comprehend where AI can offer benefits for their entire organisation. The exploration of AI projects should commence with identifying the essential business outcomes, she suggested, followed by an evaluation of whether this is a unique challenge that demands a personalised solution, or if the solution already exists in a pre-configured or packaged form.
Moreover, the report emphasised the significance of adopting a ‘Responsible AI’ approach as AI can have significant ethical implications for customers, society, and the world at large. It urged business leaders to take responsibility for constructing and deploying AI systems that generate responsible outcomes.
According to a report by a leading provider of market intelligence, spending on artificial intelligence (AI) worldwide is projected to reach US$154 billion in 2023, with a 26.9% increase from 2022. The incorporation of AI into various products will result in a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.0% from 2022-2026. It is expected that spending on AI-centric systems will surpass US$300 billion in 2026.
The top three AI use cases in terms of spending include Augmented Customer Service Agents, Sales Process Recommendation and Augmentation, and Program Advisors and Recommendation Systems. These use cases are expected to receive investment from almost every industry and will account for over 25% of all AI spending in 2023.
The other use cases that will see the largest spending support various tasks, such as IT Optimisation, Augmented Threat Intelligence and Prevention Systems, and Fraud Analysis and Investigation.
