Business Leaders Plan to Double AI Investments by 2025, EY Survey

EY's AI Pulse Survey reveals most firms plan to double AI investments by 2025, yet many lack proper governance and data infrastructure

Ben Wodecki, Jr. Editor

July 19, 2024

2 Min Read
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Business leaders plan to drastically increase AI spending, according to new data from EY.  

EY’s AI Pulse Survey interviewed 500 U.S.-based decision-makers from leading companies in various industries, including financial services, telecoms and health care.

The consulting firm found that 95% of respondents are currently investing in AI and those investing $10 million or more plan to at least double their investment by 2025.

EY found that AI investments were balanced between businesses building their own custom solutions (56%) and acquiring ready-made AI products (56%).

The survey also found that organizations investing in AI are already seeing positive impacts on their workflows. They reported improvements in operational efficiencies (77%), employee productivity (74%) and customer satisfaction (72%).

“The world in which we do business has been forever altered by the emergence of generative AI,” said Dan Diasio, EY’s global AI consulting leader. “Nearly all companies are investing in AI, but we’re seeing a divergence between companies experimenting in small ways and those making larger investments, with the leaders who continue prioritizing investments in AI increasingly ahead of the pack and experiencing positive returns.”

Senior leaders investing 5% or more of their budgets in AI reported to EY that they saw higher positive rates of return in employee productivity, cybersecurity and product innovation compared to those investing less than 5%.

Related:Three Essential Actions to Help Leaders Navigate AI, Compliance Strategy

Few leaders told EY that their organizations are taking steps to ensure proper governance for AI implementation.

Only 36% of surveyed business leaders said they were investing in data infrastructure and just 54% said their organizations will increase ethical AI use over the next year.

Only one-third of those surveyed admitted that their AI governance framework addresses bias in their AI models (32%).

EY’s survey found that only 37% of businesses are training employees on AI at scale. Around 40% of surveyed senior leaders said they were encouraging employees to embrace AI.

In terms of new hires, 83% of senior leaders said they were prioritizing attracting workers who are knowledgeable in AI but were having difficulty in finding employees with AI skill sets.

“Business leaders are beginning to shape their future by raising strategic AI investments,” said Traci Gusher, EY America’s AI, data and automation leader. “But the survey uncovered significant risks on the path to enterprise-wide AI adoption, including data infrastructure, ethical frameworks and talent acquisition. These are key to fully maximizing AI’s abilities and will allow organizations to differentiate themselves in the marketplace.”

Related:Financial Business Leaders Struggle to Keep Pace With AI, Report

About the Author

Ben Wodecki

Jr. Editor

Ben Wodecki is the Jr. Editor of AI Business, covering a wide range of AI content. Ben joined the team in March 2021 as assistant editor and was promoted to Jr. Editor. He has written for The New Statesman, Intellectual Property Magazine, and The Telegraph India, among others. He holds an MSc in Digital Journalism from Middlesex University.

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