AI Survey: Never Mind the Skeptics

After the initial wave of enthusiasm for generative AI, signs of skepticism started to appear. Analysts and investors began to ask more pointed questions: Where are the returns on investment? What applications are best suited to generative AI? Is this another bubble?

Bain’s third quarterly survey on AI readiness has found that, for the most part, executives and the enterprises they manage aren’t buying into that narrative. They’ve continued to invest in generative AI, increased the number of pilot programs as well as deployments in production, and continued to express high levels of satisfaction with this powerful new technology.

The results of our third quarterly survey show that companies continue to see generative AI as a top company priority, and they continue to invest in pursuit of new business value. Most executives believe that generative AI poses a real risk of disruption in their industry, not only in terms of cost but in changing products and business processes. Companies continue to invest in a wide range of use cases, some of which show greater promise than others, including code development, marketing, operations, R&D, and more. Where generative AI has failed to meet expectations, executives are most likely to blame their own lack of skill with tools. In addition, the percentage of respondents who identified data unreadiness as a roadblock has grown with each survey.