Will AI Investment Determine the Success of the Modern Business?

The possibilities surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) have been discussed for decades, and in recent years, we’ve seen an explosion in its actual abilities as well as its adoption. Studies show that from 2017 to 2022, AI adoption has more than doubled, as has the average number of AI capabilities.

Organizations across the board have been adding AI in some form or another to their arsenal. With an increasing number of organizations exploring the benefits of AI, and experiencing real value with it, it’s important to note that the level of investment companies make in AI will continue to increase as well. According to a survey by McKinsey, only 40% of organizations in 2018 devoted more than 5% of their budgets to AI, but by 2022, 52% of organizations were devoting the same amount. Moving forward, that number is only expected to increase. This, coupled with the fact that the investment into furthering the capabilities of AI will only continue to surge—over the last three years alone, more than $1.7 billion has been invested in AI solutions by venture capital firms—illustrates an important point for most any business: AI technology is growing at a rapid rate, and if it hasn’t made its way to your industry yet, chances are it will soon.

AI, such as ChatGPT, has already made its presence known in some sectors of the market. Two in particular that have seen incredible and rather quick adoption of AI are media and marketing. As Gartner shares, it’s expected that approximately 30% of all outbound marketing messages from large organizations will be AI-generated by 2025. Perhaps even more mind-blowing is that they went on to note that it’s expected that a major blockbuster film will be released by 2030 with at least 90% of the film being AI-generated.

While many recent attempts to utilize AI to produce commercials or video advertisements have been subpar and oftentimes hilarious (search for the AI-generated beer commercial for a good laugh), we did find one company utilizing AI in an ad exceptionally well. That company is Heinz. They released an ad this past year that showed the limitations of AI while simultaneously building their brand credibility because "Even AI knows that Ketchup is Heinz". Watch here. And while not all AI-generated media is worthwhile at this time, the progress being made in the technology is astounding. It won't be long before the technology reaches a level that can't be ignored.

While AI certainly has its flaws, it does have the power to elevate the productivity and efficiency of our teams. For executives and business leaders, success means ensuring you’re staying up-to-date on the latest innovations and how the transformative technology can positively impact your brand, your business and your people. After all, AI should make us all better people, professionals, and organizations. Its use should be a human-centered approach that complements employees and their strengths, not diminishes them. When business leaders approach AI with that mentality, they position themselves well for sustainable success well into the future.