Nearly all IT leaders believe in GenAI

Nearly all (99%) IT decision-makers globally believe generative AI has a transformative potential to drive change within their organisation, a new survey suggests. But the research published by Elastic found that adoption of the technology is being slowed by search challenges, and fears around privacy and security, regulation, and internal skills gaps.

Despite the challenges, a survey conducted for the research found that 88% of IT leaders are eyeing increased investments in GenAI this year and beyond.

More than half (57%) of respondents expect GenAI to deliver improved savings in terms of costs and staff time, and similar portions believe it will improve the customer experience (50%), and lead to more accurate decision-making (48%).

The research also found that three in four respondents report the ability to view data across their entire environment is a key challenge for their organisations, while 7 out of 10 (68%) report that critical decisions are being stalled by slow analysis of their organisation’s data.

Meanwhile nearly all (97%) respondents report that their organisation is facing IT security challenges, such as difficulty detecting and responding to threats quickly.

The survey identified strong optimism that generative AI could solve these challenges by introducing a conversational search experience, and by improving automated threat detection systems and otherwise boosting an organisation’s security posture.

Elastic GVP and GM of Search Matt Riley said the survey findings demonstrate that generative AI has quickly captured the imaginations of IT leaders.

“While data may fuel this technology, search is the engine that powers its effectiveness,” he said. “Unsurprisingly, businesses that adopt search-powered GenAI quickest — grounded by business context — will lead and uncover the insights needed to securely innovate, build more efficient businesses and pioneer new customer experiences.”

The research report, ‘The Elastic Generative AI Report’, can be found here.

Image credit: iStock.com/Shutthiphong Chandaeng