The State of Generative AI in the Enterprise

The State of Generative AI in the Enterprise: Now decides next is a research series by the Deloitte AI Institute exploring how actions taken now will likely guide Generative AI (GenAI) adoption and impact.

To help leaders in business, technology, and the public sector track the rapid pace of GenAI change and adoption within the enterprise, Deloitte is conducting a series of quarterly pulse surveys. The first wave of this survey was fielded to more than 2,800 director- to C-suite-level respondents across six industries and 16 countries, including 175 Canadian executives.

5 key findings from the Q1 report

1. Excitement about GenAI remains high, but current efforts remain most focused on efficiency, productivity, and cost reduction rather than innovation and growth.
   Over three-quarters of respondents (79%) expect GenAI to drive substantial organizational transformation in less than three years. Yet the majority report a strong focus on more tactical benefits. A full 56% of respondents are currently targeting improved efficiency and productivity, and 35% are targeting cost reduction. Only 29% are targeting innovation and growth—mirroring what we’ve historically seen with other technologies at the beginning of their adoption curves.
2. There is broad uncertainty about how to manage talent, governance, and risk when it comes to GenAI.
   Only 22% of leaders believe their organizations are highly or very highly prepared to address talent-related issues related to GenAI adoption, and the vast majority of leaders (72%) expect GenAI to drive changes in their talent strategies within the next two years. Yet, many organizations are not focused on education and reskilling—only 47% agree that they are sufficiently educating their employees on the capabilities, benefits, and value of GenAI. Further, only a quarter of leaders believe their organizations are highly or very highly prepared to address governance and risk issues related to GenAI adoption.
   
3. Leaders worry that GenAI will drive greater economic inequality and see a need for more global regulation and collaboration.
   More than half of respondents are concerned that the widespread use of GenAI will centralize global economic power (52%) and increase economic inequality (51%). To address these concerns, the majority of respondents agree there is a need for more global regulation (78%) and collaboration (72%) to manage the responsible widespread adoption of GenAI. 
4. Organizations with self-reported very high expertise in GenAI tend to feel more positive about it—but also more pressured and threatened.
   Leaders of such organizations report higher levels of employee interest, technical preparation, and ongoing transformation associated with GenAI; however, they also feel more pressure to adopt it, and view it as more of a threat to their business and operating models. 
5. Most organizations are still primarily relying on off-the-shelf GenAI solutions.
   The majority of organizations are using off-the-shelf solutions (e.g., publicly available GenAI applications/LLMs, and productivity applications and enterprise platforms with integrated GenAI); relatively few are using more focused and differentiated solutions (e.g., industry-specific GenAI applications and private LLMs).