Five ways AI will be used to turbocharge organisations in 2024

1: Companies will continue to invest in AI

“2023 has undeniably been the year of generative AI. But unlike some hot technology trends, GenAI won’t lose its appeal, and I expect it to stay at the top of businesses’ agendas throughout 2024. In fact, the 2023 KPMG CEO Outlook survey revealed that business leaders are continuing to invest heavily in generative AI in search of a competitive edge for the future, listing the technology as a top investment priority in the medium term.”

David Harrison, UK technology strategy & transformation practice lead, KPMG UK

“In 2024, The focus will pivot from IT leaders debating their opinions to an active change to translate their vision into tangible actions within the organisation.”

“At large, Community Service Providers (CSPs) are looking towards AI to support reductions in operating costs. But CSPs that really aim to thrive won’t let the hope behind AI disappear in an efficiency drive alone. The critical juncture lies in understanding that while operational efficiency is imperative, the potential for AI to usher in transformative changes should not be overlooked.”

Angus Ward, CEO, Beyond Now

2: Greater caution with AI usage will be applied

“Many are convinced that everyone else has got some fantastic AI running their organisation and that they are behind the curve, whereas most people are still talking about how they could use it. We are likely to see businesses realising that they need to take a few steps back before jumping on the bandwagon, establishing what their goals are and how AI can be useful in achieving them.”

Waseem Ali, CEO, Rockborne

“The hype surrounding generative AI is due for reality check in 2024. Like most technologies, its adoption will encompass both beneficial and detrimental aspects. For one, it will help to increase productivity and output of all developers by automating more routine tasks and helping them complete projects more efficiently. However, these same tools will also help script kiddies graduate from being immature, novice attackers into skilled hackers capable of carrying out new and sophisticated attacks.”

Reinhart Hansen, director of Technology, Imperva

“People still do not fully understand the risks and vision of AI, which lends itself to paranoia and fears of unfounded massive cybersecurity attacks by AI. In the year ahead we will hopefully see the hype around AI die down and become more of the norm so that we can focus on the many benefits of using these tools to do work more efficiently and effectively. A handful of organisations are dedicating ample time and resources to the actual use cases of this technology, and we can expect more businesses to follow suit.”

Kev Breen, director of Cyber Threat Research, Immersive Labs

“For all the benefits Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) can bring, businesses will also be increasingly aware of the risks it poses. ‘Shadow AI’ – employees using AI applications without employers’ knowledge or oversight – is one such risk that businesses will need to shine a light on or face disastrous consequences.

“As GAI tools become more and more commonplace, businesses will focus on discovery – understanding exactly how and why staff are using these tools and using this understanding to regain control. After all, if they know why staff are using certain GAI tools, they can help them get the same results much more safely.

Uzi Dvir, CIO, WalkMe

3: Link between productivity and AI becomes seamless 

“We will continue to live through not just an AI revolution, but a productivity revolution. What’s more, workers are seeing how the two go together, thanks to positively impacting and augmenting their potential at work on a day-to-day basis. In fact, 90% of workers, globally, are more likely to report higher levels of productivity than those who have not adopted AI.”

Chris Clark, solutions engineer, Slack

“We will start seeing usable AI products in high-level automated B2B and B2C decision-making or business management processes. This will come because of AI’s prominent capability of detecting patterns and the strengths or weaknesses of systems, and in analysing the behavioural patterns of team performance or consumer data.”

John Mutuski, CISO, Pipedrive

“AI’s ability to analyse vast amounts of data and provide insights will empower lower-level employees to make more informed decisions. This can reduce the need for top-down decision-making and streamline organisational processes.

“The emphasis will shift from positions and titles to skills and contributions. Consequently, employees at all levels will have greater opportunities to impact decision-making and strategy, based on their expertise and the insights provided by AI.”

Rebecca Hinds, head of The Work Innovation Lab, Asana

“Implementing AI this year will be a business priority, and our research confirmed this with 83% of UK businesses having or planning to increase their use of automation. Our respondents reported they could save at least two hours per week – over 2.5 working weeks a year – if security and compliance tasks were automated. AI has the potential to revolutionise security and compliance when deployed as part of a broader, proactive trust management strategy, and I expect this to be a major theme in 2024.”

Paulo Rodrigez, head of International, Vanta

“The interaction between humans and machines has entered a new realm recently as artificial intelligence (AI) continues to split opinions for both individuals and businesses. However, AI and intelligent automation (IA) are hugely complementary and are already transforming businesses across the world, regardless of size and scope.

“AI can and should work in unison with humans to assist and transform the future of financial and strategic planning. For example, AI can improve work efficiency and effectiveness by automating routine tasks and providing actionable insights from data analytics. We can expect a blend of personalisation and automation of standard processes, leading to self-sufficient, automated processes assisting humans.”

Dirk Martin, CEO, Serviceware

4: Roles change, but employees will reap the benefits

“Next year, we can expect to see more AI tools developed with a focus on improving the overall work experience – addressing factors like job satisfaction, skill development, and work-life balance. There will be a stronger emphasis on AI systems that collaborate with employees rather than replace them. This includes AI that assists in decision-making, offers creative suggestions, and even helps in managing employee wellbeing.”

Rebecca Hinds, head of The Work Innovation Lab, Asana

“AI innovation in SaaS isn’t about code, it’s about empowering every individual and business with the tools to thrive in the age of intelligence. SaaS is the gateway through which most people will access powerful technologies like AI, and as the AI rush continues into 2024, SaaS companies are ensuring that the potential of these cutting-edge tools reaches every corner of the business world.”

Zandra Moore, CEO, Panintelligence

“With increasing use of AI comes increasing fear that it will steal jobs. On the contrary, I believe that AI will create jobs in 2024, not reduce them.”

“We are already seeing our clients create separate leadership roles like Chief AI officer who are being offered a seat at the table alongside the CTOs and CIOs — such is the importance of AI technology. The next step will be task forces dedicated to exploring and implementing AI into businesses.

“These task forces will not be looking for ways to replace human workers but will instead be searching for areas where day-to-day tasks can be optimised, freeing employees up to focus on more value-added work. In short, the nature of jobs will change, jobs themselves won’t reduce.

Rajasekar Sukumar, senior vice president, Europe, Persistent 

“Organisations will appoint a chief AI officer (CAIO) to oversee their use of these technologies in the same way many have a security executive, or CISO, on their leadership teams.”

“The CAIO will center on developing policies and educating and empowering the workforce to use AI safely to protect the organization from accidental noncompliance, intellectual property leakage, or security threats.”

Bernd Greifeneder, founder and CTO, Dynatrace

“Initially we will see more AI-assisted customer service, but this will quickly follow into a general enhancement of user experience capabilities within digital applications, like conversational search functions or digital assistants. Many businesses will also be looking to capitalise on generative AI internally, to augment employee knowledge by using LLMs to share and disseminate information within companies more effectively. Despite this wide-scale implementation, AI will still only complement humans – we won’t be seeing large scale lay-offs due to jobs being directly replaced by AI in 2024, or anytime soon.”

Chris Stephenson, chief technology officer, Sagacity

“Although generative AI is reimagining how we interact with machines, there are some immediate concerns that will be particularly challenging in the early years of widespread AI and language model adoption. For a lot of people involved in what we loosely call “knowledge work,” quite a few of their jobs are going to vaporise. Rapid change makes it hard to quickly absorb displaced workers elsewhere in the workforce, and as a result both the private sector and governments will need to step up.”

Sridhar Ramaswamy, SVP of AI, Snowflake

5: Firms will invest more in AI training 

“The only potential stumbling block for the growth of AI in 2024 is training — not just at the lower levels but also in the C-suite. CEOs are more invested in the possibilities of AI than ever before, but without proper training at the board level, there is a risk that AI becomes a bandwagon to jump on rather than a technology that can have measurable benefits for their organisation. AI is not a silver bullet. It needs proper implementation in order to succeed.”

Rajasekar Sukumar, senior vice president, Europe, Persistent 

“What we expect to see in 2024 is companies rushing to do their due diligence with AI by investing in AI skills and talent, as well as their data pipelines and quality of data. We’ll also begin to see the barometer move with data security and ethics in AI as the technology moves from trend to mainstay.”

Prashant Mahajan, CEO and founder, Zeda.io

“Reasons for AI-fuelled productivity underperforming expectations include adoption barriers, including lack of training, and lack of institutional knowledge by companies new to AI technologies. In 2024, we are likely to see Generative AI-driven chatbots, virtual assistants, and automation tools become more sophisticated and capable, as well as more integrated into the global economy.

“Employees who are more capable of using AI tools are likely to outcompete peers with less technology literacy. Because of this, organisations will be tasked with addressing the growing gaps in their workforce performance, accelerated by the outsize contribution of AI technologies.”

Uzi Dvir, CIO, WalkMe

“Now that the world has been privy to the benefits of generative AI, we can expect businesses beyond the tech space to adopt it to innovate, optimise costs and boost productivity.

“But before they do so, they need to train employees to use the technology effectively – our research suggests just 7% of organisations are providing all employees with AI training. If employees aren’t ready to use AI, business’ investments simply won’t pay off, at least in the medium to long term. As AI becomes mainstream, governments will look to follow in the EU’s footsteps and create their own comprehensive laws around AI. That translates to additional responsibility for businesses to comply with new legislation to avoid regulatory breaches and ensure they’re making the most of what AI has to offer.”

Chris Dimitriadis, chief global strategy officer, ISACA