The artificial intelligence report

Technological advancements have exploded in the 21st century and, since the advent of the internet, have gathered pace at a remarkable rate. They delight, amaze, and force us to question our relationship with technology, as well as having significant implications for businesses of all sizes and the consumers that they create products for. Until recently, many people hadn’t heard of Zoom or Microsoft Teams, the term ‘metaverse’ was scarcely used, even less understood, and digital voice assistants were a pipe dream. Most business was conducted face-to-face or over the telephone, with a heavy reliance on going into a shop or calling a listed number to get answers to questions, book appointments and order products.

The time of incredible change we’re living in, forces us to adapt and solve problems with incredibly sophisticated technological solutions. The pandemic has helped to increase the speed of change even further, with video technology allowing businesses to interact with their customers on an even more conversational level without ever seeing them in person. Or, with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), without any human contact whatsoever.

To benchmark where we’re at and where we’re going, we’ve conducted a wide-ranging piece of research into AI; how businesses are adopting AI technologies such as voice search and machine learning (e.g. Smart Performance), what it means for them now and in the future and, crucially, how consumers are adapting their lives to these changing technologies. We’ve distilled this all into an expansive report covering the following five areas:

Where Are We Now: The current state of play in AI for businesses and consumers
AI Attitudes: What do business leaders think of AI and importantly, what’s the opinion from consumers?
Barriers to AI Growth: What stands in the way of a fully automated future?
Cost and Time: Can AI actually save your business time and money?
The Future of AI: Using the data from our research, we predict what’s next for AI technology in business

The results throughout help to show the understanding and implications of AI are more wide-reaching than we might have imagined, and despite the pitfalls and drawbacks we uncover, one thing is clear: AI is here to stay. Importantly, it’s also clear from our findings that those who don’t adapt and use it to their advantage, will struggle to thrive as certain technologies move from new to preferred to essential, with each new generation of consumers.