Many UK businesses should adopt AI over the next year, according to research

Technological innovations in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have not only come to stay, but they also influence and disrupt the way businesses are conducted worldwide. The advancements of AI have been in the news since the emergence of revolutionary AI tools like ChatGPT.

As global tech companies and business executives brace for the impacts of the new wave of AI, it has been projected that creative adoption of this technology holds the key to the ease of doing business and making profits.

According to a March 2023 publication by Intellipaat, AI is no longer a fantasy of the future but a reality of the present. The publication advised that it is germane that businesses understand the probable benefits of AI on their business operations.

Intellipaat also listed some of the major AI automation tools that are used in the industry today. They include Scikit Learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, CNTK, Caffe, Apache MXNet, Keras, OpenNN, AutoML and H2O. Others include Jasper, Bing Chat, Youchat, ChatGPT and Google's Bard.

Tech leaders such as Bill Gates and Elon Musk have shown interest in AI. According to Gates, AI will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other. In fact, a similar report noted that Gates believes AI Chatbots have the tendency to teach students and replace teachers. Musk, on the other hand, recently signed an open letter with signatories, including engineers from Amazon, DeepMind, Google, Meta and Microsoft, to urge any further delay in the development of artificial intelligence – until the world can be confident its effects will be positive and risks manageable'.

British companies and entrepreneurs are keen to adopt applications of AI in their business operations. However, some of them are yet to understand or adopt AI in the way they operate their businesses.

A March 2023 report by Finbri titled 'UK Business Owners' Report 2023' noted how AI would impact business owners and their companies will inevitably differ by industry, adding that the role of AI is certain to remain a topic of much discussion and controversy over the next 12 months.

Many companies, according to Finbri, are eager to adopt game-changing technologies in order to optimise their operations and efficiency. But while most firms expect to utilise AI more frequently over the next 12 months, not all forecast a change. In fact, in the survey by Finbri, the company discovered that 60.50 per cent of UK business owners anticipate an increase in the use of AI for their businesses over the next 12 months.

According to Finbri, recent advancements in AI have become a driving force for business change and will ultimately affect small to large businesses in one way or the other. It's no longer the question of whether businesses should integrate AI into their operations at this point; the question is only a matter of when. Businesses should aim to invest as soon as possible – even if it's only to understand the impact AI will have on their company – as they are beginning to realise the possibilities that it may provide. Finbri noted that it is evident that early adopters of AI will have a competitive advantage.

The Finbri report stated that change is on the horizon and that the British government is investing in the development of AI, with around £1 billion committed towards the development of supercomputing and AI.

According to the report, the British government's new Quantum Strategy, which will get £2.5 billion in funding over the next ten years, is said to pave the way for bringing new investment, fast-growing businesses and high-quality jobs to the UK.

Some of the major UK business sectors that AI can impact include, but are not limited to, agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, finance, e-commerce and infotech.

One of the ways AI can help UK businesses is in the improvements of customer experience, such as by revolutionising the way businesses market themselves, providing tailored recommendations, and automating marketing tasks such as email campaigns or the analysis of customer feedback. Another way is through small-business modernisation. By investing in AI, UK businesses can gain a competitive edge, allowing them to stay ahead of the curve and remain relevant in an ever-evolving digital age.

That notwithstanding, there is a reasonable cause for alarm and a sense of unpredictability when it comes to applying AI to a business, such as job security, as Goldman Sachs has estimated that around 300 million jobs could be negatively impacted by generative AI.

However, the UK Technology Secretary stated: "We want to make sure that AI is complementing the way we work in the UK, not disrupting it − making our jobs better, rather than taking them away."

McKinsey's report published in June 2019 talks about the prospects and challenges of AI in the UK and emphasised that the journey to capturing AI's benefits is a fast-paced competitive race in which those slow to move will lose out.

The report added that the UK has a significant pool of AI talent and has successfully attracted people with needed skills from other countries, which means it has a stronger starting position to capture the AI dividend than other European countries.

"The United Kingdom has taken some bold steps to prepare itself for the AI revolution with the support of the government-backed by parliament," the report reads. It, however, noted that there are still "challenges to tackle and work remains to be done."

On the economic impact of AI on the UK economy, PwC released a report back in 2017 which stated that there will be significant gains across all UK regions, with England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all seeing an impact from AI in 2030. The figures are impressive with at least as large as 5 per cent of the GDP, and extra spending power per household of up to £1,800 to £2,300 a year by 2030.

The PwC research shows how big a game-changer AI is and also how it can transform businesses, people's lives and the UK society as a whole. It also shows that the main contributor to the UK's economic gains between 2017 and 2030 will come from consumer product enhancements stimulating consumer demand (8.4 per cent). It adds that this is because AI will drive a greater choice of products, with increased personalisation and make those products more affordable over time.

According to the analysis, AI will increase UK GDP by up to 10.3 per cent in 2030, or £232 billion more, making it one of the biggest commercial opportunities in today's rapidly evolving economy.

The researchers noted that the impact over the period would come from productivity gains (1.9%), consumption-side product improvements, and new firms entering the market stimulating demand (8.4%).

But what can the UK and its businesses do to benefit from AI? In an article published by PwC, the accounting firm gave some tips on how British businesses could benefit from this growing technology, which included creating the right environment for existing and new businesses to innovate and make the most of the product, leading to better productivity and wage benefits that AI can bring.

The article also provided another tip, which involves looking at how to obtain the right talent, technology and access to data to make the most of this opportunity. PwC also suggests that businesses should ensure that AI systems are adopted responsibly and that every part of society can reap the benefits.