McKinsey & Company is no stranger to generative artificial intelligence (gen AI): As of earlier this summer, about half of the global consulting giant's employees were said to be using the technology.
But it's not the only organization seeing rapid adoption of AI. In fact, a new annual report from QuantumBlack, McKinsey’s artificial intelligence division, found that “the use of artificial intelligence is already pervasive.”
McKinsey reached this conclusion based on an online survey of 684 participants from 11 to 21 March 2023 across regions, industries and company sizes. A majority (22%) of respondents reported having “at least some exposure to AI at work or outside of work,” while <>% said they regularly use it at work.
The findings echo an informal survey conducted by VentureBeat ahead of last month 's VB Transform conference in San Francisco, which found that more than 70% of companies are already experimenting with next-generation AI.
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OK, so we know that companies and individuals are getting access to AI, but who is using it the most and for what? McKinsey’s new report offers some noteworthy insights.
North American respondents lead the world in AI adoption at work so far, with 28% using the technology at work and outside of work, compared with 24% of European respondents and 24% of Asia Pacific respondents. is 22% (only 19% in Greater China).
Credit: QuantumBlack, AI at McKinsey “The State of AI in 2023: The Breakthrough Year for Generative AI” Credit: QuantumBlack, AI at McKinsey “The State of AI in 2023: The Breakthrough Year for Generative AI”
Credit: QuantumBlack, McKinsey's AI "The State of AI 2023: Generating AI's Breakthrough Year"
This is perhaps expected given that the launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI in March 2022 set off a generation of artificial intelligence craze in the United States.
Likewise, the industries that have been quick to embrace technology at work and/or outside of work so far are “technology, media and telecommunications” at 33%, followed by “financial services” and “business, legal and professional services” at 33% 24% and 23%.
Again, this is no surprise: the tech industry, which originated with AI products, has been leading the adoption curve.
Interestingly, however, when it comes to which roles use AI the most at work and/or outside of work, C-suite and senior managers combined for a combined 24% of regular usage at work and outside of work. Middle managers follow closely at 23%, although they are more likely to have no risk exposure (19%).
Credit: QuantumBlack, McKinsey's AI "The State of AI 2023: Generating AI's Breakthrough Year"
The business functions most leveraging these new tools reflect the business functions where AI is most commonly used.
These include marketing and sales, product and service development, and service operations such as customer service and back-office support.
In fact, as of 2023-14, the largest functional category using Gen AI is marketing and sales at 13%, followed by product/service development at <>%.
The proportion of supply chain management is very low, accounting for 3%, and manufacturing only accounts for 2%.
While these areas may be more challenging and time-consuming for AI adoption, and have some physical limitations that make them more resistant to it, supply chain management appears to be ripe for a new generation of AI products and services to dominate. domain – because a lot of it does involve planning, analyzing market conditions and providing insights based on large amounts of data, all of which the AI generation is good at.
In terms of what people do with AI, specifically, almost all of the capabilities so far revolve around creating, summarizing, and analyzing documents. However, trend predictions are a close second.
The report also shows that AI is not just a passing trend but a strategic priority for many organizations. Nearly half (40%) of respondents reporting AI adoption said their companies plan to increase overall AI investments as a result of Generation AI. Additionally, the technology is already on the board agenda of 28% of organizations.
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