AI Adoption Archives

Sep 17

Top Seven Takeaways from Gartner’s 2024 CIO GenAI Survey

For 87% of CIOs, generative AI (GenAI) represents more than a technological advancement—it’s a career-defining opportunity.

Gartner’s 2024 CIO Generative AI Survey finds that GenAI is gaining momentum with CIOs, with 95% believing in the technology’s significant potential to improve their organizations. A significant obstacle: a gap between CIOs and their C-suite peers — tempers their optimism.

While CIOs recognize AI’s potential to unleash productivity gains and improve customer experiences, only a fraction of the C-suite sees it as an urgent priority. Closing that gap underscores CIOs’ essential role in championing GenAI by committing to excel at learning every aspect of the new technology and how it can deliver long-term value to their organizations.

The top seven takeaways from Gartner’s survey provide CIOs with a roadmap on how to take a practical, pragmatic approach to bridge the gaps across the C-suite and help their organizations get results from their GenAI strategies.

Strategic Insights from Gartner’s 2024 CIO GenAI Survey

Gartner’s latest CIO survey on GenAI provides insights into how IT leaders can capitalize on the technology’s significant impact, from career growth and expertise development to helping CIOs achieve more support across the C-suite. Each takeaway focuses on how CIOs can leverage AI to drive success for themselves and their organizations.

Here are the survey’s seven most insightful takeaways:

More CIOs are starting to view GenAI as a career-enhancing opportunity. Eighty-seven percent of CIOs see GenAI as a pivotal career advancement opportunity, with 44% of those proficient in AI strongly affirming this view. GenAI’s rapid adoption in organizations is proving itself a technology capable of delivering productivity gains and is increasingly becoming a skill and expertise essential for career advancement. For CIOs leading AI initiatives, it’s not just about technology—it’s about positioning themselves as visionary leaders qualified to step into more senior positions. To maximize this opportunity, CIOs need to prioritize the development of AI strategies that demonstrate clear, measurable business outcomes. Continuous learning and certification programs are given to any IT professional, especially CIOs, who want to maintain a competitive edge and have their careers capitalize on GenAI’s growth trajectory.

CIOs are more focused than ever on increasing their acumen about GenAI. CIOs are rapidly becoming the in-house experts on AI, with 52% now rating themselves as proficient or advanced, up from 38% nine months ago. This growing expertise is crucial, as 67% of CIOs are tasked with leading AI initiatives, often sharing this responsibility with other C-suite members. Gartner recommends that CIOs deepen their AI knowledge further and foster a culture of AI literacy across their teams to capitalize on this trend. Providing targeted training for IT and business leaders to ensure that AI strategies are fully integrated into broader business goals is quickly becoming table stakes.

Source: Key findings from the 2024 Gartner CIO generative AI survey (ID G00820936). Gartner, Inc.

Disconnect between CIO optimism and C-suite prioritization. Despite 95% of CIOs believing in the potential for GenAI to deliver value, the survey reveals a disconnect with the C-suite—only 21% of CIOs who consider themselves highly knowledgeable about AI believe their C-suite sees it as a high priority. This gap suggests a need for more effective communication and strategic alignment. CIOs need to focus on translating AI’s potential into language that resonates with the C-suite. Regular briefings and ROI-focused presentations can help bridge this gap and elevate AI as a top priority for all executive leaders.

CIOs are leading the charge in AI implementations. CIOs are increasingly in charge of GenAI initiatives, with 48% of CIOs responding to the survey indicating that they are the main executives responsible for these initiatives. Another 28% are part of the team responsible for developing AI strategy. This central role places CIOs at the forefront of digital transformation, requiring them to be strategic leaders and hands-on practitioners. CIOs need to establish clear governance frameworks and metrics for AI initiatives to ensure success and alignment with broader organizational goals. Additionally, partnering with other C-suite members, such as the CFO and CMO, can help secure the necessary resources and support for AI projects.

Focus on productivity gains. GenAI is proving effective in streamlining operations and improving efficiencies organization-wide, with 74% of CIOs citing productivity as its top business value. AI also improves customer experience (49%) and helps streamline digital transformation (31%). These priorities demonstrate AI’s multifaceted role in modern businesses. Gartner recommends that CIOs integrate AI into crucial or core organizational areas, ensuring that AI initiatives align with organizational objectives and are designed to deliver measurable, scalable outcomes.

Concerns over AI hallucinations. Although GenAI holds great potential, there are significant risks. According to 59% of CIOs, the biggest worry is “hallucinations” or misleading or incorrect outputs. In close succession, 44% and 48% of CIOs express concern about privacy violations and false information spread by malicious attackers. These dangers highlight the importance of solid governance, ongoing oversight, and continued investments in cybersecurity. According to Gartner, CIOs need to prioritize creating AI ethics guidelines and investing in auditing tools. Gartner also notes that reducing these risks will require cultivating a culture of accountability and transparency.

C-Suite engagement in AI is growing but still lags. The survey shows that while C-suite engagement with AI is growing, 42% of CIOs note increased investment in understanding AI, and 53% still consider their peers novices, highlighting a critical need for further education and alignment. CIOs need to take the lead and champion targeted AI education and strategy sessions to close this gap, ensuring AI initiatives are fully supported and integrated into the organization’s strategic goals.

Conclusion

In Gartner’s 2024 CIO Generative AI Survey, GenAI is more than a technological advancement—it’s a strategic imperative for CIOs seeking business transformation and career advancement. GenAI is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of modern enterprise strategy, with 87% of CIOs seeing it as a career-enhancing tool and 95% as a business value driver.

With only 21% of CIOs seeing AI as a high priority for their executive peers, the journey is difficult. 74% of CIOs are focused on productivity gains, but the C-suite is cautious. CIOs must gain AI expertise and lead the way in aligning AI initiatives with organizational goals to mitigate risks like AI hallucinations through robust governance. CIOs can use GenAI to achieve business success and career growth by strategically navigating these dynamics to cement their role as digital visionaries.

Bibliography:

Struckman, C. (2024). Key findings from the 2024 Gartner CIO generative AI survey (ID G00820936). Gartner, Inc. https://www.gartner.com/document/820936 (Client access required).

May 19

Gartner’s 2024 CEO Survey Reveals AI as Top Strategic Priority

75% of CEOs used ChatGPT in the first half of 2023, with 44% incorporating it into their jobs.

Gartner’s 2024 CEO survey finds that CEOs are on board with AI to a much greater extent than previously believed. 87% of CEOs agree that AI’s benefits to their business outweigh its risks. “Digitalization, in general, and AI, in particular, will be core innovative elements in revised business strategies, as will environmental-sustainability-based growth ideas,” writes Gartner in the report.

CEOs experimenting with synthetic video

Almost a third of CEOs have considered making and using a synthetic video of themselves. Gartner notes that Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of the European utility services company Veolia, has posted an AI-augmented video of herself on LinkedIn and X appearing to speak in multiple languages.

Driving AI adoption

CEOs who adopt new technologies immediately drive their adoption enterprise-wide because everyone immediately sees those technologies as critical to their jobs. Seasoned CEOs know the quickest way to get a new enterprise app’s adoption rate to go up is to use it themselves and demonstrate their mastery quickly. What’s happening with AI’s adoption is faster than many CEOs expected.

Key takeaways from Gartner’s 2024 CEO survey include the following:

Growth dominates CEO agendas, reaching a new record in Gartner’s annual survey. “CEOs’ top business priority of growth is up 25% and is at the highest level since 2014,’ writes Financial considerations increased by 25%, cost management by 11%, and customer priorities grew by 22%. The survey points towards CEOs being more focused on profitability and margins, two signs of internal process gains to reduce operating costs and improve efficiency. The survey results point to more CEOs looking at how to get greater returns from the most expensive assets their businesses operate.

75% of CEOs used ChatGPT in the first half of 2023, with 44% incorporating it into their jobs.Gartner's 2024 CEO survey finds that CEOs are on board with AI to a much greater extent than previously believed. 87% of CEOs agree that the benefits of AI to their business outweigh its risks. "Digitalization, in general, and AI, in particular, will be core innovative elements in revised business strategies, as will environmental-sustainability-based growth ideas," writes Gartner in the report. CEOs experimenting with synthetic video Almost a third of CEOs have considered making and using a synthetic video of themselves. Gartner notes that Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of the European utility services company Veolia, has posted an AI-augmented video of herself on LinkedIn and X appearing to speak in multiple languages. Driving AI adoption CEOs who adopt new technologies immediately drive their adoption enterprise-wide because everyone immediately sees those technologies as critical to their jobs. Seasoned CEOs know the quickest way to get a new enterprise app's adoption rate to go up is to use it themselves and demonstrate their mastery quickly. What's happening with AI's adoption is faster than many CEOs expected. Key takeaways from Gartner's 2024 CEO survey include the following: • Growth dominates CEO agendas, reaching a new record in Gartner's annual survey. "CEOs' top business priority of growth is up 25% and is at the highest level since 2014,' writes Gartner. Financial considerations increased by 25%, cost management by 11%, and customer priorities grew by 22%. The survey points towards CEOs being more focused on profitability and margins, two signs of internal process gains to reduce operating costs and improve efficiency. The survey results point to more CEOs looking at how to get greater returns from the most expensive assets their businesses operate. Ceo growth 1 • CEOs mentioning AI as one of their top two technology priorities jumped from 4% in 2023 to 24% in 2024. Technology innovation also increased from 7% to 11%, and the use of digital transformation for growth increased from 9% to 11%. It's interesting to see how CEOs are focusing on how to improve, integrate, and modernize their strategic use of technology. That category jumps from 1% in 2023 to 5% in 2024. "AI is explicitly mentioned a lot more in 2024 than it was in the 2023 survey. At the same time, mentions of "digitalization" have declined significantly, and so have mentions of e-commerce and omnichannel," writes Gartner. CEO two top strategic business priorities 2 • 34% of CEOs say that the next business transformation their enterprises will pursue after digital is AI. CEO's intentions to pursue AI as their next business transformation are nearly four times greater than their interest in operations efficiency and agility. Sustainability and ESG are a distant third priority. Just 5% of CEOs say customer experience/centricity will be a priority. the theme of the next transformation after digital • 59% say AI is the technology that will most impact their industry. AI has a four-year track record of being the top category, starting in 2020, with the percentage of CEOs mentioning it ranging between 18% to 29%. Gartner mentions in the survey results that in 15 years of asking this question and comparable ones to it, there's never been a category that emerges as dominant as AI has. In the past, CEOs believed cloud and big data technologies would be the most impactful. Previous technologies have had nowhere near the extent of impact that AI does today. "Eighty-six percent of CEOs expect AI will help maintain or grow their revenue in 2024-2025, and when asked exactly how that would happen, the top answer category was an improvement to customer experience and relationships," writes Gartner. Use AI to Help Maintain or Grow Company Revenue

Source: Gartner 2024 CEO Survey — The Year of Strategy Relaunches

CEOs mentioning AI as one of their top two technology priorities jumped from 4% in 2023 to 24% in 2024. Technology innovation also increased from 7% to 11%, and the use of digital transformation for growth increased from 9% to 11%. It’s interesting to see how CEOs are focusing on how to improve, integrate, and modernize their strategic use of technology. That category jumps from 1% in 2023 to 5% in 2024. “AI is explicitly mentioned a lot more in 2024 than it was in the 2023 survey. At the same time, mentions of “digitalization” have declined significantly, as have mentions of e-commerce and omnichannel,” writes Gartner.

Gartner's 2024 CEO Survey Reveals AI as Top Strategic Priority

Source: Gartner 2024 CEO Survey — The Year of Strategy Relaunches

34% of CEOs say that the next business transformation their enterprises will pursue after digital is AI. CEO’s intentions to pursue AI as their next business transformation are nearly four times greater than their interest in operations efficiency and agility. Sustainability and ESG are a distant third priority. Just 5% of CEOs say customer experience/centricity will be a priority.

Source: Gartner 2024 CEO Survey — The Year of Strategy Relaunches

59% say AI is the technology that will most impact their industry. AI has a four-year track record of being the top category, starting in 2020, with the percentage of CEOs mentioning it ranging between 18% to 29%. Gartner mentions in the survey results that in 15 years of asking this question and comparable ones to it, there’s never been a category that emerges as dominant as AI has. In the past, CEOs believed cloud and big data technologies would be the most impactful. Previous technologies have had nowhere near the extent of impact that AI does today. “Eighty-six percent of CEOs expect AI will help maintain or grow their revenue in 2024-2025, and when asked exactly how that would happen, the top answer category was an improvement to customer experience and relationships,” writes Gartner.

Source: Gartner 2024 CEO Survey — The Year of Strategy Relaunches

Jan 24

Gartner Predicts AI Software Will Grow To $297 Billion By 2027

Image created by DALL-E

Predicting global spending on AI software will surge from $124 billion in 2022 to $297 billion in 2027, Gartner forecasts the market will grow at a 19.1% compound annual growth rate in the next six years.

Generative AI (GenAI) software spending is expected to skyrocket from 8% in 2023 to 35% by 2027. GenAI’s rapid growth is attributed to enterprise software vendors integrating AI tools into current and future releases, streamlining the widespread adoption of GenAI-based features and new apps, emerging as the fastest-growing category of AI software.

Gartner predicts the integration of AI tools will be most prevalent in marketing, product design, and customer service, reflecting a shift towards more personalized and efficient operations. The research firm provides an extensive analysis of AI software’s growth areas and opportunities in their recently published report, Forecast Analysis: Artificial Intelligence Software, 2023-2027, Worldwide (client access required). The forecast is based on over 500 AI use cases sourced from Gartner’s AI use case prisms and related research.

What Driving The AI Market Boom?

Key assumptions that are driving the forecast include the prediction that greater than 70% of independent software vendors (ISVs) will have embedded GenAI capabilities in their enterprise applications by 2026, a major jump from fewer than 1% today.

Thirty-nine percent of worldwide organizations will be in the experimentation phase of Gartner’s AI adoption curve by 2025, with 14% being in the expansion phase. Gartner predicts that by 2027, 36% of organizations in the experimentation phase will also start to adopt use cases with high business value but low time-to-financial impact (TOFI).

Another factor driving long-term market growth is how spending on AI software increases with organizational maturity. Gartner notes that organizational maturity is lower today versus the higher hype levels and market interest in AI technologies. As organizations gain greater maturity with AI experimentation, spending will increase.

Source: Gartner, Forecast Analysis: Artificial Intelligence Software, 2023-2027, Worldwide

“We expect to see ongoing demand for more AI enhancements within software applications and more opportunities for providers to deliver software to build AI. However, do not expect these markets to become saturated (where supply outstrips demand) during the forecast period,” Gartner’s analysts write in the forecast analysis.

Application areas growing the fastest

Gartner predicts AI spending on financial management system (FMS) components will be the largest application market overall. FMS supports the office of finance with capabilities for forecasting, planning, cash application and collections, balance reconciliation, and others.

FMS vendors are doubling down on AI already to provide proven productivity and optimization support, integrating AI-based features in their apps and platforms. AI’s inherent advantages quickly lead to quantified performance and productivity gains with FMS systems, which are table stakes for building a solid business case for potential customers.

Digital commerce applications are the highest-growth AI application market. Digital commerce applications are designed to streamline commerce operations and related areas, including optimization, customer segmentation, image categorization, and others. Gartner defines the AI capabilities in digital commerce to include personalization, automated execution, and content generation.

Source: Gartner, Forecast Analysis: Artificial Intelligence Software, 2023-2027, Worldwide

Predicting Generative AI’s Growth

Gartner is predicting that GenAI will eventually become a cornerstone of all AI software spending, reaching 35% of worldwide revenues by 2027.

The report’s authors point to the proliferation of AI copilots being integrated into a wide variety of enterprise systems as a primary catalyst driving this area of the market’s growth. Copilot systems are in use today within email systems, customer support chatbots, and a wide variety of marketing applications, with content creation and personalization vendors fast-tracking copilots into their apps and platforms.

One of the many data points that support the optimistic growth forecast for GenAI is Microsoft’s success with their Microsoft Dynamics 365 Copilot, launched in March of last year. Since then, more than 130,000 organizations have experienced copilot capabilities in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform.

Source: Gartner, Forecast Analysis: Artificial Intelligence Software, 2023-2027, Worldwide

Large Language Models (LLMs) are the growth catalyst natural language platforms need

Gartner is predicting that the data science and AI platform market will see the greatest amount of software spending in the forecast period. They’ve defined the market as including machine learning (ML) platforms and cloud AI developer services. “The data science and AI platforms market is accelerated by the growth of AI and the democratization of technology, where capabilities like ease of use, workflow, collaboration, and deployment provide support for citizen data scientists,” writes Gartner’s analysts in the report.

The leading AI platforms seeing the greatest growth are natural language technologies (which include LLMs), data science and AI platforms, computer vision platforms, and analytics and BI platforms. LLMs will be the fuel that keeps natural language technology-based platforms growing for the next three years. They’re the emerging workhouses of the AI software market.