Nearly nine in ten (89%) respondents reported increased productivity while using AI tools during the workday.
This is the final installment of our four-part blog series examining the 2024 State of Generative AI Use and Impact Report and its implications for both PR and marketing professionals as well as the technology industry at large. Follow the links to read blogs one, two, and three.
As discussed in our previous post, Generative AI (GenAI) tool adoption is set to measurably increase over the next year. In fact, nine in ten (90.5%) of respondents expect their organizations to use GenAI tools much more or somewhat more frequently in 2024 than in 2023. And 90% of respondents have either recommended, or had decision-makers within their organization advocate for, integrating AI tools into various work tasks. We wanted to take a closer look at what exactly is driving this adoption by digging a little deeper into how businesses are using or plan to use GenAI.
Unsurprisingly, GenAI tools are seen as significant drivers of productivity. However, the degree of perceived impact was notable. Nearly nine in ten (89%) respondents reported increased productivity while using AI tools during the workday, with over one quarter (27%) anticipating increased business productivity by 61-81% through the use of AI tools. Perhaps a sign of early success with GenAI, 35% of respondents plan to incorporate GenAI into a staggering 81-100% of their work over the next five years. This would be an absolutely transformative shift in how work gets done.
Looking a little deeper, customer service and support and IT were the two departments most identified as the primary beneficiaries of GenAI tools followed closely by marketing. This reflects AI’s versatility in driving operational improvements across diverse business functions, from streamlining development and IT tasks to optimizing customer interactions.
The top three potential use cases that respondents identified as those that would benefit most from GenAI include: data analysis and reporting (41.5%); research and discovery (34%); and time and project management (30%). When it comes to preferred AI tools for work tasks, ChatGPT emerged as the frontrunner, with 70.5% of respondents expressing their intention to use it, followed by Google Bard/Gemini/Duet (32.5%) and Microsoft Copilot (29%).
GenAI Comes to the Marketing Department
So what does all this mean for PR and marketing organizations?
First, PR professionals and marketers are users of GenAI tools. Marketing was one of the top three responses given when study participants were asked where they saw AI tools being used within their businesses. We are not surprised. As an agency that likes to really dig into technology, we have been busy working to see for ourselves just what these tools can do. Enter MG Labs—our R&D testing team dedicated to uncovering the most impactful uses of emerging technology for our people and our clients. The fundamental question we are trying to answer with MG Labs is, what is the ideal partnership between Gen AI and human talent? We invite you to follow along with us as we evaluate and share our experiences with Gen AI applications across the marketing and PR stack—from content generation to video production to earned media measurement and digital marketing.
In addition, we’ve seen that buyers are actively seeking out real-world user case studies. Study respondents indicated a clear preference for certain types of information about AI platforms and tools, with case studies ranking second (20%) to the top response of general trends about AI for business (27%). In a notably hot and exciting market, business leaders are looking for creative ways to use AI to gain a competitive advantage (and avoid falling behind!) while technology decision-makers likely want to ground some of the hype with more details about what peer organizations are actually accomplishing with GenAI today. The good news is that the sheer diversity of tasks and business functions where AI is being used and considered provides a wealth of opportunities for creative marketers to uncover interesting stories that meet both needs. We expect to see a lot more real-word case studies over the next year and we look forward to working with our clients to showcase the innovative ways their customers are using AI tools.
It’s clear that the way we work is not only forever changed, but forever changing. As technology communicators and technology users ourselves, we are excited about the path ahead. But we believe navigating all of this change intelligently requires a focused effort and, with the creation of our AI Technology Practice Group, we’ve given the right people the needed resources to meet the challenge. We encourage you to reach out to them today to learn more about how Merritt Group can help your AI technology business stand out in this rapidly growing market.
Ready to learn how you can begin making an impact in the exciting world of AI? Reach out to our AI Technology Practice Group to see how we can help you break through the AI market noise to capture audience attention and drive results.
