How do you uncover growth opportunities as GenAI evolves?

Many are taking a wait-and-see approach. But given the speed of development, organisations need to be more hands-on with GenAI, experimenting with each new iteration and understanding where it can best be used. This requires being 'fit for the future' - recognising that an interconnected ecosystem of activities (experimentation, training, adoption, strategic perspective, corporate agility, and more) is crucial for maximising the benefits of any rapidly evolving core technology.

Some of the clients we’ve worked with most closely are not measuring return on investment solely in financial terms. They place increasing value on the learnings and insights gained from using the technology in real-world situations. This shift in perspective underscores the importance of understanding AI’s broader impact on business strategy. It also comes at a time when 47% of CIOs told the 2024 Gartner AI Survey that AI is struggling to meet their ROI expectations, suggesting that historical ways of measuring ROI may no longer be fit for purpose. There’s increasingly a need for organisations to evaluate both hard and soft metrics, ranging from the traditional such as cost savings, revenue growth and productivity gains, to things such as employee satisfaction and retention, brand enhancement, innovation rate, risk mitigation, and more.

These leading companies don’t see AI as just an addition to their technology stack but an opportunity to remain competitive, or even get ahead of competitors. Once they adopt that mindset, the trepidation of knowing where to start or where to go subsides.

Returning to agentic AI as an example - it may feel unfamiliar when first introduced to an organisation. But by bringing in the technology at an early stage, individuals have more runway to familiarise themselves with how it works, and understand the opportunities and limitations. It will also give risk teams a better chance of successfully transforming the necessary AI governance procedures and guardrails to ensure trust in its use and applications.

Successful integration and deployment of AI hinges on finding the right partners and developing skill sets. Organisations may need to navigate a complex ecosystem of vendors and models, selecting those that align with strategic goals. Building internal capabilities and fostering partnerships with AI experts are essential steps in this journey. For some, the relevant skills may already exist in-house. Others may need to upskill individuals across the organisation or partner with third parties that can bring that expertise into the business.

At PwC, we’ve accelerated our own GenAI journey to equip more than 15,000 of our UK staff with AI skills and tools. By treating ourselves as ‘client zero’, we not only gained significant insight into the potential of this technology, but fundamentally transformed how we operate in some areas of the business.

In our work with clients, we’re using GenAI to complement the expertise of our people - analysing, summarising and contextualising vast amounts of data, such as during fraud detection and internal audits. This has significantly enhanced productivity and the value we provide. We’re able to process extensive datasets quickly and accurately to offer deeper insights and more effective solutions, transforming tasks such as procurement and sales supply chain management. In strategy and advisory work, we can augment decision-making with proprietary data, layering AI on top to make more logical decisions, ensure greater governance and build trust.

The benefits of AI have long been clear. But as we head into a new era where GenAI and more sophisticated solutions become readily available, organisations must see AI as a significant opportunity to remain competitive. For many, successful integration and deployment may require a change of approach. That might be finding the right partners, developing the necessary skills and embracing a culture of experimentation. Only then will organisations gain the valuable insights they need to drive future innovation and new sources of growth, and realise the potential it offers.