Generative AI On The Rise: 93% Of Companies To Boost Spending, US May Fall Behind

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Over the last two years, companies have been faced with questions on spending and business opportunities related to increasing use cases of artificial intelligence.

A new study reveals how much growth companies could put into generative artificial intelligence spending.

What Happened: Interest and investments in artificial intelligence soared over the last year, thanks to the rise of ChatGPT and a $10 billion investment in the company's parent OpenAI by technology giant Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT).

While companies like Microsoft, Google, Meta Platforms and Apple are spending aggressively on the artificial intelligence market, thousands more small to mid-size companies might also be increasing their spending, according to a new survey from Lucidworks.

The study, which was released Thursday, shows that 93% of companies around the world plan to increase their artificial intelligence spending in the next twelve months.

Lucidworks, which is a leading search solutions provider, found several trends among the results from over 6,000 companies with 100 or more employees who were polled on their spending plans.

One trend identified is that leaders in certain industries reported plans to increase spending on AI over the next 12 months.

  • Entertainment and Media: 96%
  • Consumer Products: 96%
  • Technology: 96%
  • Construction and Real Estate: 95%
  • Transportation: 94%
  • Financial Services: 94%
  • Manufacturing: 93%
  • Professional Services: 93%
  • Energy: 92%
  • Education: 89%
  • Food and Beverage: 88%
  • Healthcare: 88%
  • Hospitality and Tourism: 86%
The results show that industries like entertainment, media, consumer products and technology are more likely to increase spending on generative AI than the average company. Other sectors like food and beverage and healthcare are less likely to increase spending on generative AI.

The poll results reveal that companies in the technology, entertainment, and media sectors are among the most advanced in utilizing generative AI. These industries have a higher frequency of companies ranked as 'AI Leaders' compared to other sectors.

Another trend identified by the survey results was increased concerns over generative artificial intelligence. Companies that were not planning to increase spending on generative artificial intelligence over the next 12 months had quadruple the number of concerns as companies that were increasing spending.

The largest concern among companies polled was far and away security. Other top concerns of company leaders regarding increased generative artificial intelligence were transparency, accuracy, response and job displacement.

United States Lagging Behind In Spending: The survey polled leaders of companies from around the world and found that not all countries are expected to increase their spending on generative artificial intelligence.

Here's a look at how the countries rank based on if they will increase spending in the next 12 months and where the companies are headquartered:

  • China: 100%
  • India: 98%
  • Australia: 96%
  • France: 95%
  • United Kingdom: 94%
  • Germany: 92%
  • United States: 92%
  • Japan: 80%
The United States ranked slightly below the global average of 93%, which could indicate that the country will be behind when it comes to spending on artificial intelligence. The results show that companies based in China and India are more likely to increase their spending, which could potentially give them an advantage in the future.