AI Efficiency in Business » EY Big Report | E

ShTo fully realize the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), companies must prioritize building employee skills. Assessing AI readiness is critical to identifying gaps and allocating resources effectively. Building comprehensive capabilities involves not only investing in cutting-edge technologies, but also cultivating a data-driven culture and nurturing talent with expertise in AI in all its manifestations, from machine learning to large language models.

With our new study,EY European AI Barometer 2024“Let’s take a look at the current situation: Employees in Switzerland (58%) are the most confident about the possibilities of implementing AI in their companies. In Italy, too, the majority (52%) confirm that their employer has the knowledge and willingness to deal with the AI ​​transformation. In contrast, employees in Germany (34%) and Portugal (35%) are more skeptical about their companies’ ability to implement and use AI. In Austria, people are also skeptical about this topic (37%).

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When analyzed by sector, employees in private equity (71%), financial services (66%), and energy, advanced manufacturing and mobility (both 62%) are confident that their employers will continue to transform AI. Most employees in Switzerland (57%) expect AI to be a top investment priority in the coming year, followed by Spain (54%). The outlook for AI investment is less positive in Germany – here only 25% of respondents expect AI to be a priority. In Austria, the figure is even lower at 22%.

Respondents see new software (35%) and workforce skills (33%) as their companies’ top investment priorities when it comes to AI. Interestingly, forecasting capabilities rank low on the list of investment priorities. This may come as a surprise given the potential that AI-driven predictions are already showing in many sectors is highly accurate.