Accenture: The Art of AI Maturity

While the majority of businesses using artificial intelligence (AI) are still experimenting with the technology, only 12% are using it to the point where they are mature enough to gain a strong competitive advantage, according to new global research from Accenture.

The study found that the median AI maturity of enterprises is 36 points, indicating that most companies have a great opportunity to create greater value through AI. A small number of enterprises (12%) have already used artificial intelligence to surpass their competitors. This group, called AI achievers, scored 64 on the maturity scale, almost twice as high as others, and achieved revenue growth 50% higher than their peers.

The analysis further revealed that most companies (63%) are AI Experimenters, only scratching the surface of AI’s potential, with an AI Maturity Score of 29. AI Innovators (13%) scored 50, and AI Builders (12%) scored 44.

Examples of current and projected future states of AI maturity by industry include:

• Technology companies’ already high AI maturity score of 54 will rise modestly to 60 by 2024, still positioning them at the top of AI maturity across all industries.
• In contrast, automakers and suppliers will jump from 39 points today to 57 points in two years.
• Similarly, retail companies’ AI maturity will grow from 38 today to 54 by 2024.

Regardless of industry, the impact of AI on business is growing and accelerating. The likelihood of a share price increase for the world’s largest companies that discussed AI on their 2021 earnings calls grew 40%, up from 23% in 2018. In addition, investments in AI are increasing. In 2021, 19% of companies surveyed will spend more than 30% of their technology budgets on AI projects. By 2024, the percentage of companies investing more than 30% of their technology budgets in AI will grow to 49%.

Machine learning models suggest that the share of AI achievers will rapidly grow from the current 12% to 27% by 2024. The overall AI maturity score will rise from 36 to 50 in the same time frame.

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