Financial services and insurance lead the way in AI adoption

A CreditorWatch report analysing the way Australian businesses are adopting new technologies found that the most common use for artificial intelligence (AI) in financial services and insurance businesses was new product or service development, with 38 per cent reportedly using AI in this area.

Almost a third (31 per cent) of financial services and insurance businesses also reported using AI for sales and marketing analytics, administration and documentation, and idea generation.

Meanwhile, a quarter said they used AI for content creation and editing for social media, customer and client service chatbots, the automation of routine activities, and employee recruitment tasks, such as screening job applications.

According to the firm’s findings, over the last 12 months, larger businesses have led the charge on adopting new technologies, with 89 per cent having adopted such innovations over the past year.

From an industry perspective, business/professional services took the lead in implementing AI, with almost half (49 per cent) of this sector’s respondents reportedly adopting the technology, followed by the financial services and insurance sector with 39 per cent, and health and education (34 per cent).

Looking at the successful use of these technologies, 95 per cent of respondents expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of their AI adoption, while financial services and insurance were the “most enthusiastic”, with 69 per cent reporting being very satisfied.

Furthermore, medium-sized businesses reported the greatest satisfaction with 98 per cent, followed by sole traders (95 per cent), and large businesses (94 per cent).

Despite the high level of satisfaction among those who have implemented AI in their businesses, only 35 per cent of businesses surveyed reported having implemented AI in the past 12 months.

“Across all businesses, limited financial resources emerged as the leading obstacle to more successful digital transformation (32 per cent), followed by concerns around cyber security (27 per cent) and a lack of time or capacity (25 per cent),” CreditorWatch said.

An additional challenge noted by large businesses was a “lack of skilled employees with appropriate skills and capabilities”, with 31 per cent reporting this as a barrier.

Speaking on the research findings, CreditorWatch chief executive Patrick Coghlan said it was “encouraging to see so many businesses adopting AI and other advanced technologies”.

“However, the fact that nearly half of businesses haven’t implemented any of these technologies highlights the ongoing barriers, such as limited financial resources and concerns on cyber security, which are holding many back from realising the benefits that can be achieved through digital transformation,” Coghlan said.

“In today’s economic climate, where businesses are under pressure from a range of external factors, digitally transforming and optimising operations with the support of futuristic technologies can help deliver cost savings and competitive advantage.”