Nearly half of the 697 companies that participated in Metrigy’s recent study on artificial intelligence already are using AI for customer interactions, with an additional 33% planning for adoption this year. Indeed, while interest and use of AI for customer interactions has been creeping upwards over the last several years, more companies than ever—38%—say they see this is the year that will be the turning point for them on acceptance for customer engagements.
Interest in and use of AI for employee interactions is moving along a similar trajectory, as our study also showed.
As companies ratchet up their use of AI, they’re likewise building up their internal expertise. In this study, 61% of companies say they have AI experts on their teams. However, nearly 52% also rely on their technology providers, and 37% say the same of resellers, consultants, and integrators.
Metrigy advises that companies deepening their reliance on AI, across customer and employee interactions, consider establishing a cross-organizational AI Center of Excellence. Today, 35.5% of all companies and 50% of the most successful companies in the study, as determined by improvements across a variety of business metrics, already have an AI Center of Excellence. Another 55% of all companies are planning to add a center, in an unspecified timeframe.
What is an AI Center of Excellence? The AI Center of Excellence, comprising people who have complementary skillsets and responsibilities, would be charged with functions such as:
- Providing expertise on AI and machine learning technologies, with guidance for AI decisions
- Establishing best practices, including around data governance
- Facilitating training
- Tracking technology innovations and how they apply to the company to gain efficiencies and drive additional business metrics, including revenue, profitability, customer satisfaction, and employee loyalty
- Solidifying and communicating the company’s AI vision
An AI Center of Excellence will be particularly helpful for the 67.5% of companies that say they generally prefer understanding how technologies work before making selections for solving their business problems and opportunities., vs. the 32.5% that prefer trusting their decisions to tech providers. Having an internal knowledge center with a well-articulated AI buying criteria and an adoption framework is a highly compelling reason to establish an AI Center of Excellence.
Metrigy clients can discover more insights from this study, AI for Business Success 2024-25, here.
