- According to new research by Dataiku, more than half of non-tech employees at UK firms can now work with AI to attain business goals
According to research run by Everyday AI company Dataiku, UK firms are increasingly using low-code or no-code AI solutions, broadening accessibility to a technology that has traditionally been the remit of machine learning experts and data scientists.
The survey, which polled 200 UK senior decision makers across the enterprise*, was also run in France, The Netherlands, Germany, and the UAE. It identified a growing trend of data and AI use outside of data science teams, with 54% of UK leaders surveyed agreeing that their business users and domain experts have full access to data and AI to attain business goals, and a further 43% indicating they have at least some access.
According to Dataiku Field Chief Data Officer Shaun McGirr, the research illustrates an encouraging trend in enabling a wider range of people to contribute to the development and use of AI within the enterprise, bringing together individuals from different departments with different skill sets:
“What we’re seeing in the UK is that both data and domain experts now have the appropriate tools to contribute to the development of AI, which has for a long time been the future vision for how employees should be able to work with data across the enterprise. AI is no longer the sole remit of data scientists: now, the work of developing and using AI is being shared amongst people with different skills and expertise to support AI-driven transformation. It’s reducing the time needed to realise value from AI, and helping to increase confidence in AI products that are produced by many more people.”
AI drives momentum in the UK, despite an economic downturn
UK companies were also asked about the scope of their investment in AI, and how much of their total tech budgets they currently invest in AI. Sixteen percent of companies indicated they have invested 1-25% of their tech budget in AI, and 44% said they have invested 26-50%. A further 30% said they have invested between 51-75% of their tech budgets in AI, and 10.5% said they have invested between 76-100%.
When asked if they are leveraging AI to its full capacity, the majority of companies (78%) surveyed across the UK indicated they are using AI to its fullest, and 84% of firms indicated that they are able to fully measure the ROI of their AI investments. Ninety-six percent of companies said that they felt AI could help their companies be more resilient in the face of a recession.
The survey also looked to gauge the continued momentum of AI across the UK. While leaders indicated that business acceleration (51%) and staying ahead of the competition (37%) were their original top reasons for investing in AI, their AI business goals showed a marked change when asked about the future. When asked what the top three business goals companies were looking to achieve with AI over the next five years, competitive advantage won out (53%), followed by innovation (53%), and increased revenue (48%.)
* Companies of 500 employees and above.
