Lack of clarity around regulation biggest obstacle to AI adoption

A new global survey from Freshworks reveals that despite 65% of business leaders in the UK trusting AI to bring value to their workplace, more than a third (35%) feel that a lack of clarity around regulation is the biggest obstacle they face to adopting AI.

The new research of over 7,000 senior decision makers and managers in 12 countries, including 2,500 from the UK, Germany, France and Netherlands, explores the sentiments, use and value of using AI-enhanced tools in the workplace.

Seeing the value, but slow to adopt

UK business leaders estimate that using AI helps reduce their workloads by 3 hours and 7 minutes in an average working week, with 11% claiming AI saves them more than 9 hours a week. Despite this, more than a third (37%) of UK business leaders admitted they currently have no plans to integrate AI into the workplace – with 8% even admitting they do not know if they currently used the tools.

According to senior decision makers and managers across the UK, unclear AI regulation was the main obstacle holding them back from adopting AI tools, with the UK more concerned about regulatory clarity than any other region in the world. Business leaders in the UK were also the least likely to expect an instant return from AI, instead expecting a timeline of between 1 to 2 years before AI software would have enough business impact to prove it's worth, suggesting UK business leaders expect a longer-term approach to AI tools.

Trust and adoption of AI

UK business leaders were also the most concerned about security and lack of testing with AI. Nonetheless, nearly 2 thirds (65%) of respondents either completely or mostly trusted AI to bring value to the business and 70% said they would trust AI even more if human review of its outputs was mandatory - echoing global sentiments. Despite concerns about AI bias, 4 in 10 (44%) business leaders in the UK actually trusted in AI’s ability to remove human bias.

Many uses for AI-enhanced tools

UK respondents shared that they mainly use AI-enhanced software applications for writing or creating content (43%), data analysis (39%) and researching/brainstorming (35%). 44% feel their work is easier to complete with AI enhanced tools with 42% suggesting they get more work done and over a third (37%) claiming they are excited to use the new technology.

Skills shortages and job concerns persist

Despite nearly half (49%) of business leaders and managers in the UK considering themselves knowledgeable or experts on AI – a lack of skills within teams was cited as one of the biggest obstacles to AI adoption by a fifth of respondents (23%).

Nearly half (46%) of UK business leaders fear that AI will end up replacing a large amount of the workforce in their field - a sentiment shared by global counterparts. Two thirds (66%) admitted they are looking for ways to grow their AI skill set to stay as marketable as possible .Despite these concerns, respondents understand the value people bring to the workplace. The majority (70.5%) of UK respondents feel AI will never be able to completely replace human workers.

Measuring AI's impact

Increased quality of work (89%) productivity gains (88%), reduced need for other software (82%) and improved customer engagement (80%) ranked the most important measures of AI’s business impact. 4 in 10 (40%) believe AI software is already providing a better return on investment than other software their business had implemented.

AI-enhanced tools are transforming workflows, productivity and performance in the workplace the world over. While the adoption of such tools vary between countries, the potential it presents is irrefutable.

“This report exemplifies that AI is delivering tremendous productivity gains at enterprise scale,” said Freshworks Chief Product Officer, Prakash Ramamurthy. “Knowledge workers are also seeing strong productivity gains at work, which in turn is sparking strong employee interest in mastering AI skills. Make no mistake, the AI era is firmly delivering on its promise to free up employees for higher-level work and showcasing compelling returns on AI. Leaders across industries perceive AI as a transformative technology capable of delivering significant business impact, from enhanced decision-making and increased operational efficiencies to personalized customer experiences and innovative product development.”