Gen AI now top priority for Singaporean business leaders

Salesforce has published its research report, "C-suite Perspectives on Generative AI Singapore," highlighting the increasing prioritisation of generative AI among Singapore's top executives. The study indicates that 87% of C-suite executives rank generative AI as one of their top three business priorities.

The survey, which sampled opinions from 221 executives of large businesses across Singapore, discovered that nearly half (48%) of these leaders have already formulated a clear and defined generative AI strategy. An additional 47% are in the developmental stages of crafting such a strategy for their organisations.

The research underscores the pressing need for businesses to adopt AI technologies promptly. It suggests that companies delaying AI implementation may rapidly lose ground to competitors. As businesses progress from simple chatbots to more sophisticated autonomous AI agents, these advanced systems are envisioned to function as trusted digital colleagues rather than mere assistants.

The motivations for embracing generative AI are multifaceted. According to the report, 43% of executives are driven by the desire to be seen at the cutting edge of technology adoption. Remaining competitive is another crucial factor, cited by 42% of respondents. Another 42% emphasised the goal of delivering innovative customer and employee experiences.

Leadership plays a pivotal role in the successful integration of generative AI. The CEO is regarded as primarily responsible for successful AI integration in 42% of the cases, followed by the Chief Information Officer (CIO) or Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at 31%, and department heads at 18%.

Generative AI is anticipated to have a significant impact across various business sectors. The surveyed executives identified information technology (40%), operations (33%), finance (29%), and customer service (28%) as the areas likely to benefit the most from AI integration.

Despite the widespread enthusiasm for generative AI, there are notable barriers to its adoption that remain. A significant 95% of C-suite executives noted challenges in this area. Accessibility and inclusivity were identified as barriers by 43% of respondents. A lack of skill-building or training opportunities was a concern for 33%, while the use of incomplete customer or company data to train AI models was cited by 31%. Another 31% pointed to a lack of governance, and 28% highlighted the issue of generative AI producing inaccurate outputs.

Sujith Abraham, Senior Vice President and General Manager for ASEAN at Salesforce, commented on the crucial role of data in AI initiatives. "Every conversation I have with business leaders about AI inevitably comes back to data and overcoming silos to increase the impact and accuracy of AI. Without building a cohesive view of the customer, Generative AI initiatives will fall short," he stated.

Salesforce has developed several innovations to support businesses in their AI journeys. These include the Einstein Service Agent and Einstein Sales Agents, both integrated into the Einstein 1 Platform and powered by Data Cloud. These tools aim to boost productivity, enrich customer relationships, and uphold data security and privacy through the Einstein Trust Layer.

The methodology for the research report involved commissioning YouGov to conduct a double-anonymous online survey. The survey was carried out from 16th to 23rd July 2024 and gathered insights from 221 C-suite executives across various departments in companies with 250 or more employees.