Generative AI Is Not Ubiquitous In The Business World-Not Yet

While some AI tools racked up users, some firms are proceeding with caution, or not at all

- Richard Vanderford 

ChatGPT and other forms of generative artificial intelligence have experienced meteoric growth, but many businesses are hesitant to rush headlong into the technology.

Tobacco company Reynolds American, for instance, is taking a go-slow approach, testing gen AI in a limited capacity. It is experimenting with using AI to improve analysis of large data sets, but not in high-risk finance applications or in customer-facing roles, said Chief Information Officer Aaron Gwinner.

"There's some inherent risks with gen AI," Gwinner said. "Before we run off and we just start doing AI projects, we need to get the foundations and the basics in place." Microsoft's Copilot, Google's Gemini and OpenAI's ChatGPT have sought to bring generative AI to the business world. Boosters hope the technology will be transformative. Swedish financial-technology company Klarna, for example, in February said a ChatGPT tool now does the work of 700 customer service agents.

But many companies aren't leaping in, just yet.

Broad surveys of business sentiment show many, like Reynolds, are proceeding with caution. U.S. Census Bureau data released in March found only an estimated 5.4% of businesses use AI of any type to produce goods or services. Businesses in the information sector and large businesses use AI more than others, the bureau's data show.