Sixty three percent of businesses in Ireland are to increase their spend on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2024, according to new research from Storm Technology, the digital solutions provider.

The research finds that 59% of IT leaders think their company needs to adopt AI to be competitive over the next three years and 46% of respondents believe their organisation will lose market share/competitive advantage in the next three years if they do not invest effectively in AI.

Average Spend

The study, involving more than 100 IT leaders and decision-makers across larger enterprises and organisation across Ireland, found that the companies investing in AI this year expect to spend an average of €436,500, which indicates a significant increase of 45% compared to the average estimated spend of €301,700 in 2023.

In terms of where businesses in Ireland are currently leveraging AI, 68% implement it for customer service, while 42% apply it to assist with their operations and 38% are deploying it for cross-functional daily tasks.

'Investing Cleverly'

“If Irish organisations truly want to capitalise on the potential that AI offers, they need to deploy not just the solutions that fit their business needs, but also build out the processes and protocols to effectively and ethically manage it, thus establishing trust with staff, customers and suppliers," said CEO of Storm Technology, Karl Flannery.
 
“By investing cleverly and leveraging expert partners, companies can drive innovation and growth by helping staff to be more productive, enhancing creativity and delivering a better customer experience, ultimately reducing operating costs."