the single largest category of functions where gen AI was being used as of April 2023 was marketing and sales, at 14%, according to McKinsey.
McKinsey and Company is no stranger to generative artificial intelligence (gen AI): around half of the global consulting giant’s employees were said to be using the technology as of earlier this summer.
But it’s not the only org to see a rapid uptake of gen AI. Indeed, a new annual report by McKinsey’s AI arm QuantumBlack finds that “use of gen AI is already widespread.”
McKinsey reached this conclusion by conducting an online survey of 1,684 participants across various regions, industries and company sizes between April 11 and 21, 2023. The majority (79%) of respondents reported “at least some exposure to gen AI, either for work or outside of work,” while 22% said they were using it regularly for their work.
Those findings echo VentureBeat’s own informal survey conducted ahead of our VB Transform conference in San Francisco last month, which found that more than 70% of companies are already experimenting with gen AI. Who is using gen AI and where?
Ok, so we know companies and individuals are getting their hands on gen AI, but who is using it the most, and for what? McKinsey’s new report provides some insights worth calling out.
So far, North America-based respondents lead the globe in terms of gen AI adoption for work, with 28% of them using the tech in their jobs and outside of work, compared to 24% of European respondents and 22% of Asia-Pacific respondents (Greater China was just 19%).
