In 2020, companies around the world spend about $50 M on artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. By 2024, IDC predicts that will more than double to $110 B. Companies are flocking to AI for two main reasons: to improve customer service and to help employees do their jobs better.
According to IDC’s Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Spending Guide, there are 27 AI use cases. The top four use cases—which make up almost a third of the 2020 AI spend—are automated customer service agents, sales process recommendation and automation, automated threat intelligence and prevention and IT automation.
Over the next four years, the USA is expected to account for more than half of the forecasted AI spending, followed by western Europe and China. While IDC reports that 19 industries will be involved in this AI growth, the industries that will spend the most on AI technology are retail and banking.
With this growth, AI is no longer optional. Ritu Jyoti, program vice president of artificial intelligence at IDC says, “AI is the technology that will help businesses to be agile, innovate, and scale. The companies that become ‘AI powered’ will have the ability to synthesize information … the capacity to learn … and the capability to deliver insights at scale.”
