Although artificial intelligence (AI) promises promising efficiency gains, according to a survey by market research and analysis company Gartner, a number of organizations are struggling to translate investments in traditional and generative AI into significant improvements in employee productivity.
The Gartner survey of 724 respondents from various business units from June to August 2024 found that of the teams primarily using traditional AI, 37% reported 'high' productivity gains, while teams using generative AI scored slightly lower at 34%.
"Despite the excitement about the expected aspects of AI, its impact on productivity is mixed," said Randeep Rathindran, Distinguished Vice President Research Gartner Finance Practice. "This ultimately leads to conditions that some refer to as the 'AI productivity paradox'." While AI has the potential to increase productivity in certain areas of the company, such as call centers or marketing teams, it is more difficult to achieve cross-divisional, organizational benefits. Smaller effects are to be expected in the legal and HR departments, for example. According to Randeep Rathindran, CFOs should reassess their expectations regarding the actual impact of AI on employee productivity and headcount: "The most successful teams approach AI with an openness to learning, exploring new use cases and maximizing the proportion of value-adding tasks, rather than fearing that jobs will be displaced."
