Searce Study Finds AI Spend Soars on Account of AI Optimism

There is a continued optimism when it comes to enterprise AI, with businesses globally spending millions this year on AI initiatives to boost digital transformations.

A global study by Searce reveals overwhelming AI-induced optimism, but the largest concern for US and UK IT professionals remains data security and a lack of qualified talent. The report, 2024 State of AI, indicates that organisations are continuing to make significant investments into AI in 2024 and plan to spend more than US$25m.

While the research highlights a continued focus on AI investments, concerns remain. For US-based decision-makers, data privacy and security (20%) is ranked as the number one hurdle. Likewise, those in the UK rank a lack of qualified talent (19%) as their primary challenge.

Capitalising on the AI hype

The research by Searce examines some of the largest AI-related trends, successes and challenges facing businesses in their AI decision-making, strategy and execution. 

More broadly, AI continues to hold much public interest, particularly due to the impact of models that have created large-scale impact such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Google’s Gemini. 

Within the workplace, business leaders across multiple industries have been eager to trial the technology and explore further use cases. In March 2024, research by Elastic found that AI investments were set to increase throughout the year. This, along with Searce’s findings, confirm that organisations want to remain competitive and use the latest AI.

Budgets are expected to keep increasing, particularly around generative AI (Gen AI). Roughly one-third of businesses in the UK (31%) and the US (35%) are already investing in AI to drive new business growth, according to Searce. 

“As global investments in AI continue to rise, as our research has found, it is crucial for businesses to focus not just on spending, but on the tangible returns these investments can deliver. Strategic AI adoption can transform operations and drive significant growth,” says Julian Mulhare, Managing Director, EMEA, at Searce.

Businesses ready to pounce on new AI opportunities

According to Searce, the majority (96%) of survey participants view AI adoption as a crucial business priority, with 92% rating the success rate of their AI initiatives as ‘successful’. As a result, 31% state they are planning to increase their AI spend by 26-50%, depending on the organisation. 

These findings are significant, particularly as the UK continues to be an AI leader across Europe. In fact, SAS found earlier in the year that 70% of organisations in the UK are using Gen AI technology, outpacing the US (65%) and Australia (63%).

As a result, businesses within the region are eager to continue full steam ahead in order to remain competitive in AI.

“From speaking with our European clients, we also know how much pressure businesses face to keep up with the latest technological demands,” Julian adds. 

Whilst AI use is becoming inevitable, some organisations are struggling to adopt AI evenly, with many confronting challenges such as growing talent gaps. In order to increase productivity and enhance enterprise decision-making, companies will benefit from investing in building up their teams and supporting their staff.

“A lot of the findings in our research reflect some of those conversations including the challenges to AI adoption,” Julian says. “Lack of qualified talent has been something we’ve been talking about since our inception in 2004 and is why many businesses come to us to help plug that internal skills gap – key for empowering teams by making work better, and people happier.” 

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