Gen AI spending now higher than security investment for many businesses

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Nine in 10 organizations now use AI in some capacity, AWS finds

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  • AWS study finds 90% of businesses use AI, with spend now surpassing security
  • Three in five have already appointed a Chief AI Officer
  • Budgets and uncertainty could hinder training efforts

Spending on generative AI has surpassed cybersecurity, with financial services, ICT, manufacturing and retail all looking to adopt the technology, new research has claimed.

As a result, three in five organizations have now appointed a Chief AI Officer (CAIO) or similar to oversee their strategy, the latest Generative AI Adoption Index from cloud computing giant AWS found.

According to the report, almost all (90%) organizations are using GenAI in some capacity, with 44% already having moved from experimentation to full implementation.

GenAI spending has surpassed security spending

AWS's report explores the different ways companies are planning to go about deploying AI, with half as many companies again planning to build their own custom apps using existing models (58%) as those using off-the-shelf tools (40%).

An equally high number of businesses will also use fine-tuned models based on their own proprietary data. (55%), but on the whole, a hybrid of building and buying AI tools appears to be favored.

Over half (56%) or the companies surveyed also noted that they already have internal AI training programs, but that figure is expected to jump by 19 percentage points to 75% by the end of 2025. However, with constrained budgets and uncertainty about how to go about defining precise AI skillsets, it's clear that companies will be spending time finding their feet before workers might feel fully supported.

Still, 92% of companies are requiring AI skills during recruitment in 2025, demonstrating a huge opportunity for workers to upskill and prepare for an evolving workplace.

An additional one in four (26%) also plan to adopt more AI over the next year, showing how leadership roles are developing to handle AI as well as humans – a sentiment felt by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who believes the current and next generations of CEOs will need to manage AI agents alongside humans.

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Craig Hale
Craig Hale

With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!

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