AI spending expected to exceed 52% beyond IT budgets, study says

ISTANBUL

A report by the IBM's Institute for Business Value (IBV) on Tuesday said retail and consumer product executives surveyed are significantly shifting attention to artificial intelligence (AI), with respondents predicting a 52% increase in spending outside traditional IT operations in the coming year.

By 2025, retail and consumer products companies surveyed said they plan to allocate an average of 3.32% of their revenue to AI – an equivalent of $33.2 million annually for a $1 billion company.

The report indicated that 81% of surveyed executives and 96% of their teams already use AI at moderate or significant levels.

Surveyed executives anticipate that 31% of employees will need to acquire new skills for working with AI in the next year, rising to 45% in the next three years.

Investment in ecosystem platforms and solutions enabling the exchange of data and AI models, could see a significant jump.

"AI is no longer just a tool; it's a strategic imperative," said Dee Waddell, a global industry leader, consumer, travel and transportation industries leader at the IBV.

The report said successful brands can shift from treating AI as a productivity tool to recognizing it as a primary catalyst for enterprise-wide innovation. Accomplishing the shift will demand reimagining traditional governance models and adopting new reskilling approaches.

ISTANBUL

By 2025, retail and consumer products companies surveyed said they plan to allocate an average of 3.32% of their revenue to AI – an equivalent of $33.2 million annually for a $1 billion company.

The report indicated that 81% of surveyed executives and 96% of their teams already use AI at moderate or significant levels.

Surveyed executives anticipate that 31% of employees will need to acquire new skills for working with AI in the next year, rising to 45% in the next three years.

Investment in ecosystem platforms and solutions enabling the exchange of data and AI models, could see a significant jump.

"AI is no longer just a tool; it's a strategic imperative," said Dee Waddell, a global industry leader, consumer, travel and transportation industries leader at the IBV.