Businesses across Asia-Pacific are accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) adoption to lift productivity and revenue growth.
Nine out of 10 organisations plan to use agentic AI models in the next three years, according to tech consultancy Accenture.
Accenture conducted this joint research with Stanford University from January to March 2024, focusing on understanding AI adoption across 1,000 companies from 22 countries, excluding Thailand, which included 250 companies from Asia-Pacific.
"Enterprises are moving beyond experimental phases and are starting to deploy generative AI [GenAI] into production environments," said Ryoji Sekido, co-chief executive for Asia-Pacific at Accenture.
He said the survey found 91% of high-ranking executives in the region are engaged in digital transformation, with 95% planning to heavily invest in AI in the next few years.
However, only 30% of enterprises have successfully scaled their GenAI implementations.
Scaling AI adoption requires three key factors, starting with the digital infrastructure required to effectively support AI.
The second factor is talent, achieved by reskilling employees, while the third is trust or building confidence in AI by ensuring reliable outcomes and maintaining job security, according to Accenture.
Senthil Ramani, Accenture's global lead for data and AI, said sectors with heavy regulatory frameworks, such as banking and insurance, have been early adopters of GenAI.
He said these sectors already made significant investments in data infrastructure and risk controls, making it a natural progression for them to start integrating GenAI into their business processes.
Mr Ramani said the rise of agentic AI brings significant changes to the workforce.
The skills needed to deploy and manage these advanced AI systems are different from traditional roles, and organisations will need to reskill their employees to meet these new demands, he said.
"AI is not just about technology; it's about humanity. To be truly transformative, AI must be ethical, transparent and accountable, ensuring trust at every step," said Vivek Luthra, Accenture's data and AI lead in Asia-Pacific.
Responsible AI
Businesses are eager to scale AI, yet only 1% are confident in their ability to deploy it effectively, he said.
At the core of this challenge is how to ensure responsible AI, a key element for building trust in AI implementations.
To scale AI with confidence, businesses must focus on establishing AI governance and principles, conducting AI risk assessments, and setting systemic enablement for responsible AI testing, said Mr Luthra.
They must also focus on tracking performance and compliance of AI models continuously and create workforce readiness and impact management through the provision of training, while maintaining data privacy and security, he said.
These actions are critical as companies aim to increase responsible AI investments from 10% to 50% over the next two years, said Mr Luthra.
Tassanai Chutikanon, Accenture's AI lead for Thailand, said it is important to establish comprehensive AI regulations as Thailand advances its AI capabilities through initiatives such as the national AI strategy and action plan.
He said Accenture developed a framework to help organisations quickly assess the impact of new regulations and meet compliance requirements.
