Less than a year after their debut, generative AI tools are proliferating fast among business organisations: the latest McKinsey Global Survey shows one-third of respondents using the tools regularly in at least one business function, and nearly 25% of C-suite executives using them personally for work. That’s just the start: 40% of respondents said their organisations planned to increase their investment in AI.

Just where is AI having the deepest impact? According to the survey, usage is concentrated in the areas of marketing and sales, product and service development, and service operations. In marketing, generative AI is increasingly being employed in generating first drafts for documents, personalised marketing and summarising documents. For product/service development, it has found a role in identifying trends in customer needs.

However, while adoption of AI has been speedy, relatively few organisations are effectively mitigating the risks associated with it. Chief of these is inaccuracy, followed by cybersecurity and regulatory compliance. Just 21% of surveyed companies had policies for employees’ use of AI at work, while only 32% were acting to mitigate inaccuracy.

As for the immediate future, the survey suggests that the companies investing in AI now are set to remain leaders in its usage – but are likely to intensify its use in existing functions rather than proliferate it across their organisations.