ABBYY Survey Reveals FOMO Drives AI Adoption in 67% of Manufacturers

• Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) a key driver for AI uptake according to 67% of respondents
• Small language models (SLMs) considered the most trustworthy type of AI at 92%
• Biggest concern about AI use is lack of talent and expertise

New research from intelligent automation company ABBYY finds that manufacturers’ fear of missing out (FOMO) plays a significant factor in artificial intelligence (AI) investment, with 67% of manufacturing companies reporting they are worried their organization will be left behind if they don’t use it.

In addition, the ABBYY State of Intelligent Automation Report AI Trust Barometer found that the other big drivers for investment are to increase efficiency and customer service (65%) with 47% admitting pressure from customers also played a part because clients expect it.

An overwhelming 87% of IT leaders in the manufacturing sector report that they trust AI to benefit their business. Within this, the top most popular tools are generative AI such as large language models, chatbots, digital assistants and ChatGPT (71%), followed by machine learning (55%) and purpose-built AI such as intelligent document processing (52%).

However, there are concerns about the current and future use of AI, with lack of expertise and talent (43%) being the biggest worry among manufacturers – one of the highest compared with the other sectors surveyed. Technical complexity (37%) is also a concern for manufacturers, as well as legal and compliance risks (36%). Of those who do not trust the technology, the main fear was cybersecurity and data breaches (53%) and reliability and accuracy of data (51%).

Despite this, 91% of IT leaders in manufacturing say they plan to increase investment in AI next year, with almost a quarter (24%) pledging to raise their budgets by 21-30%, perhaps due to the fact that 85% are already seeing results from AI use.

On the subject of ethical and trustworthy AI, 93% of manufacturers are confident their company is following all government regulations on the use of AI, yet only 59% admit they have policies in place that their product, security, and/or compliance teams adhere to.

Maxime Vermeir, Senior Director of AI Strategy at ABBYY, commented, “It’s interesting to see that IT leaders in manufacturing trust small language models the most, perhaps due to the issue of hallucinations and inaccurate information reported by generative AI and large language models.

“This indicates that the market is maturing as purpose-built tools and systems like IDP are increasingly incorporated into AI strategies. Manufacturers can use purpose-built AI in tandem with LLM-powered solutions to address specific business needs, increasing trust.”

He added, “Lack of expertise in implementing AI is a concern for manufacturers, and the skill gap may hinder their progress as AI becomes more widespread in other sectors. To effectively integrate AI, manufacturers should upskill employees through training, as well as investing in hiring specialists in AI. Developing their expertise in AI will unlock the extensive benefits of AI for manufacturers.”

Top departments where AI is used in manufacturing:

• Marketing & Operations (customs processing, warehousing, supply chain management) (47%)
• Sales (40%)
• Accounts payable (34%)
• Finance administration (31%)
• Compliance (28%)

The ABBYY State of Intelligent Automation Report AI Trust Barometer gauged the level of trust and adoption of AI technologies across 1,200 IT decision makers in the UK, US, France, Germany, Australia and Singapore. The study was carried out June 3-12, 2024. Download the full free report for additional details here.