• About 60 per cent of Canadian organizations that have adopted AI, have limited to no AI strategy in place to guide deployment, risks and expected value.

• Reducing and automating tasks is the top GenAI use case amongst Canadian businesses, followed by drafting and editing documents.

• Improved quality of product (54 per cent) and a decreased time to market (52 per cent) have been cited as key return on investment areas for early GenAI adopters.

MONTRéAL, Nov. 14, 2024 /CNW/ - According to a new Bell study released today, about 60 per cent of Canadian businesses that have adopted AI have limited to no AI governance strategy in place to guide deployment, risks and expected value. While more professionals are leveraging AI at work, there is a growing need for Canadian businesses to have strategic support to maximize the benefits and manage risks.

Bell's study, "Navigating the Generative AI and Cybersecurity Journey" brings together survey findings from 600 business leaders, information technology and security professionals of medium to large-scale enterprises from diverse industries. The findings illustrate how organizations have adopted GenAI in the workplace, and where they have found the technology most beneficial. The report also offers a clear view of the apparent threats AI may bring to businesses, and how organizations can implement early safeguards to avoid pitfalls.

The 2024 study found:

• Canadian professionals have warmed up to using GenAI. Tools like ChatGPT, have made the use of AI a habit. Bell found 71 per cent of professionals at medium to large enterprises are using GenAI to some degree, and 41 per cent use it on a regular basis.

• The retail industry leads in GenAI adoption. While some industries are still in the exploratory phase of determining the best use cases for GenAI, retail has leaned in, adopting the technology for production use, including customer-facing applications and inventory management. Retail is followed by manufacturing and infrastructure/media, together making up the top three industries of early GenAI adopters.

• Early GenAI adopters are concerned about cybersecurity threats. One third of Canadian organizations are concerned that bad actors may access and tamper with their AI systems. Early adopters also expressed concerns that bad actors may steal sensitive data (25 per cent) or leverage their AI systems to inject or manipulate input to bypass filters (10 per cent).

• Professionals are focused on proactively mitigating the security, legal and reputational risks that GenAI may present before fully adopting. About three in four professionals say potential risks have slowed the adoption of GenAI in the workplace fairly significantly, while other organizations have moved ahead by implementing safeguards like classifying data; but 60 per cent of the surveyed organizations report they have classified less than 50 per cent of their sensitive data, which will pose a challenge as AI adoption flourishes and risks grow.