AI went mainstream in 2023, fears about unchecked progress that would outsmart us humans abound, but is Gen AI right in the peak of inflated expectations?
Dafferns Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors were delighted to support the recent Coventry & Warwickshire First Cross Sector dinner. We were joined by David Ashworth, Senior Education Technologist from Coventry University to discuss how Professional Services can be transformed from using AI as a tool to do something quicker, to truly re-imagine how we interact with information.
The Sky’s not fallen in
Digital transformation remains a well-spoken priority amongst professional services, disruptive AI remains focussed around sorting and categorising data at speed. For many it remains a better search engine. Over the last year, AI competency has vastly improved. The tools are more effective, they reason better and indeed mimic reasoning which are elevating the fear factor for those not already engaged.
It remains the case that AI could save up to 40% of labour time across professional services. Around two-thirds of employees have not experimented with AI, so there is significant scope for adoption in 2025. There is strong demand for professionals who are AI aware, can demonstrate data science skills, creative problem solving and strong social skills. In the words of Sam Altman (CEO – Open AI), ‘AI will create a huge market for human, in person fantastic experiences’, so we are not defunct yet!
Round the table, AI was creeping into areas such as summarising legal principles, analysing contracts to structuring presentations and scribing e-mails. Uptake remains patchy, more so on a professional rather than personal level, indeed could we be deemed to be negligent if we are not using it?
Professional Productivity – What does that mean?
The average professional works a 46-hour week, 54% say they don’t have enough time. If ‘AI’ generated a 10% time saving that could equate to 200 hours in 2025, 25% more time to engage in expert driven client facing work. In reality it is not productivity that matters but engagement. From engagement comes better questioning and client collaboration.
Adoption rates vary across Legal/Accounting practices, between 25-30% have incorporated one AI technology into daily routines, this falls to 15% in Real Estate sectors. Adoption is driven by tech ‘savvy’ individuals (around a third of employees unofficially dipping their AI toe in). For organisations, big or small and professional, understanding what data you need should drive your AI strategy not what data you have. For Professional firms, that could be more accurate recording of client conversations, building better knowledge of you client firm wide.
AI features on every board agenda, the C-Suite productivity saviour. However, studies have shown that for 75% of AI using employees’ workloads have increased and expected productivity gains are unclear. Introducing AI technology into outdated work processes and thinking is unlikely to unlock the true value of AI. The real value comes from challenging the status quo.
This is not ‘do more with less’ productivity, this is ‘do more with more insightful data and speedier analysis’ productivity. As such we need to measure AI productivity gains against our colleagues’ creativity, strategic contribution and adaptability.
Are you a 25-34 year old Male
If you are, then you are most likely to be pro-AI. Gen Z are six times more likely to use AI to get an answer than a boomer. Understanding your client’s behaviour, preferences and patterns is not a trend, it’s a necessity for professional services firms to stay competitive and innovate.
AI is revolutionising content optimisation, game changing hyper personalisation and generating tailored content, or is it – these are not new concepts, can AI tell a story better than you? Whilst a few in the room had experimented with e-mail transcripts, most had yet to embrace the full power of AI in a co-ordinated fashion.
With a forecast extra AI generated 12 hours a week to focus on customer experiences per week, all agreed that upskilling and a mindset change would be critical. This means that everybody becomes a marketeer or Business Developer at some point with laser-focussed targeting, be that better outcomes for existing clients or sending the right marketing messages and getting in front of people who like your services.
To Trust or not to Trust
Only about a third of Britons are willing to trust AI, the rise of fake avatars have reduced people’s trust in digital content. Interestingly, Britons are most confident in national universities to govern AI in the public’s interest. All AI discussions point towards greater emphasis on personal relationships – for your local small business this provides a real physical USP, all is not lost.
Going forward, we must view AI as a change project not a tech project. AI is essential, it’s not going to be optional.
No form of AI was used in the production of this article!
Simon Cossey is Dafferns’ Business Development Consultant and part of our Strategic Advisory team.
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