GenAI is used by 83 pc of media & telecom cos for research & innovations: PwC

Sep 25, 2024

New Delhi [India], September 25 : A substantial 83 per cent of media and telecommunication companies in India are using GenAI for innovation and research.

A research report by PwC says that generative AI has opened a new avenue for innovation and efficacy, enhancing productivity. About 76 per cent of companies ranked GenAI among their top five strategic priorities, and 42 per cent said that adoption of GenAI is among its top 3 strategies.

CEOs in the technology sector expect significant disruptions compared to their counterparts in the telecom and media sectors. In technology companies, 68 per cent of respondents see GenAI as a long-term disruptive force, followed by media and entertainment at 51 per cent and telecom at 40 per cent.

Interestingly, about 40 per cent of TMT executives say, especially in technology and telecom, that they are already seeing the benefits of their GenAI initiatives and are on track to achieve the expected RoI.

Notably 32 per cent of executives in the technology sector expect to realise the desired RoI within the next year. However, 30 per cent of telecom sector respondents are uncertain about when they will achieve the desired RoI.

The industry feels that easy availability of GenAI tools such as Gemini, ChatGPT, and GitHub Copilot.1 are major reasons behind the adoption of GenAI.

These applications offer user-friendly interfaces and pre-trained models, making it easier for individuals and organisations to leverage GenAI in their projects and workflows.

Technology companies have higher awareness and usage of GenAI than media and telecom sector. The technology sector is an early adopter, with most organisations in the sector already having at least one GenAI use case.

GenAI adoption is motivated by various factors including the need to meet customer expectations, shifts in the labour market and staying competitive within the industry.

Within the technology sector, there is a notable focus on GenAI integration, with 40 per cent having applications prepared for deployment as well as a full strategic roadmap ready for implementation in more than two areas.

Media and entertainment sector displays a range of adoption stages, with 35 per cent in the evaluation phase. In the telecom sector, 50 per cent of the respondents are currently in the evaluation stage. But, despite the advantages, companies using GenAI are aware of the control, safety and accountability.

It also says that around 87 per cent of the companies conduct board-level reviews while 67 per cent acknowledge that their policy frameworks are insufficient to effectively address security concerns.

The report says that about 62 per cent of the companies have increased funding for employee initiatives to promote GenAI adoption.