The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) among US businesses appears to be leveling off, according to data from fintech company Ramp. After nearly 10 straight months of growth, Ramp's AI Index stalled at 41% in May, indicating a potential slowdown in AI adoption. This trend is further supported by S&P Global's findings, which show that 42% of companies are abandoning most of their generative AI pilot projects, up from 17% last year.
The slowdown in AI adoption is evident across various company sizes, with 49% of large businesses, 44% of medium-sized firms, and 37% of small companies having deployed AI in some form. Some businesses, like Klarna, have even reversed their AI plans due to poor customer service quality.
Despite this trend, big tech companies like Google and Meta continue to invest heavily in AI development. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicts that AI will significantly impact the job market, particularly for white-collar workers.
Experts attribute the leveling off to various factors, including limited return on investment from AI implementations, frustration with AI capabilities, and data quality issues. Many companies aren't seeing the expected returns on investment from AI, and the excitement around AI hasn't translated to tangible benefits for many businesses. Additionally, AI systems can perpetuate biases if trained on flawed data, leading to unequal outcomes.
However, some industries, such as healthcare and financial services, are still experiencing rapid growth in AI adoption, driven by industry-specific use cases. As the AI landscape continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how businesses adapt and respond to these challenges and opportunities.
