Beyond productivity: How tech leaders can help unlock the full potential of gen AI

The immense potential of generative AI to transform work continues to dominate conversations in tech. And while most industry leaders I’ve spoken with are experimenting with gen AI to improve productivity, many are still looking for help with figuring out how to unlock value beyond cost reduction.

To learn how leading enterprises across industries and around the globe are using gen AI, we partnered with HFS Research to survey 550 senior executives. The results were crystal clear – while more than a third of the executives surveyed listed productivity as a top business benefit of gen AI, 74% of the respondents believe gen AI is “inspiring new and disruptive ways of value creation.”

How can tech leaders help their enterprises leverage gen AI? Here are my five top insights:

According to our survey, only 5% of senior leaders believe their organizations have reached a mature stage in gen AI adoption. However, 61% reported allocating up to 10% of their tech budgets to this the technology. What’s more, the executives surveyed said they were expecting to realize the quick wins relevant for their business in the near term (within a year) while the more transformative initiatives – such as developing new business models or capturing market share against peers – would yield results in 18-24 months or more.

Our work with early adopters of gen AI backs this up. For instance, a leading European corporate and investment bank made quick gains in efficiency and productivity for its server build team by using gen-AI-powered prompt engineering that automated infrastructure orchestration — our solution helped reduce operations time by 42% and improved development productivity by 45%. And, over the year, this effort saved the company over $30,000.

While productivity is often touted as the main benefit of gen AI, our survey revealed that 52% of respondents believe solely framing it as a productivity tool is a mistake. In fact, 44% expressed concerns that overemphasizing productivity could negatively impact the employee experience and hinder the exploration of more impactful use cases. It's vital to remember that gen AI is designed to empower people, not replace them. Adoption should be a collaborative effort, starting from the bottom up. Engage with your team, discuss how gen AI can support them, and provide learning and upskilling opportunities.

Additionally, business leaders and IT executives must collaborate in an agile way to quickly bring ideas to production, a concept we call Zero Distance at Genpact.

Efficiency gains from gen AI are a given, but the real story lies in the shift of job roles. Nearly half of the respondents (49%) anticipate significant job transformations, indicating a pivot toward more complex, strategic, and creative projects. As a result, it’s essential to upskill employees in data science, enabling them to take on higher-level work, while senior leaders focus on accelerating strategic initiatives. This approach benefits everyone, creating a win-win scenario.

At Genpact we've seen first-hand the impact of freeing up employees to take on higher value work. For example, a global financial services company partnered with us to implement and enhance an OpenAI-powered virtual assistant that could answer generic client queries with human-like conversational responses incorporating inputs from research analysts, product experts, and portfolio managers. This enabled its financial advisors to focus better on client interactions, eventually leading to an increase in assets under management.

To transform processes effectively with gen AI, many senior leaders find it advantageous to partner with existing and new collaborators. In fact, 80% of respondents believe that transitioning to performance- and purpose-driven commercial models with partners is crucial for capitalizing on gen AI's potential. Take a moment to review your partner ecosystem and explore the gen AI tools at your disposal as well as those being developed by your partners. By doing that, you could improve your processes quickly and efficiently.

It’s no surprise that technical skills have gained in importance since the introduction of gen AI – 41% of our survey respondents said that technical skills are more important than business skills today. But that’s just half the story. Nearly 39% said that both technical and business skills are equally important. This points to a critical insight: striking a harmonious balance between technical prowess and business acumen is vital for creating a cohesive gen AI strategy that can drive adoption and create value.

To sum up, it’s imperative for tech leaders to look beyond productivity to elevate the employee experience and unleash long term gain from gen AI. That said, every organization will take a different route to realizing the full potential of gen AI. But you don’t need to go it alone – enlist the guidance and expertise of a reliable partner ecosystem and exceptional talent to support your unique goals and needs.