German companies discover AI

Good news - Germany is on the AI growth path: according to a study, the use of AI in German companies has almost doubled within a year. If the pace were maintained, we would soon be back in the top group. Is that realistic?

The level is still low, but the direction is right. According to a bitkom study, the proportion of German companies using AI has increased from nine to 15 percent compared to last year alone. If we extrapolate this increase over the next few years, we would already be at a rate of 70 percent by 2026. This is probably too optimistic if we look at the figures for how many companies AI is not yet an issue, namely 52%, which is still more than half. There is also a need to catch up internationally. According to the soon-to-be-published Nash Squared Digital Leadershop Report 2023, more than a third of companies worldwide are already piloting AI projects or are already using the technology productively.

Role models found

The fact that other countries are ahead of us is not only negative, because we don't have to repeat the mistakes of others. What we can learn from the pioneers:

• The most promising areas of application are software development, customer communication (customer service), knowledge management, marketing and sales 
• Productivity gains can be realized in the short term by using the tools available on the market
• The introduction of AI is an endurance run in the original sense of the word - once started, it requires permanent resources
• In the medium term, an AI strategy is required that also takes into account the extent to which the company's own business model is threatened by AI
• The use of generative AI requires governance

Why is this important? Germany not only has some catching up to do when it comes to AI, but also when it comes to digitalization. Easy access to generative AI has put the topic on many agendas that were previously free of technical issues. AI can become the fire accelerator for digitalization that we urgently need.