UK businesses say that fear of missing out is driving AI adoption

A recent study of 1,200 IT decision-makers (ITDMs) from the UK, US, France, Germany, Australia and Singapore found that many businesses are simply integrating artificial intelligence into their operations due to a fear of missing out (FOMO).

The ABBYY State of Intelligent Automation Report revealed that three in five (58%) UK IT leaders had only invested in AI technologies out of fear that their business would be left behind.

This is despite leaders expressing concern over misuse by their staff (37%), associated cost (37%), data protection (36%), AI hallucinations (35%) and compliance (32%).

Are companies only investing in AI because of FOMO?

The study also revealed that the average AI investment across UK organizations stood at nearly three-quarters of a million (£730,000), with virtually all (95%) respondents expressing plans to increase investment over the next 12 months. However, more than one in three (37%) remain worried about the financial implications of deploying artificial intelligence in the workplace.

Compared with the other nations, UK workers were more likely to use AI, with three-quarters (77%) using GenAI compared with two-thirds (65%) globally.

Key areas of focus for future development include the ethical use of AI, responsible AI policies, and understanding AI’s regulations.

However, despite expressed concerns about the evolving technology, trust in AI seems to be rising, with decision-makers displaying the highest confidence in small language models (SLMs) and purpose-built AI (92%).

Maxime Vermeir, ABBYY’s Senior Director of AI Strategy, said that it was “no surprise to [him] that organizations have more trust in small language models due to the tendency of LLMs to hallucinate and provide inaccurate and possibly harmful outcomes. We’re seeing more business leaders moving to SLMs to better address their specific business needs, enabling more trustworthy result.”

ABBYY’s report serves as a stark reminder of the costs of implementing AI technologies, and therefore the importance of establishing proper strategies before investing out of fear.

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