Goldman Sachs: Just 6.1% of American Companies Using AI 

New research from Goldman Sachs shows muted artificial intelligence (AI) use at American companies.

Just 6.1% of businesses are using AI to produce their products or services, according to research by the banking giant cited in a Seeking Alpha report Sunday (Dec. 15). That’s up from 5.9% during the third quarter.

Finance and insurance companies showed the highest rate of AI adoption, while information, manufacturing and education companies reported decreased AI adoption.

“We continue to see large impacts on labor productivity in the limited areas where generative AI has been deployed,” the Goldman report said. “Academic studies imply a 23% uplift to productivity, while company anecdotes imply slightly larger gains of around 30%.”

Goldman also projects ongoing AI investment growth, especially in the semiconductor industry, where analysts forecast a 37% increase in revenue by the end of next year.

Companies with more than 250 employees had an adoption rate of 10%, and will likely show an uptick of adoption over the next six months.

Research by PYMNTS Intelligence has found that in spite of increased usage of generative AI (GenAI), many finance chiefs report limited returns from their investments, with just 13% of CFOs saying they are seeing “very positive” ROI, compared to 27% in March. 

“Additionally, 65% of CFOs cite limited ROI as a drawback to implementing AI across their organizations,” PYMNTS wrote last month.

“This decline in ROI sentiment suggests that while CFOs recognize the technology’s potential, they are still grappling with its full impact on their bottom lines. Firms with more positive ROI are investing more heavily in GenAI. Middle-market companies experiencing strong ROI are increasing their AI budgets by 19%, compared to just 6.2% for those seeing negligible ROI.”

Meanwhile, the Goldman report found that small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have doubled their adoption rate of AI, though many of these companies have concerns about cybersecurity and finding beneficial uses for the technology.

PYMNTS explored AI’s integration into SMB financial management in a recent conversation with payments experts including Sarah Acton, chief customer officer at BILL. Her message for SMBs hesitant about digital transformation was simple: “Automate, automate, automate.” 

Acton stressed that the long-term benefits, such as time savings and risk reduction, far outweigh the investment. As SMBs deal with an increasingly complex landscape, automation, AI and trusted partnerships are crucial, that report said.