A new study from the global think tank Capgemini Research Institute finds that consumers trust generative artificial intelligence (AI) to assist with financial planning, medical diagnosis, and relationship advice, as 73 percent of consumers globally say they trust content created by generative AI.
Capgemini Research Institute said in a statement on Wednesday the majority (51 percent) of consumers are aware of the latest trends in generative AI and have explored the tools.
Meanwhile, adoption of first-wave generative AI tools has been remarkably consistent across age groups and geographies, with over half of all generations, including Baby Boomers, having used the technology.
According to the study, consumers that use generative AI frequently are most satisfied with chatbots, gaming, and search use cases. However, generative AI platforms are also being used for personal, day-to-day activities.
It noted that over half of the respondents (53 percent) trust generative AI to assist with financial planning.
Globally, 67 percent of consumers indicated that they could benefit from receiving medical diagnoses and advice from generative AI, and 63 percent indicated that they are excited by the prospect of generative AI aiding with more accurate and efficient drug discovery.
Additionally, two-thirds (66 percent) of consumers would be willing to seek advice from generative AI for personal relationships or life and career plans, with Baby Boomers the most likely (70 percent) age group to use it for this purpose.
Despite the potential for cyberattacks and deepfakes, consumer awareness of the risks is low, said the study.
As a result, almost half (49 percent) of consumers remain unconcerned by the prospect of generative AI being used to create fake news stories, and just 34 percent of respondents are concerned about phishing attacks.
Consumer awareness around the ethical concerns of generative AI is also low, as just 33 percent are worried about copyright issues and even fewer (27 percent) are worried about the use of generative AI algorithms to copy competitors’ product designs or formulas.
“The awareness of generative AI amongst consumers globally is remarkable, and the rate of adoption has been massive, yet the understanding of how this technology works and the associated risks is still very low,” said Niraj Parihar, Chief Executive Officer of the Insights & Data Global Business Line and member of the Group Executive Committee at Capgemini.
Whilst regulation is critical, he said business and technology partners also have an important role to play in providing education and enforcing the safeguards that address concerns around the ethics and misuse of generative AI.
“Generative AI is not ‘intelligent’ in itself; the intelligence stems from the human experts who these tools will assist and support,
“The key to success therefore, as with any AI, is the safeguards that humans build around them to guarantee the quality of its output,” he added.
The study also showed almost half of consumers (43 percent) are keen for organizations to implement generative AI throughout customer interactions, and half of consumers are excited by the highly immersive and interactive experiences that this technology can enable.
There is good opportunity for businesses as generative AI tools are already a go-to for 70 percent of consumers when seeking recommendations for new products and services, and the majority (64 percent) of consumers are open to making purchases based on these recommendations.
There is no significant variation across age groups and 67 percent of consumers are positively anticipating generative AI’s ability to offer customized fashion and home décor recommendations specifically.
Capgemini Research Institute conducted a quantitative survey of 10,000 consumers over the age of 18 in 13 countries across the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific: United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, and Sweden.
The report “Why consumers love generative AI” explores how consumers globally are using generative AI applications and how it could be the key to accelerating society’s digital future.