{"id":481975,"date":"2025-10-08T04:01:25","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T04:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/481975\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T04:01:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T04:01:25","slug":"one-in-five-northern-ireland-firms-formally-using-ai-in-workplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/481975\/","title":{"rendered":"One-in-five Northern Ireland firms formally using AI in workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"

One-in-five Northern Ireland firms are formally using artificial intelligence (AI)<\/a> as part of their business operations, a new survey suggests.<\/p>\n

New research carried out by GCD Technologies in partnership with the Institute of Directors (IoD)<\/a>, indicates that a further 48% of businesses in the north are currently exploring or planning to adopt AI into their workplace<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some 200 businesses across Northern Ireland took part in the study, with each employing at least 20 people. <\/p>\n

The research involved interviews were conducted by Cognisense across May and June.<\/p>\n

\"Irish<\/a>\"Culloden<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the survey, 19% currently use AI, of which just 39% are using it strategically, the equivalent of 8% overall.<\/p>\n

\"KindKind findings of the survey carried out by GCD Technologies and endorsed by the IoD. (Ryan) <\/p>\n

Firms within that bracket said they already see AI as core to their business strategy, with formal policies in place.<\/p>\n

However, 72% of non-strategic adopters expect AI to become a core part of their business strategy.<\/p>\n

The most common strategic use of AI cited was to automate core processes (64%), followed by improving the customer interactions (59%) and enhancing product innovation (47%).<\/p>\n

The vast majority (86%) of those currently using AI strategically say they are seeing efficiency improvements, with 71% reporting stronger customer experiences.<\/p>\n

Just over half (58%) say they are already experiencing revenue growth.<\/p>\n

\"KindKind findings of the survey carried out by GCD Technologies and endorsed by the IoD. (Ryan) <\/p>\n

\u201cThe survey findings give us a fantastic picture of how local companies are dealing with the growth in prominence of AI,\u201d said GCD\u2019s managing director, Andrew Gough.<\/p>\n

\u201cLess than one-fifth are currently using AI, and of these, about four in 10 are applying it in a custom or strategic way. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that most businesses are still experimenting with general-purpose tools such as ChatGPT, focusing on quick wins like workflow automation, content generation and improving data quality. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut while useful, these applications only scratch the surface of what AI can deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tech<\/a> boss added: \u201cThe difference is clear. AI delivers its biggest impact when it is aligned to core business objectives and used as a driver of innovation rather than simply an efficiency tool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirsty McManus, director at the IoD in Northern Ireland, said: \u201cBusiness leaders in Northern Ireland who are early adopters of AI are excited about the potential benefits. <\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, many businesses are facing a range of challenges when it comes to implementing and managing AI from the top down. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese include gaps in skills and expertise at board level, as well as broader concerns around trust, reliability, security, and the actual value AI can bring to their organisations.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One-in-five Northern Ireland firms are formally using artificial intelligence (AI) as part of their business operations, a new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":481976,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[323,51,157076,1144,3839,326,16,15,9347],"class_list":{"0":"post-481975","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-institute-of-directors","11":"tag-northern-ireland","12":"tag-survey","13":"tag-tech","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-workplace"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115336556557650832","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}