Analysis from Google and Accenture means that an rising variety of Australians and companies are utilizing synthetic intelligence, which can not come as a shock. Nonetheless, there’s a vital disparity within the variety of workers who really feel outfitted to make use of AI, and what C-suite executives understand that quantity to be.
Google polled 1,000 Australians and located that 49% used generative AI within the final 12 months, up from 38% in 2023. This rise is accompanied by a brand new stage of optimism. The proportion of people that imagine AI will profit them elevated by 6%, and the proportion who assume it can change work for the higher inside 5 years rose by 7%.
Accenture surveyed 790 C-suite executives and 687 non-C-suite stage workers throughout 5 Asia Pacific international locations, together with Australia, for its Pulse of Change report. A whopping 87% of the leaders mentioned they deliberate to spice up their AI funding in 2025, and 91% imagine their workers are ready to make use of the know-how effectively.
Workers really feel in another way, although: Solely 70% really feel ready to make probably the most of AI at work. Moreover, simply 30% of them declare to know the potential worth of GenAI “to an awesome extent,” in comparison with 55% of APAC C-suite leaders.
Whereas 70% of employees really feel they’ve obtained ample AI coaching, 91% of C-suite leaders imagine their workers are arrange to make use of it. This means the AI coaching being offered could not meet workers’ particular wants.
SEE: Australian IT Abilities Scarcity and Self-Upskilling
The Accenture analysis additionally checked out workers’ issues round AI, which can shine mild on the areas the place coaching must be targeted. Non-users of AI at work cite issues about inaccuracies (27%), lack of sources (26%), and integration struggles (22%).
AI skilling has been recognized as a key hole in Australia, with many workers persistently saying their organisations speak about AI instruments however don’t spend money on the individuals utilizing them. The nation wants 312,000 extra tech employees by 2030 to satisfy demand, or greater than 60,000 new entrants yearly within the tech workforce.
In December, Australia introduced plans to develop a nationwide AI technique to strengthen its AI capabilities and appeal to funding, aiming to unlock the $600 billion of productiveness potential of those applied sciences. Microsoft additionally dedicated to equipping a million individuals throughout Australia and New Zealand with important AI expertise by 2026.
Matt Coates, know-how lead for Accenture in Australia and New Zealand, mentioned in a press launch: “Too many organisations view generative AI solely as a technological resolution, quite than as a driving power to rethink expertise methods.
“Whereas investments in AI proceed to develop, many nonetheless face vital challenges in understanding, coaching, and implementation.”
AI expertise hole must be addressed to organize for steady change
Each reviews counsel that Australian companies are conscious that modifications associated to AI adoption are ongoing. Google’s survey discovered that 54% of employees hope that automation will free them as much as give attention to extra rewarding work, however 46% assume that it’s going to put stress on them to do extra with fewer sources.
Over time, Australians are getting extra optimistic, confirming that sure points of AI doomerism have been overblown. For example, the portion of respondents who assume that jobs and industries will change for the higher inside the subsequent 5 years due to AI elevated by 7% in a 12 months.
Fewer Australians now assume their roles might be absorbed by AI, with the proportion dropping from 20% in 2023 to 12% in 2024.
“It’s unimaginable to see Australia transfer past experimentation to motion, harnessing AI to create real-world advantages — and it’s thrilling to consider the potential advantages to our economic system,” mentioned Mel Silva, managing director of Google Australia and New Zealand, in a weblog put up.
SEE: 5 Generative AI Traits to Watch in 2025
The Accenture respondents additionally predict shifts, with 79% of workers believing their roles might be impacted, and 69% of executives anticipating the next stage of change in 2025 than 2024. Nonetheless, 61% of those leaders say their organisations are much less ready for such change this 12 months than final.
Particularly, the executives say they aren’t ready for geopolitical (66%), expertise (58%), and financial (63%) disruptions. Employees agree, with 68% unconvinced of their firm’s resilience. This emphasizes how addressing the aforementioned expertise hole must be a precedence.
“Solely a 3rd of executives have a transparent imaginative and prescient for a way generative AI will impression their workforce,” Coates mentioned. “This emphasises the significance of a strategic method that harmonizes know-how and human expertise to completely realise the ability of reinvention that gen AI supplies.”