Thoughtworks, a global technology consultancy that integrates strategy, design and engineering, today released findings from a new global study that reveals there is consumer appetite for businesses using generative AI (GenAI) in the innovation of products and services, yet only where businesses are transparent and proactively communicate how they are using it. The research examines what consumers expect from businesses to maintain their GenAI social license to innovate with emerging regulations.

“GenAI: What consumers want” details findings from the responses of 10,000 consumers across ten countries.

Among the key findings:

• There are equal amounts of fear and excitement about GenAI
  • While 30% are mostly excited about GenAI, there are 42% that are part excited, part nervous.
  • There is hope from 83% of consumers that businesses can use GenAI to be more innovative and to serve them better. Those more likely to buy from businesses using GenAI would do so for greater innovation (59%), to give them a better customer experience through faster support (51%) and a more personalized experience (50%).
  • But there is an expectation that businesses should use technology ethically while they innovate (87%).
• Majority agree that regulation is necessary for responsible use of GenAI
  • People recognize the need for GenAI regulation, with governments playing a vital role in its design, development and deployment. The vast majority (90%) agree government regulations are necessary to hold businesses accountable for how they use GenAI.
  • If a business fails to incorporate responsible and ethical thinking when using GenAI, 93% of surveyed consumers say they risk facing detrimental impacts, such as legal and regulatory issues (65%) and reputational damage (65%).
  • Businesses need to be transparent about their use of GenAI, otherwise they risk losing current and prospective customers. The greater part of consumers (85%) prefer businesses that stand for transparency and equity in their use of GenAI.
• Businesses have a social license to operate GenAI
  • Of those surveyed, 68% believe businesses must continue their rapid pace of GenAI innovation while effective government regulation is developed.
  • In order for businesses to use GenAI appropriately, consumers believe regulations should have businesses clearly outline how data is used (68%), ensure there is no illegal content generated (63%) and disclose when content is generated by GenAI (62%).

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Speaking on the report’s findings, Mike Mason, chief AI officer, Thoughtworks, said, “In a world where trust is paramount, businesses must understand that gaining the public’s confidence through ethical AI is not just a regulatory obligation, it’s a strategic advantage. For decades, Thoughtworks has advised our clients on how to tap into the full advantage of the latest emerging technology while also building responsible governance into business processes to protect customers’ trust.”

Vanson Bourne’s principal research manager, Lauren Woodley said, “Thoughtworks took a unique perspective to the fast-paced topic of GenAI, exploring how consumers feel when interacting with businesses that use it. The findings are alarming, with consumers stating many concerns surrounding how businesses use their GenAI-related data. This emphasizes the social responsibility businesses have in building trust and reassuring consumers. If businesses are able to tackle the concerns through being proactive and transparent, the future of GenAI looks positive – from more innovative products / services, to an improved customer experience, the results do indicate feelings of excitement among consumers. But the overshadowing cloud of fear must be lifted first.”

Mason continued, “GenAI offers endless possibilities. We’re helping our clients experiment to prove out new capabilities that survey respondents are excited about, such as idea generation for more innovative products, faster support and more personalized experiences and then productionizing those experiments as enterprise-grade software.”

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