Kuwait: Businesses are becoming more cognizant of the value they can deliver with artificial intelligence (AI) and Generative AI (gen AI). With this awareness, also comes the familiarity with the risks that they might face if AI and gen AI are deployed incorrectly.

To help businesses overcome this barrier and tap into the potential of AI, KPMG published its gen AI playbook, AI & generative AI in functional transformation. The publication strives to serve as a guide for businesses planning to leverage gen AI to drive functional transformation and identifies potential disruption opportunities within operational functions.

Majid Makki, Partner — Head of Management Consulting and Technology Advisory, KPMG in Kuwait, said, “We understand that core organizational functions are the biggest catalysts of gen AI implementation, given the crucial roles they play. That’s why, through this guide, we wanted to call attention to the areas where gen AI could serve as a transformative force as well as highlight the challenges that could affect the foundation of trust.”

According to the KPMG 2023 global tech report, 57% of the respondents believe that gen AI will help them fulfill short-term business goals over the next three-year horizon. This is considering that embedding gen AI capabilities can significantly enhance process efficiency and speed by automating redundant tasks and those that may require human intervention. While the finding suggests a willingness to explore implementation possibilities, led by businesses’ needs to increase profitability, improve compliance and enhance consumer experience, the guidebook stresses that the effectiveness of gen AI relies on the quality of the underlying data and well-engineered prompts.

KPMG’s practical guide also points out five enabler categories that could be integrated into six key functions, i.e., Marketing, sales, service and commerce, Procurement, Supply chain management, Finance, HR, and IT management. The enablers are: (i) content and insight generators; (ii) information extractors; (iii) smart chatbots; (iv) language translators; and (v) code generators.

What kind of functional transformation can businesses drive with AI?

Illustrating the power of AI, the publication clarifies that organizations could leverage it to automate, optimize and transform procurement functions. This could, in turn, elevate sourcing efficiency and bring about dynamic contract lifecycle management, resulting in streamlined procurement decisions and enhanced contract management. As for supply chain management functions, businesses could ensure advanced predictive planning and automated quality assurance through AI-powered integrated planning and scenario modelling and AI-enhanced quality management.

KPMG’s guide further underscores that finance should be at the center of gen AI adoption across organizations, harnessing AI to make for cross-functional commentary and contract generation and review. This would not only drive improved understanding of financial performance but also reduce the levels of financial risk across an organization.

Furthermore, IT management functions could employ AI to maximize availability to users and reduce security incidents, HR functions to streamline onboarding processes and matching learning to employee requirements, and Marketing, sales, service and commerce functions to improve personalized and targeted marketing reach as well as engagement levels.

Overall, this practical guide explores 30 emerging use case opportunities that gen AI offers an organization’s front, middle and back office to enhance the human experience — either as customers, suppliers, or as employees.

“AI isn’t independent of systems. It goes hand in hand with existing business models, technology platforms, governance frameworks and service delivery models, impacts people’s roles and helps bring about positive change across critical business processes,“ adds Majid. He explains that for gen AI to provide maximum value to an organization — be it global or Kuwaiti, it should be implemented and integrated in the way that’s right and within crucial operational functions.

The guidebook underlines that while AI is moving quickly, the user interface and new content creation capabilities of gen AI make it relevant to a wide range of organizations and business functions. To keep pace with it, business leaders must consider how they can think and act faster with respect to how they can leverage the technology better.

To download the guide and to learn how KPMG Advisory can help you implement AI in your businesses, visit: kpmg.com/kw.