SAS found that 70% of surveyed decision-makers at telcos admitted that they’re currently using generative AI and have either fully implemented it or are running tests ahead of deployments.
Meanwhile, 29% of telcos said they had already adopted generative AI across the entire business.
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“It's not surprising to see the telco industry take the lead in the use and implementation of generative AI,” said Mari Nilsson Björkman, telecom industry lead at SAS Northern Europe. “Our research reveals that senior decision-makers not only recognise the significant advantages from using the technology but also appreciate its transformative potential, given that nearly one in three plan to adopt it across the entire enterprise.”
SAS surveyed 1,600 global decision-makers responsible for generative AI strategy working across sectors including banking, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail.
The survey found that the telecoms sector was far ahead of other industries, with an average of 54% admitting to having fully or partially implemented the technology. By comparison, the next highest adopters were retail (66%), followed by banking and insurance (60%).
Open source large language models (LLM) like Meta’s Llama 3.2 were among the most common generative AI solutions adopted by telcos, with 38% of organisations already leveraging open source models, compared to 29% of other industries on average.
Telcos also led the way in terms of investing in generative AI, with 89% of respondents saying they plan to invest in the technology in 2025 — the joint highest along with the insurance industry.
Respondents from the telco industry identified the biggest concerns about generative AI adoption as data privacy (83%) and data security (80%), followed by ethical implications (60%), and in-house talent and skills (54%).
“As the industry continues to innovate, it will be essential for telcos to navigate these challenges effectively to maximise the benefits of generative AI,” Björkman said. “By prioritising data privacy and security, they can fully harness the power of generative AI to enhance operations and better serve their customers.”
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