Artificial intelligence and the gap between adoption and impact

https://www.siliconrepublic.com/careers/artificial-intelligence-gap-adoption-impact-report-survey-skill-ai

Publish Date: 2026-06-18 08:29:00

Experts from Accenture discuss Generating Impact, the organisation’s latest AI research report.

For many organisations in the process of implementing and using artificial intelligence (AI), despite best efforts there is often a gap between the adoption of advanced technologies and their overall impact within a company.

Recently, Irish technology consulting company Accenture, released the Generating Impact: Turning frontier AI capabilities into frontline productivity and growth in Ireland, report. The research explored how AI is still, in a sense, in its infancy when it comes to workplace proliferation and the transformation of the working environment.

In gathering the data for its report, Accenture surveyed more than 2,000 UK and Ireland based employees between February and March of this year, as well as 510 business executives from mid-market and large enterprises.

The report gauges where Ireland stands currently, the factors holding back organisations and the steps companies will need to take to bridge the growing divide between potential and performance.

At a recent AI Future Forum event, Liam Connolly, the managing director for AI and data at Accenture Ireland, said, “18 months ago, 40pc of all working hours in Ireland could be augmented by AI.

“Today, that number is 82pc. The challenge that our organisations are seeing is they’re not seeing the impact. Only one in 10 organisations have embedded AI into their core operations and are actually seeing real value.”

He added, “The research is basically built all around the gap between adoption and impact, and we cover that across several dimensions. One is strategy, two is work itself, three is the workforce, four is digital core, and then finally then it’s all about safety and security.”