There was no shortage of technological innovation in 2023. GILES BROWN asked what the key developments are going to be for business in the coming year.

Josh Holmes, Head of Digital, LOCALiQ

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as one of the most discussed and transformative technologies in recent times. It has become deeply ingrained in our daily lives; from the applications we use on our smartphones to the tools that assist us in the workplace.

“We’ve only just scratched the surface” is said quite a lot in relation to AI.

However, I think we’re about to enter more of an understanding phase in business – an understanding that we’ve probably been using some form of AI technology for years, whether that be something very simple like sat nav rerouting us around a road closure or (dare I mention it) the paperclip guy from Microsoft Word suggesting formatting changes to a document as we type.

Once we start to view AI as something that has been around (in some form) for many years, I think the barriers will start to come down and we will see many businesses become much more comfortable with AI and its potential for streamlining the tasks we find time consuming/ laborious.

Dr Mark Dawson, Lancaster University Management School

It will come as no surprise that one of the most influential developments facing businesses in 2024 will be the continuing evolution of artificial intelligence.

Such technologies – which comprise sophisticated ‘generative’ intelligence systems such as ChatGPT – will continue to impact business and customers in profound ways.

The ‘non-artificial’ intelligence sources (including our own!) must be prepared to deal with them head on, or risk being left behind.

When it comes to implementing AI, questions of trust and responsibility will be key, as will the impact on the workforce and customer engagement. It is inevitable that what I call the ‘intellectual health’ of all stakeholders will be put to the test.

At Lancaster University Management School, we are working on business engagement models and teaching practice to equip businesses with the capacity to work positively and profitably with AI, avoiding the negative impact that a lack of preparedness might foreshadow.

Paul Hudson, FlexMR

The next 12 months will be characterised by a serious integration of generative AI into core business processes.

While we’ve seen many novel applications of generative AI over the past year, 2024 will be the year when we see an explosion of new AI-assisted software features.

A startling reminder of this is McKinsey’s estimate that 50 per cent of customer journeys will involve at least one AI touchpoint by the middle of the decade.

In the research sector, we’re already seeing companies experiment with conversational surveys, assisted analysis of unstructured text data and testing of synthetic, simulated customer analysis.

As AI-assisted tasks mature over 2024, we’re also likely to see a sharp rise in low-or-no code development, along with a further boom in creative audio-visual media. Accompanying these are equally important evolutions in cyber-security, IP asset tracking and online transparency tools.

Tony Preedy, Fruugo

Two powerful forces will influence business in 2024, one old, one new.

Firstly, with average household incomes falling in real terms, consumers will invest time and energy in saving money.

They will search online for the items they need, more concerned about price and availability than from whom they purchase. Businesses will need to ensure their digital presence is as far reaching as possible, in order to capture sales from near and far. Online marketplaces that facilitate shopping across international borders will be particularly important for both shoppers and sellers.

Secondly, the advent of “generative artificial intelligence” (GenAI) applications will up-end many business models and create new ones.

If the first great wave of change this century was “the internet”, and the second was “mobile phones”, GenAI will be the third and perhaps most significant.

How we work, shop, learn, and interact are going to be radically different as use of this new technology becomes widespread. Experimentation can be fast, cheap and, I’d suggest, urgent.