2024: The year of AI in action

2023 was the biggest year for Artificial Intelligence (AI) yet, and we are still just scratching the surface of what’s possible.  We have seen some incredible advancements, and use cases, which paints a clear portrait of the future, one brimming with possibilities, as generative AI takes centre stage.

Generative AI has given us new, astonishing capabilities, to enhance our creativity using basic text prompts, ushering in one of the biggest transformative eras of our lifetime.

Now in 2024 we’re moving into a time of ‘AI in action’ making it a practical tool for people of all backgrounds to use and reap the rewards at work, and in everyday life.   

The democratisation of AI  

The collaboration between Microsoft and OpenAI, was the first step to democratising AI in a way that made it instantly accessible, and intuitive, for anyone to use.  It reinvented Search, introducing a new conversational interaction through the New Bing, now known as Copilot.

Over the last 12 months, generative AI tools became a tool for play and creation, allowing us to find new ways to express ourselves, creating images, poems, letters, or songs, building upon what we asked of it to delight us as users.

And we chatted, a lot! The cultural impact of AI was undeniable. Copilot facilitated over 5 billion chats1 in its first year. The numbers kept growing, reflecting a trend not limited to Microsoft. ChatGPT and Google Bard also witnessed staggering user growth, signalling that AI had truly captured the zeitgeist. 

AI in action  

The digital world today, is not without its challenges. ‘Information overload’ has become a significant issue, with the very tools designed to simplify our lives now fragmenting our attention and productivity. Today, two in three people2 say they struggle to have the time, and energy, to do their jobs. This ‘digital debt’ is a real problem that generative AI is poised to address, giving us back the greatest gift of all. Time.

Time to do more strategic tasks. Time to experiment with different solutions. Time to spend with your clients. Time to think differently.  AI is not just a tool for the future – it’s a companion for today. As our ‘copilot’ it enhances our existing skills and provides support in the areas we need, empowering us to achieve more.  

Empowering the digital work force  

There are many ways AI can help the digital workforce today, whether it's summarising missed meetings, stress-testing emails, or even crafting entire content outlines for presentations. It transforms hours of work into manageable tasks.

For instance, creating compelling ad copy within a sixty-character limit can be daunting. However, with Copilot integrated into the Microsoft Advertising Platform, this task becomes a collaborative effort. Copilot assists in finding the right tone, creating alternative headlines, and ensuring the inclusivity of the message.

While most of what we currently use today are text-based use cases, AI is rapidly expanding to become multimodal, where any input can be transferred to any output such as imagery or video. For example, a text prompt can now create a presentation complete with suggested talking points and sources. This creative collaboration reduces hours of research into minutes, providing a strong starting point from which to iterate and improve. These instances all leverage intuitive interfaces and don’t require in-depth technical knowledge to use. 

The year of you in action (powered by AI)  

Following rapid adoption in 2023, we are confident that 2024 will be a pivotal year for generative AI. As it becomes integrated into our daily lives, helping to amplify our productivity and creativity, this will be the year of AI in action.

But these tools cannot be used alone. It’s copilot, not autopilot. It is not human vs machine, but rather human with machine. Generative AI is an enabler of the digital world.

2024 then is not about AI alone. Instead, it’s about you, and what you can achieve with AI.  It is therefore perhaps more accurate to say 2024 will be the year of you in action, powered by generative AI, and the best is yet to come.