A recent Salesforce survey of 221 business leaders in Singapore revealed that 87% of C-suite executives consider generative AI among their top three business priorities. The research indicates that 48% of companies already have a clear generative AI strategy in place, while another 47% are in the process of developing one.
The findings underscore the urgency for businesses to integrate AI, as companies that delay risk losing ground to competitors. The evolution from chatbots to autonomous AI agents—described as “trusted digital colleagues”—is set to reshape industries rapidly.
According to the research, the key motivations for generative AI adoption are to remain on the cutting edge of technology (43%), stay competitive (42%), and offer innovative experiences for both customers and employees (42%).
Singapore’s business leaders are proactive in their approach to AI integration, with CEOs seen as the primary drivers of generative AI success (42%), followed by CIOs/CTOs (31%) and department heads (18%). Key areas expected to benefit from AI adoption include information technology (40%), operations (33%), finance (29%), and customer service (28%).
Despite the enthusiasm, 95% of executives acknowledged existing barriers to AI adoption. Leading challenges include issues related to data accessibility and inclusivity (43%), lack of training opportunities (33%), reliance on incomplete data to train AI models (31%), inadequate governance (31%), and concerns about AI producing inaccurate outputs (28%).
Sujith Abraham, Senior Vice President and General Manager of ASEAN at Salesforce, emphasized the importance of unifying data to maximize the potential of AI. “Without building a cohesive view of the customer, generative AI initiatives will fall short. However, innovations like zero-copy data integration can help businesses bring their data together efficiently without actually moving it,” Abraham said. He noted that such advancements would be crucial in differentiating organizations and driving customer success through AI.
