Release of our report “State of AI in Swiss Tech Industry”
Release of our report “State of AI in Swiss Tech Industry”
The report summarizes the results of a study into the state of AI adoption and plans in the Swiss tech industries. The survey was sent to all Swissmem members in March 2024. Within a month, a total of 209 senior managers answered the survey. We followed up a selection of answers by interviewing ten senior managers. The findings provide unique insights into the state of AI adoption in the Swiss tech industry as of spring 2024 and the plans for the upcoming three years.
In contrast to many reports that suggest AI is already well implemented in manufacturing industries, we methodologically show that this isn’t necessarily the case. However, we show that those who have tried it tend to be satisfied with what AI delivers.
The top 10 key insights are as follows:
- AI can deliver real business value: Deep-dive case studies reveal a variety of AI implementations driving business value.
- Few companies have an AI strategy: Only one in four companies has an AI strategy.
- The Swiss tech industry is lagging other industries: Managers believe that other manufacturing-related industries are further ahead in AI adoption.
- The current AI implementation is low: Current adoption rates of AI in industrial applications are low. More than half of all companies have not yet considered using AI in manufacturing or supply chain management, and scaled implementations remain rare exceptions.
- Smaller companies are falling behind: Smaller and currently less profitable companies seem to be falling behind in their AI adoption progress, indicating the risk that the technology benefits large companies rather than leveling the playing field.
- Predictive maintenance and machine optimization remain key application areas: In their current and planned use of AI in manufacturing-related areas, companies show a sustained focus on predictive maintenance and machine optimization—two classic application areas for industrial AI.
- Supporting knowledge management with generative AI is a top priority. Knowledge management is reported as a key focus area. Regarding AI models, companies are experimenting mostly with large language models, which one-third of companies expect to have scaled up within the next three years. This renders it the most popular among AI technologies studied.
- Companies report a shortage of AI talent: Companies are limited in their AI adoption by insufficient in-house AI talent, with 68% of companies indicating that they do not have access at all or only to a limited extent. This is further exacerbated by a lack of access to AI training, reported by 56% of companies. Companies also struggle to access external talent, with over half of all companies reporting insufficient access to know-how from universities, consultants, and startups.
- AI is coming to office jobs: Regarding future use, companies are most optimistic about their ability to scale their use of AI in industrial applications characterized by a high share of white-collar value-added, including engineering and R&D, sales and marketing, and customer service. In these fields, about one-third of companies expect to implement AI to scale within the next three years.
- Regulatory awareness is limited: Only a few companies are aware of AI regulations.
Access the full report here at the ETH Research Collection.
More about the external page Swissmem Industry Day.