Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most resilient areas in the technology sector. In the first 11 months of 2022 venture capital firms have earmarked US$67 billion for investments in AI-related companiesaccording to Pitchbook. In addition, in the last twelve months, large companies with a presence in the S&P 500 index have acquired 52 AI startups. These same companies posted more than 7,000 job advertisements for AI and machine learning experts between August and November. machine learningten times more than those posted in the first quarter of 2020.

This data is consistent with McKinsey's latest survey on the state of artificial intelligence in 2022, which notes, among other findings, that AI adoption in corporations has more than doubled compared to 2017with half of respondents answering that their organizations have adopted AI solutions in at least one function.

In what areas are you applying AI solutions? Mainly in robotic process automation, machine vision, natural language understanding, conversational interfaces and deep learning. And for what? Mainly for operational service optimization, AI-based new product creation, customer service analytics, customer segmentation and customer acquisition/lead generation.

Technology companies were obviously early adopters of AI, and many of its applications have trickled down to customers. AI is what today helps Amazon manage its supply chain and operate its robots in its warehouses, allows Siri to function as a personal assistant, or has enabled Google to optimize its advertising services. Large companies have also started to offer AI-based solutions to their cloud services customers. According to The Economist, Microsoft's revenue from machine learning services has doubled, on an annual basis, in each of the last four quarters.

The wave is far from stopping, say experts. There will be an increasing supply of services such as the generation of new content, from drawings to marketing texts, or to develop software code.