In an unpredictable and turbulent business world it is sometimes hard to accurately fathom possible future trends. But on one forecast we can be pretty certain: that artificial intelligence technology will play a bigger part in the strategic thinking of the bosses of Britain’s largest companies.
The Evening Standard asked all the businesses that make up the FTSE 100 index about AI plans this year and next. Of the 21 that responded — in sectors ranging from packaging to pharmaceuticals — all said they would be investing in it.
The findings came as research from boutique asset manager Sanlam Investments’ growth equities team for the Evening Standard found that 23 FTSE 100 constituents mentioned “artificial intelligence” in official company communications — filings, press releases or earnings call transcripts — between March 1 2023 and June 14. That was up from just six in the same period a year earlier.
Chris Ford, global AI fund manager at Sanlam Investments, says: “Everywhere we look we see greater and stronger corporate engagement with AI.”
He adds that the need to formulate a credible AI strategy is “becoming a pressing issue for company managements that have not already engaged with it or deployed it”.
So what are some of the UK’s largest employers already doing with AI and why do they consider it important to explore further?
At bottling firm Coca-Cola HBC, augmented reality smart glasses allow warehouse employees to track and select stock more effectively than ever.
Mourad Ajarti, chief digital and technology officer at Coca-Cola HBC, says: “Right now, we are observing, learning, and conducting controlled experiments to assess both the challenges and opportunities that generative AI can present. Our priority is always to first build the right capabilities and expertise across our teams. Looking to the future, we see immense and exciting opportunities for generative AI to support our business competitiveness.”
In engineering, major players such as Rolls-Royce, Smiths Group and Weir are all planning more AI investments. Aircraft engine maker Rolls’s chief technology officer Grazia Vittadini says: “Cutting-edge data science improves our efficiency and releases value safely by optimising processes, analysing images and detecting anomalies.”
Smiths’ detection arm, a specialist in security screening tech, uses AI-based automated target recognition in X-ray screening. Algorithms are trained to detect prohibited items such as weapons.
Meanwhile, Weir in late 2021 bought Motion Metrics, a developer of innovative AI and 3D machine vision technology which monitors the condition and performance of mining equipment and also captures data on the size of rocks being moved.
Employers looking to do further research include City investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, which would like to hire between five and 10 specialist AI staff over the next 18 months to look at machine learning.
Chief data officer Miguel Baptista said: “Rather than ask what areas of the business might have a use for AI, it’s probably easier to say which won’t.”
He added: “AI will enhance productivity and amplify how we are able to improve both the client and colleague experience, simplifying journeys, and amongst other things getting the right information to the end user, quicker.”
Rentokil Initial has even introduced AI into pest control. It installs mini cameras in customer premises — for example in ceilings or difficult to access loft spaces — that automatically send images to Rentokil’s online command centre which then utilises AI “rat recognition” to identify each individual rodent.
From that the pest control group can gain accurate information on numbers and direction of movement. It plans to invest further in AI over the next 18 months, which a spokesman says is working towards “smarter and more efficient pest control leading to faster results for customers”.
See the full findings HERE
