Generative AI: navigating tech developments, operator adoption and consumer expectations

This report is available to those subscribed to the Digital Consumer module.
Generative AI (genAI) was the defining tech theme for 2023 and this trend looks set to continue in 2024, based on the promise of genAI's transformative potential across all sectors of the economy. Early genAI applications span both the consumer and enterprise markets, across all components of the value chain, from networks and platforms to hardware and content and services. We cover this spectrum of applications in-depth in this report.
According to our December 2023 consumer survey of eight major developed countries worldwide, consumer awareness of genAI is high, with around two thirds of consumers on average having heard of this tech, around half of whom have used genAI themselves. In this report, we also take a deep dive into our genAI consumer survey findings.
Finally, operators are embracing genAI at a sound pace and we discuss their wide-reaching involvement, including findings from our operator survey. We also present three operator case studies on genAI.
Related research
AI inference in practice: choosing the right edge
As AI adoption grows, inferencing will accelerate, raising questions about workload processing and business benefits. This analysis examines how running AI workloads on the edge can deliver improved outcomes.
AI inference in practice: time is money
As AI adoption grows, inferencing will accelerate, raising the question of where workloads will be processed and how they translate into business benefits. This analysis examines AI on the near edge in distributed telco data centres, with Kinetica highlighted as an example.
Edge AI: how IoT hardware and connectivity companies can drive ecosystem adoption and scale
Edge AI has gained major momentum during 2024–2025 as Qualcomm, Nordic Semiconductor, Synaptics and many others have launched significant innovations in edge silicon and hardware. This report focuses on the industrial IoT part of the market.
Authors
How to access this report
Annual subscription: Subscribe to our research modules for comprehensive access to more than 200 reports per year.
Enquire about subscriptionContact our research team
Get in touch with us to find out more about our research topics and analysis.
Contact our research teamMedia
To cite our research, please see our citation policy in our Terms of Use, or contact our Media team for more information.
Learn moreRelated research
AI inference in practice: choosing the right edge
As AI adoption grows, inferencing will accelerate, raising questions about workload processing and business benefits. This analysis examines how running AI workloads on the edge can deliver improved outcomes.
AI inference in practice: time is money
As AI adoption grows, inferencing will accelerate, raising the question of where workloads will be processed and how they translate into business benefits. This analysis examines AI on the near edge in distributed telco data centres, with Kinetica highlighted as an example.
Edge AI: how IoT hardware and connectivity companies can drive ecosystem adoption and scale
Edge AI has gained major momentum during 2024–2025 as Qualcomm, Nordic Semiconductor, Synaptics and many others have launched significant innovations in edge silicon and hardware. This report focuses on the industrial IoT part of the market.
- 200 reports a year
- 50 million data points
- Over 350 metrics