PwC Thailand warns of skills gap as key barrier to AI adoption
61% of Thai CEOs predict GenAI will significantly change business, employees and markets in the next three years
BANGKOK, 5 June 2024 – Thai businesses still lack workers with AI readiness skills, which is considered the primary barrier to adopting AI technology. However, most employers have no plans to lay off employees after the introduction of AI, a PwC survey showed.
PwC Thailand advises business leaders to upskill their employees, explore the adept use of AI and invest to drive long-term growth.
Pisit Thangtanagul, CEO of PwC Thailand, said that both public and private organisations are increasingly embracing AI technology. According to the ‘27th Annual Global CEO Survey – Thailand: Leading through accelerated reinvention’, 36% of Thai CEOs have adopted GenAI across their companies, while 24% have changed their business strategy because of GenAI. These figures are also aligned with the global averages of 32% and 31% and the Asia Pacific averages of 33% and 28%, respectively.
“Thai businesses are digitising at a rapid pace, and they’re open to adopting new technologies such as GenAI, especially in the financial services industry. Over the past few years, financial institutions have adjusted their strategies for technology adoption to enhance the quality of new products and services. In addition to chatbots, AI is being utilised as a trusted investment advisor for loan approvals and other potential services in response to changing consumer behaviour,”
Pisit said.
Despite the potential of GenAI to improve an organisation’s work productivity, the report found that more than half of Thai CEOs (58%) say they need to upskill their employees to support GenAI usage at work.
“The challenge that Thailand faces today is the gap in implementation as organisations lack AI readiness,”
Pisit said.
“Although business leaders understand that AI is a technology that can’t be overlooked, there is a shortage of employees with the necessary AI skills,” he said.
Most Thai organisations are currently applying AI to repetitive tasks. Still, the application of AI in business functions, such as complex task management and processing for finance, tax, legal, IT and regulatory compliance remains relatively limited compared to other countries in the region.
According to the ‘Asia Pacific AI Readiness Index 2023’ by Salesforce, Singapore holds the number one spot for AI readiness in the Asia Pacific region thanks to its favourable policy and business environment. Japan and China follow closely, ranking second and third, respectively. It is expected that micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will adopt digitalisation at a slower pace compared to large corporations.
Pisit stated the high value of investment in AI means that small and medium-sized enterprises are only able to adopt automation technologies like ChatGPT. And this comes amidst a slowing economy that requires business leaders to balance investments for long-term growth and short-term profitability. This presents another significant challenge of digital transformation for Thai organisations.
“Before investing, business leaders should consider where AI can be used to help increase efficiency or reduce costs in the organisation. After identifying areas where AI can reinforce weak spots and solve problems, they can then determine the appropriate investment amount.
“Small organisations may consider sourcing third parties to write programmes or bots, or utilise automated software solutions from external providers. Although making investment decisions in the current economic situation is challenging, business leaders should prioritise long-term growth. Focusing solely on cost reduction may result in missed opportunities and slower growth compared to competitors,”
Pisit said.
The PwC survey found that 61% of Thai CEOs expect that GenAI will have a significant impact on companies, employees, and market sectors in the next three years.
Although there is an increasing adoption of GenAI, Pisit stated that Thai businesses have no plans to reduce headcounts, which aligns with the PwC survey that states more than half of CEOs (52%) believe GenAI will have little to no impact (5% change) on headcounts.
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