Worldwide Spending on Artificial Intelligence Systems Will Grow to Nearly $35.8 Billion in 2019, According to New IDC Spending Guide

Worldwide spending on artificial intelligence (AI) systems is forecast to reach $35.8 billion in 2019, an increase of 44 percent over the amount spent in 2018,  International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts.

Enterprises are investing aggressively in projects that utilize AI software capabilities. IDC 's Worldwide Semiannual Artificial Intelligence Systems Spending Guide expects spending on AI systems will more than double to $79.2 billion in 2022 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38 percent over the 2018-2022 forecast period.

Global spending on AI systems will be led by the retail industry where companies will invest $5.9 billion this year on solutions such as automated customer service agents and expert shopping advisors product recommendations.

Banking will be the second largest and industry with $5.6 billion going toward AI-enabled solutions including automated threat intelligence and prevention systems, fraud analysis and investigation systems. Discrete manufacturing, healthcare providers, and process manufacturing will complete the top five industries for AI systems spending this year.

The industries that will experience the fastest CAGR growth in AI systems spending over the 2018-2022 forecast are federal/central government (44.3 percent), personal and consumer services (43.3 percent and education (42.9 percent).

"Significant worldwide artificial intelligence systems spend can now be seen within every industry as AI initiatives continue to optimize operations, transform the customer experience, and create new products and services", said Marianne Daquila, research manager, Customer Insights & Analysis at IDC.

Daquila noted that this growth forecast is evidenced by use cases, such as intelligent process automation, expert shopping advisors  recommendations, and pharmaceutical research and discovery. These dynamics will exceed the average five-year compound annual growth of 38 percent,” she says. “The continued advancement of AI-related technologies will drive double-digit year-over-year spend into the next decade."

The AI use cases that will see the most investment this year are automated customer service agents ($4.5 billion worldwide), sales process recommendation and automation ($2.7 billion), and automated threat intelligence and prevention systems ($2.7 billion).

Five other use cases will see spending levels greater than $2 billion in 2019: automated preventative maintenance, diagnosis and treatment systems, fraud analysis and investigation, intelligent process automation, and program advisors and recommendation systems.

(For more information visit https://www.idc.com)