92% of knowledge workers in India use AI at work, lead world
Knowledge workers in India are ahead of their international counterparts in using artificial intelligence (AI) at work, said a report, referring to professionals whose job involves handling or using information. As many as 92% of knowledge workers in India use AI at work compared to the global figure of 75%, according to the ‘2024 Work Trend Index’ study by Microsoft and Linkedin, reflecting the technology’s use to save time and boost. The report said that 91% of business leaders in India believe their companies need to adopt AI to stay competitive, but 54% worry their organization lacks vision or a plan for implementing the technology. About 72% of Indian executives bring their own AI tools to work and are not waiting for their organizations. “The data is clear: people are turning to AI to be more productive and creative at work. The opportunity for every leader is to channel this momentum into ROI,” said the report, referring to return on investment. AI skills are Indian business leaders’ top priority when it comes to hiring. As many as 75% of them said they wouldn’t hire someone lacking in AI skills, outpacing the global average of 66%. As many as 80% of leaders in India would hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills. “The rate of diffusion we’re seeing across sectors, from BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) to healthcare to ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services) and public sector, has been very encouraging. This AI optimism presents a tremendous opportunity for organizations to invest in the right tools and training, to unlock efficiencies for employees and ultimately drive long term business impact,” said Irina Ghose of Microsoft India and South Asia.
More than 70 lakh transactions on ONDC platform in April
Transactions on Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a digital infrastructure launched in 2021 with an aim to democratize digital commerce, crossed 70 lakh in April this year, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said. DPIIT said that over 5 lakh sellers have been onboarded on the platform, of which more than 70% are small or medium sized sellers and that over 125 ecosystem stakeholders including startups, unicorns and businesses have signed Letter of Intent (LoI) to join ONDC. “Startups can play a pivotal role in the ONDC ecosystem by driving innovation, fostering competition and enhancing consumer choice. More than 125 startups have committed to onboard the ONDC network in today’s event reflecting the momentum of the national initiative,” Joint Secretary, DPIIT, Sanjiv Singh said.
AWS launches generative AI service Amazon Bedrock
Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the launch of its generative AI service Amazon Bedrock for the Asia Pacific (Mumbai) Region, at the ongoing AWS Summit in Bengaluru. With Bedrock, customers can build and scale generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications with ease and in the most secure manner. In 2023, AWS announced plans to invest $12.7 BN in India’s local cloud infrastructure by 2030. This brings AWS’s total investment in India to Rs 1,36,500 crore ($16.4 billion) by 2030. This investment will contribute $23.3 BN to India’s GDP by 2030, and support approximately 131,700 full-time jobs annually at local businesses. Bedrock became generally available to customers worldwide through select regions in 2023, and now it has been expanded to the Asia Pacific (Mumbai) Region. This will help support customers across the country, including public sector organizations and companies in regulated industries.
80% business leaders used AI to boost revenue
Most executives have a positive sentiment toward artificial intelligence (AI), shows a new study conducted by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). According to ‘TCS AI for Business Study’, 54% of executives believe that AI’s impact will be greater than or equal to the internet, while 59% believe that its impact will be greater than that of smartphones. Also, 86% of senior business leaders have deployed AI to enhance existing revenue streams or create avenues of income. The study, which is a report on the state of AI adoption and its impact on businesses, also finds that 69% of businesses are more focused on using AI to spur innovation and increase revenue than on productivity improvement and cost optimisation. Meanwhile, business leaders are less certain about the path to transformation. Only 4% use AI in a way that has transformed their business whereas 24% haven’t even moved beyond the initial exploratory phase. Top barriers to business success, according to the study, include current corporate IT infrastructures and customer expectations.
Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato-eCommerce Cos Take to Gamification to Boost User Engagement
YouTube, GooglePay, Amazon, Zomato, Cred, and most lately LinkedIn, platforms that define connectedness today have taken to gamification to increase engagement with users, get more conversions and enhance ad revenues as a result of the increase in time spent by users on the respective applications. The gamification strategy is where hyper-casual, tap-and-play games are used to engage customers, speed up sales and enhance revenue. For instance, Linkedin says 72% of its surveyed users said playing games such as Pinpoint, Crossclimb, Queens etc. “is professionally rewarding and a great mental exercise”. For GPay, scratch cards and gamification has elevated customer experience beyond payments. Its Diwali stamps game became viral overnight last year when users on social media created memes and the game became a competitive race to collect diyas, rangolis, jhumkas and lanterns. Zomato on the other hand seems to have perfected the art of customer conversions with its Zomato Premier League (ZPL) which runs parallel to IPL every year and combines Indians’ love for food and cricket. In last year’s edition, ZPL had attracted 60,000 game predictions on one single match day, user retention went up by 15% and weekly orders shot up 15-20%, it said. People were more likely to order desserts with the rewards they had won. Meanwhile Amazon now hosts a permanent section of spin-and-win games on its landing page, and YouTube has become the gamification connoisseur of maximizing ad revenues. As per global estimates, gamification is larger than any other form of online gaming in geographies like India and is growing faster than video games and Esports. According to Precedence Research, the global gamification market size was evaluated at $10 BN in 2022 and it is projected to surpass around $116.68 BN by 2032, growing at an annual rate of 27.9%. Platforms aim at increasing the average time spent by existing users.
OpenAI Set to Announce Search Product
OpenAI plans to announce its artificial intelligence-powered search product, raising the stakes in its competition with search king Google. The announcement date, though subject to change, has not been previously reported. Bloomberg and the Information have reported that Microsoft-backed OpenAI is working on a search product to potentially compete with Alphabet’s Google and with Perplexity, a well-funded AI search startup. OpenAI’s search product is an extension of its flagship ChatGPT product, and enables ChatGPT to pull in direct information from the Web and include citations, according to Bloomberg. ChatGPT is OpenAI’s chatbot product that uses the company’s cutting-edge AI models to generate human-like responses to text prompts.
A Bhartiya AI: Hanooman AI launched
3AI Holding and Seetha Mahalaxmi Healthcare (SML) have launched Hanooman AI, an Indian large language model (LLM) designed with the Indian demographic in mind. The AI model was first unveiled on February 21 at an event in Mumbai. Hanooman AI boasts support for 12 Indian languages and a total of 98 global languages, along with text translation capabilities. Currently, the Hanooman AI platform is freely available to all users, but the company has plans to introduce a premium version with a paid subscription in the future. It’s worth noting that the company has made its chatbot accessible through both a web client and an Android app, both of which are operational as of now. Hanooman AI comes packed with features designed to cater to various important sectors, including healthcare, governance, financial services, and education. It has an impressive support for 12 Indian languages and a total of 98 global languages, Hanooman AI can communicate with users in their native language, providing a seamless experience across diverse linguistic backgrounds.
Govt to make anti-fake review rules mandatory for eCommerce firms
Govt is set to make anti-fake review norms mandatory for e-commerce companies to protect consumer interest. The consumer affairs department plans to notify the Quality Control Order (QCO) for online consumer reviews after a voluntary push failed to effectively curb fake reviews. The department had issued quality norms for e-tailers a year ago, prohibiting them from publishing paid reviews and demanding disclosure of such promotional contents. “Some entities claim that they are complying with it. But, fake reviews are still getting published. We are holding consultation with the stakeholders this week. We want to make these standards mandatory to protect consumer interest,” said consumer affairs secretary Nidhi Khare. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has come up with draft norms for “Online Consumer Reviews” and circulated it among stakeholders. The draft QCO specifies that all organizations (termed as review administrator) managing and publishing online consumer reviews shall comply with the norms. They must ensure that only “genuine” reviews get published and they won’t publish any “fake or false” consumer reviews online.
Online gaming estimated to make $2.90 BN revenue in India by 2024” Report
New data has revealed that India is projected to be a world leader in online gambling in 2024, with a projected revenue of $2.90 BN. Using data sourced from Statista, Japanese Online Casino Guide analyzed the projected 2024 online gambling revenue for 61 countries. The countries were then ranked from highest to lowest revenue. The United States is projected to make the most revenue from online gambling in 2024, with $23.03 BN. This equates to a 20.3% increase in revenue from 2023 to 2024, which is the second-highest increase behind Brazil. Worldwide, the year-over-year revenue change is 12.9%, meaning that US online gambling revenue is growing approximately one and a half times faster than other countries. The second highest earning country is the United Kingdom, with projected revenue of $13.78 BN in 2024. The UK has the second-highest number of gamblers, with 27.9% of the population having gambled online, even though the UK is projected to have the fourth-lowest increase in revenue this year, with a 7.4% increase expected in 2024. It is also estimated that the UK will have the fourth-lowest rate of revenue increase between 2024 and 2028, with a rate of 3.84%. Third in the ranking is Australia, with $10.14 BN projected to be made in revenue in 2024. India ranks 9th with revenues in 2024 of $ 2.90 BN.