‘AI trust barrier’ is stalling productivity: Gong report

Been eyeing that buzzy AI platform to help streamline your org? Getting it up and running is easier said than done. Cost, training, and even office politics can stand in the way of uprooting an old system and initiating your dream workflow.

A new report from revenue AI company Gong—which surveyed 2,000 US and UK-based business leaders—shows another roadblock stalling innovation: the “AI trust barrier.” It found that nearly half (46%) of companies’ planned AI investments are currently on pause due to trust concerns. The report also shows that 75% of leaders feel their companies are “falling behind when it comes to realizing AI’s most powerful benefits.”

The report details some of the main concerns contributing to this AI trust barrier:

• Data privacy and security concerns (34%)
• Explainability, or the ability to articulate AI-derived outputs (30%)
• AI model transparency (28%)
• Regulatory uncertainty (27%)

“Security and AI trust are no longer back-office conversations; they are revenue conversations,” said Chris Peake, Gong’s chief trust officer, in a statement. “Gong’s research found that trust can be a performance multiplier when applied as part of an AI strategy.”

Par for the course: Trust issues surrounding AI usage are nothing new. According to a report from Clari + Salesloft released earlier this year, there is a generation gap in AI usage costing companies $56 billion in productivity annually, with baby boomers among those voicing concerns and hesitancy over AI adoption.

Room for improvement: Gong’s report outlines the top assurances that would make leaders more comfortable adopting AI tools. They include explainability (26%), the ability to articulate AI model guardrails to protect data (25%), security guarantees built into solutions (23%), and transparent model logic (22%).