AI-driven simulations are suddenly everywhere. From digital twins that provide insights into current performance to advanced simulation intelligence that evaluates future scenarios, organizations in nearly every industry are taking advantage of the evolution of AI simulation to speed up operations, reduce risk and boost better decision-making.
And almost all companies are on board the AI simulation train. According to PWC’s 2022 AI Business Survey, it is almost unanimous – a whopping 96% of survey respondents said they plan to use AI simulations this year. Meanwhile, 57% of those deemed AI leaders plan to use simulations to forecast market conditions, while 54% of AI leaders plan to use simulations to support financial, sales and marketing planning as well as enhance supply chain and operations.
This fervent focus on the business power of AI simulations is not surprising, Anand Rao, principal with PwC's U.S. advisory practice, told VentureBeat.
“A few years ago, some of this was not possible because there was not enough compute power or enough data,” he said. “But now you can simulate millions of customers, for example, and the details around how they are making decisions – and then you can get tangible output to tailor and target your products and services.”
Still, Rao said while he wasn't surprised that the number of respondents using or planning to use AI simulations had increased, he was surprised by how much. “The pandemic changed things dramatically,” he said. “Digital twin modeling or other AI simulations work particularly well when you don’t have a lot of historical data and when you have a very uncertain future environment – which is what happened during the pandemic.”
How to sustain AI simulations at scale
The question is, how can companies go beyond a one-and-done AI simulation in a crisis to sustainable efforts at scale across the organization? Rao suggests three key actions:
AI simulations will continue to trend upward
According to Rao, enthusiasm for AI simulations will continue to trend through 2022 and beyond.
“During the pandemic, people were looking for something that would keep them from being in the dark about everything from the supply side to the demand side to personnel,” he said. “When there is that kind of uncertainty in the market, these techniques are very useful.”