The Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Chairperson Park Yoonkyung) announced on May 29 that it conducted a survey on the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) among 445 local companies.
According to the survey, 24.7% of companies in the Daegu region responded that they are using generative AI in their work, while 75.3% said they are not utilizing generative AI in their operations.
By industry, generative AI was most widely used in 'distribution and service' (39.4%), followed by 'manufacturing' (24.1%), and 'construction' (15.9%).
Regarding the purposes of using generative AI (multiple responses allowed), 'improving work efficiency and productivity' was the most common at 70%. This was followed by 'product/service development' (20%), 'strengthening organizational capabilities and internal innovation' (16.7%), 'enhancing marketing performance through automated content creation' (15.0%), 'improving decision-making speed and accuracy' (15.0%), 'improving financial structure efficiency' (6.7%), and 'enhancing customer service quality' (5.0%).
In terms of business areas where generative AI is used (multiple responses allowed), 'planning and strategy' was the most common at 63.3%, followed by 'marketing and advertising' (31.7%), and 'legal affairs and contract management' (31.7%). In contrast, the use of generative AI was still low in 'manufacturing and smart factories' (11.7%) and 'customer service' (5.0%).
Among generative AI models, companies in the Daegu region used 'ChatGPT' the most (72.2%). This was followed by 'Gemini' (11.1%), 'Perplexity' (9.7%), 'Copilot' (6.9%), and 'Grok' (2.8%).
Regarding the frequency of generative AI use, 'once or twice a week' was the most common at 43.3%. This was followed by 'daily' (26.7%), 'once or twice a month' (16.7%), and 'three to four times a week' (11.7%).
Additionally, more companies used 'free services' (48.3%) than 'paid services' (31.7%) when utilizing generative AI, and 20% of companies reported using both free and paid services.
After utilizing generative AI, the most common improvement in work productivity (efficiency) was '10% or more but less than 20%' (33.3%). This was followed by '20% or more but less than 30%' (23.3%), '0% or more but less than 10%' (21.7%), '30% or more but less than 40%' (10.0%), '50% or more' (6.7%), and '40% or more but less than 50%' (5.0%).
The greatest advantage of using generative AI was cited as 'saving work time' (63.3%), followed by 'improved quality of output' (20.0%), 'improved accessibility (applicable to non-expert fields)' (8.3%), 'decision-making support' (6.7%), and 'reduction of repetitive tasks' (1.7%).
Meanwhile, the most common concerns regarding the use of generative AI (multiple responses allowed) were 'the possibility of inaccurate results and errors' (61.7%) and 'information security and leakage of personal information' (56.8%), each cited by more than half of the responding companies. This was followed by 'excessive reliance on AI' (23.9%), 'copyright and intellectual property infringement' (15.2%), 'job changes and employment instability' (15.2%), and 'bias and ethical issues' (7.8%).
For government-level support to promote the use of generative AI (multiple responses allowed), the most desired measure was 'operation of AI job training programs tailored to companies' (48.6%). This was followed by 'support for personnel and funding or provision of vouchers for AI adoption by small and medium-sized enterprises' (44.0%), 'providing AI transformation consulting for small and medium-sized enterprises' (40.3%), 'guidance on AI use cases by industry and job function' (29.6%), 'establishing joint AI utilization platforms centered on industrial complexes or innovation centers' (10.7%), and 'establishing legal, ethical, and security-related systems' (9.9%).
When asked about plans to expand (or reduce) the use of generative AI in the future, 51.9% of respondents said they would 'maintain the current level,' and 42.4% said they would 'expand usage.' Together, these accounted for 94.3% of responses, indicating that 9 out of 10 respondents plan to continue using generative AI in the future.
Meanwhile, when searching for information, respondents most frequently used 'portal sites' (56.1%), followed by 'generative AI' (25.5%), 'online video sharing platforms' (15.8%), and 'SNS' (2.1%).
Lee Sanggil, Executive Vice President of the Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, "Although the use of generative AI in business operations is increasing, local companies still show a relatively low level of utilization. In order to enhance the use of generative AI among local companies, diverse support such as company-specific AI diagnostics (including suitability analysis), training, and consulting is needed."
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