Despite the varying effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across different industries, the global market for artificial intelligence (AI) software will expand to $98.8 billion by 2025, according to a new report from Omdia.
That number is an increase by a factor of six from $16.4 billion in 2019.
The AI software market has experienced tremendous growth over the past several years. And while the COVID-19 pandemic has dampened growth forecasts for the market, its impact is uneven across industry sectors. Some industries are retrenching—such as energy, oil, gas, & mining—a few markets, like healthcare, are accelerating AI adoption.
The report discusses four market scenarios based on the duration of the pandemic and the severity of its economic effect. The moderate scenario foresees continued double-digit growth ahead, although the cumulative market size for 2019-2025 will be reduced by 22% compared to the pre-COVID forecasts.
End users focus on what AI software can do. As a result, Omdia has built a taxonomy of 340 AI use cases across 23 industry sectors that captures the software opportunity related to AI. The use cases explain how and why customers are deploying AI. They help distinguish market reality, i.e., actual deployment and usage, from market hype. Use cases driving the AI software market include voice/speech recognition, video surveillance, customer service & marketing virtual digital assistants (VDAs), network/IT operations monitoring & management and supply chain & inventory management.
“Economic effects from the COVID-19 pandemic have widened the dichotomy between early AI adopters—the ‘AI haves’—and the trailing followers—the “AI have nots,’” said Omdia senior analyst, Neil Dunay in a statement.
“Industries that have pioneered AI deployments and have the largest AI investments are likely to continue to invest in what they view as proven, indispensable technology for cost-cutting, revenue generation, and enhancing customer experience,” adds Dunay.
