PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has announced a significant partnership with OpenAI, becoming the largest customer and first reseller of OpenAI’s enterprise product.
PwC plans to roll out ChatGPT Enterprise, the advanced version of ChatGPT designed for large companies, to its 75,000 U.S. employees and 26,000 U.K. employees, totaling over 100,000 licenses. Both companies have chosen not to disclose the financial terms of the deal.
This development is part of PwC’s $1 billion investment in generative AI within its U.S. operations, an initiative announced last year. Joe Atkinson, PwC U.S.’s vice chair and chief products and technology officer, confirmed that the agreement with OpenAI is an evolution of this initial investment.
Over the past year, PwC has focused on educating its staff on AI, developing proprietary AI tools, and integrating AI into its consulting technology platform and operations.
PwC’s AI Integration and Employee Training
PwC has made substantial strides in generative AI, training its workforce to leverage AI tools and technologies. So far, 95% of PwC’s U.S. workforce has dedicated over 360,000 hours to generative AI activities and learning. The firm also developed ChatPwC, a chatbot based on OpenAI’s GPT-4 model, which has enhanced productivity by 20% to 40% for over 100,000 employees globally.
Both ChatGPT Enterprise and ChatPwC will be available to employees, with many expected to transition to ChatGPT Enterprise as it is rolled out.
For OpenAI, partnering with PwC marks a significant step in expanding its enterprise sales efforts beyond its collaboration with Microsoft. Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s Chief Operating Officer, noted the increasing demand for enterprise solutions. OpenAI’s business products, including ChatGPT Enterprise and ChatGPT Team, cater to companies of varying sizes, with the former aimed at larger enterprises and priced per user, while the latter targets smaller firms at a monthly cost of $30 per user.
Generative AI Adoption
The adoption of AI is not uniform across all sectors, with PwC observing the highest uptake in financial services and healthcare, as well as in customer service-heavy industries. According to OpenAI’s recent update, 600,000 individuals are now paying for its business-oriented products, and an impressive 92% of Fortune 500 companies have incorporated ChatGPT in various capacities.
Consulting firms like PwC, Accenture, KPMG, and Ernst & Young have emerged as early beneficiaries of the generative AI boom, investing billions to incorporate AI into their client services. However, widespread adoption of generative AI across all business sectors remains cautious, with most enterprises currently focusing on applications such as automating customer service and summarizing emails.
Global spending on information technology services is projected to reach $1.52 trillion this year, up 9.7% from 2023, driven by investments in generative AI. According to Gartner, enterprises are increasingly outsourcing AI talent to IT service firms rather than building in-house capabilities. PwC views the use of ChatGPT Enterprise as a way to refine and apply AI technologies internally before sharing insights and solutions with clients.
PwC has seen the highest AI adoption among financial services, healthcare, and customer service-oriented sectors. The firm is actively engaged in generative AI projects with 950 of its top 1,000 U.S. consulting clients. While PwC collaborates with other technology providers like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, it remains committed to providing objective advice on AI solutions to its clients.
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