Background to Development of Service

In a survey conducted by NRI in October 2023, approximately 12% of respondents answered that they “currently use” or “are trying” generative AI.¹ Many companies are likewise busy creating safe information system environments and infrastructures for generative AI utilization. In addition, RAG² methods are being used to test out operational reforms that automate the very process of obtaining required information from internal documents and generating answers to support the improvement of help desk operations and facilitate other similar changes.

A growing number of companies have moved beyond the testing and promotion of individual reforms into the planning of overall initiatives – for example, by ranking initiatives from the perspective of business impact and technical difficulty, avoiding overlap, and sharing cases, and setting budgets and roadmaps for reforms. For these activities, scenario building for internal business transformation, monitoring of technological innovations, and other such practices are becoming extremely important.

Overview and Advantages of Service

The Service supports companies that are attempting to promote major transformations through utilization of generative AI. The overview and advantages of the Service are as follows (for details, see the [Reference] at the end of this document).

Figure: Menu of “AI Consulting” Services

Source: NRI

On-Hand Support from AI CoE (Center of Excellence)³

We provide on-hand support for change management for overall AI-driven management reforms, alongside a CoE often installed directly under management. Specifically, we provide support for the formulation and management of reform roadmaps, intra-organizational knowledge gathering utilizing internal social networking services etc., and visualization and development of AI-related personnel.

AI Business Model Transformation

We formulate scenarios for the industrial business model transformations, discontinuous growth, and destruction that will result from the spread and integration of AI. We also help formulate strategies that can be used by companies in response to these changes. In such circumstances, the promotion of AI-driven business model transformations often cannot be confined to the individual company, so we also support business reform promotion that incorporates various stakeholders.

AI Business Reform

AI has the potential to streamline and enhance marketing, R&D, HR, IT, and many other operations. Our Service seeks out use cases in these areas, promotes operational reform via operational reform PoC,⁴ creates system concepts, and promotes the development and implementation of those concepts.

AI Infrastructure Creation

Generative AI carries many unprecedented risks. This, in turn, requires AI-specific governance, and we help businesses put the policies, rules, and tools for this governance in place. In addition, regarding the data to be utilized, we support data gathering and utilization at hitherto unprecedented quality, under a “good data” concept that emphasizes not the quantity of data, but data quality amenable to the utilization of generative AI. We also support the creation of systems for these initiatives.
NRI’s aims going forward are to continue evolving our “AI Consulting” service, solve the complex problems faced by the businesses of our client companies, and help those companies realize sustainable growth and enhanced competitiveness.

• ¹  

  See: NRI Future Creation Center Research Report, vol. 10, “Visions of a Future Transformed by Generative AI” (released December 2023).
  https://www.nri.com/-/media/Corporate/jp/Files/PDF/knowledge/report/souhatsu/2023/miraisouhatsu-report_vol10_202312.pdf (in Japanese)

• ²  

  “Retrieval Augmented Generation” – The process of referring to documents and data specific to a company and then generating knowledge from the same.

• ³  

  Center for Excellence – A team focused on reform methods and knowledge. It may be an organization or take the form of a committee or working group.

• ⁴  

  Proof of Concept – Empirical trial to verify effects.

[Reference] Details of “AI Consulting” Service