Accenture trains more than half its staff in GenAI, eyeing boom: report

New York-listed consulting giant Accenture Plc has trained more than half of its employees in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) as it sees a boom in demand for work in that segment, Bloomberg reported, citing a top company executive.

The Dublin-headquartered firm had a workforce of 799,000 at the end of its first quarter (September-November), according to Julie Sweet, chair and chief executive officer at Accenture, with half of them based out of India.

The company, which operates in more than 120 countries and serves clients across industries, including finance, healthcare, retail, and telecommunications, follows a September-August fiscal year.

Sales from GenAI rose to $2.6 billion in the past six months, up from $300 million in the first six months after ChatGPT was introduced in 2022, Sweet told Bloomberg Television in an interview.

Two-thirds of the firm’s staff in the UK have been trained to use generative AI, she said.

Globally, professional services firms have been experimenting with GenAI to scrap repetitive, time-consuming work long reserved for junior employees.

At Accenture, consultants are now using the technology to replace rote tasks like compiling presentations, Sweet added.