New Delhi, May 23 (IANS): With generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) emerging as a top-of-mind priority for businesses, over 80 per cent of Indian enterprises are planning to invest in GenAI within the next 1–2 years, a new report said on Thursday.

According to Bain & Company and Meta report, most large companies are planning to invest in delivering end-to-end journeys via GenAI-powered conversational platforms.

About 70 per cent of large enterprises are already engaging with more than 50 per cent of their customer base using conversational platforms, especially in marketing and promotion-centric use cases, followed by customer service and transaction updates.

Over 60 per cent are planning to boost spending on conversational platforms over the next 3-4 years.

"We are seeing a growing user preference for leveraging conversational platforms for daily tasks, along with increased spending and investment by businesses in GenAI to enhance end-to-end journeys on these platforms," said Arpan Sheth, Partner, Bain & Company.

The report is based on a survey of both consumers and businesses. It provided insights into conversational journeys for organisations, small businesses and digital users.

According to the report, the impact of conversational platforms will not be limited only to large companies.

About 90 per cent of non-savvy digital users choose to interact with SMBs via conversational platforms for day-to-day needs.

"The coming decade presents a unique opportunity for technology, particularly generative AI, to revolutionise how businesses of all sizes operate," said Sandhya Devanathan, Head and VP, Meta in India.

In addition, the report mentioned that 70 per cent of users prefer to connect with local grocery stores to send a list of items and place an order.