Irish Business Confidence in AI Surges 22 pts in Six Months – But Privacy Fears Remain

Irish medium-sized businesses’ perception of artificial intelligence has shifted considerably over the past six months, according to Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR). The IBR, which provides insights into the attitudes of 10,000 mid-market businesses across 32 countries, including Ireland, found the proportion of Irish executives branding AI “over-rated” has plunged from 45% to 23%, signaling a decisive move from hype to hands-on adoption.

Over the same period, firms have hurried to put rules in place: more than half (53% in Q2) now require staff to follow an AI-usage policy when using Gen AI such as ChatGPT, spiking from 37% just six months ago. Nevertheless, enthusiasm is tempered by a persistent concern over data security. Six in ten of the executives surveyed say they worry about employees entering sensitive information into generative-AI platforms.

The research also reveals a sharp improvement in companies’ ability to spot practical applications for AI. Only a fifth (22%) of mid-sized companies now cite “difficulty determining productive uses” as a challenge, down from almost half (48%) six months ago. At the same time, privacy has surged to become the leading barrier to the adoption of AI tools.

58% of Irish executives noted privacy as the key challenge their organisation faces in adopting AI (up from 35%, six months previous). This underlines a real paradox: businesses are more confident in AI’s potential, yet more anxious about how it handles information.

Shane O’Neill, Technology and Digital Consulting Partner, Grant Thornton, said, “Over the past six months, we’ve heard that Irish mid-size businesses are shifting from cautious experimentation to confident deployment of AI. Executives are no longer debating whether the technology is ‘over-hyped’. They’re writing policies, training staff and embedding tools into day-to-day operations. That practical focus is driving productivity gains, particularly in data analysis, customer support and internal knowledge-sharing.

“But optimism alone won’t close the trust gap. Until organisations can guarantee that sensitive data fed into AI systems remains secure and compliant, adoption will continue to bump against serious privacy concerns. We believe the winners here will be those firms that treat governance and transparency as strategically important: investing in building clear policies and communicating openly with employees and customers about how information is used.”