Where Things Stand
Nine out of ten businesses are now using generative AI in some capacity. This is not a figure driven by tech companies alone. Across sectors from professional services and manufacturing to retail and healthcare, AI tools are being applied to real operational tasks: drafting documents, summarising meetings, writing code, handling routine customer queries, and generating marketing content.
The tools most businesses are using, including Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, and similar platforms, are accessible, relatively affordable, and in many cases already included in existing software subscriptions. The barrier to starting is lower than many business owners assume.
Where Generative AI Is Delivering Value
Productivity on routine tasks
Drafting emails, summarising long documents, generating first drafts of reports, and producing meeting notes from recordings are all tasks where AI tools deliver measurable time savings. Staff who previously spent an hour on a routine document can now spend twenty minutes reviewing and refining an AI-generated version.
Software development
Developers using AI coding assistants write and review code faster. For businesses with bespoke software or in-house development teams, this translates directly into reduced development time and cost.
Customer-facing applications
AI-powered chat tools can handle common customer queries, route requests to the right team, and provide consistent responses at any hour. For businesses with high volumes of routine enquiries, this reduces the load on staff without reducing service quality.
The Challenges to Manage
Adoption at scale brings responsibilities. Generative AI outputs require human review, particularly for anything client-facing or legally sensitive. AI tools can produce plausible-sounding but incorrect information, so verification processes need to be built into workflows rather than added as an afterthought.
Data privacy is a genuine consideration. Staff using consumer AI tools may inadvertently include sensitive client or business data in their prompts. Establishing clear guidelines on which tools are approved for business use and what data can be shared with them is a practical first step that most businesses have not yet formalised.
By the end of 2025, an estimated three in four companies will have launched internal AI training programmes to address skills gaps. For smaller North West businesses without dedicated HR or training functions, working with an IT partner to develop guidance and training can fill that gap.
How to Start Sensibly
The most practical approach is to identify two or three specific tasks where AI could save time, run a controlled trial, and measure the result. Starting with low-risk internal tasks before applying AI to anything client-facing or regulated gives staff the chance to understand the tools before the stakes are higher.
Blowfish Technology helps North West businesses implement Microsoft Copilot and other AI tools within their existing Microsoft 365 environment, including guidance on data governance and staff training. We support businesses across the region including IT Support Chester, IT Support Liverpool, IT Support Manchester, and IT Support Lancashire.
The Blowfish Technology team. Managed IT, cloud services, software development and connectivity for North West businesses since 1999.