The IT channel regularly navigates dynamic periods of innovation and change, but the sudden rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) as a business catalyst is an unprecedented inflection point. Vendors, solution providers, value added resellers and other channel-driven brands are at a crossroads, facing urgent demand to propel GenAI and large language model (LLM) innovations and meet client, partner, and market expectations — all without risky missteps.

Finding your footing in this fast-shifting landscape can be a challenge, but new research from The Channel Company can help provide a stable basecamp and vantage point for exploring and making rapid advances in this new territory.

The State of Channel GenAI Implementation
To help brands understand the current state of GenAI adoption, our researchers leveraged our Intelligence Index — a proprietary, AI/ML-driven tool — to explore language on the websites of more than 11,000 channel companies with existing expertise in at least one AI capability (i.e., GenAI, robotic process automation, chatbots).

We pinpointed existing AI and GenAI capabilities broken down by partner type and revealed growth over 2023 in the prevalence of several terms closely associated with GenAI, including “LLM” and “GPT modeling.” Our findings show GenAI traction with many partners already in the mature adoption phase for early use cases like chatbots. More specific GenAI terms like “AI inference” have lower prevalence, which suggests companies are testing the waters of more recent use case arrivals but are still in early implementation stages.

We also surveyed 297 channel partners about their AI/LLM adoption so far, which confirmed that most partners are beyond early adoption of chatbots, and many have already engaged chatbots for a significant period. The survey also revealed significant interest and action around AI, with 56% respectively saying they were “trying to learn more about AI/LLMs” or “looking for use cases for AI/LLMs” to support external clients AND internal functions.

Speed to Implementation and Channel Expectations for GenAI
Though talk of GenAI in the channel grew meteorically, the pace of actual GenAI adoption has been measured so far. Among survey respondents, 45% said they plan to implement GenAI in next three years and 23% plan to implement within a year. Far fewer respondents had a very long timeline (3 to 5 years and more) or a very fast turnaround (within six months).

When it comes to use cases, our survey respondents see opportunities for efficiencies across their business but haven’t yet pinpointed how they will leverage the technology to directly deliver value to their customers.

This moderate implementation pace and hesitation to encourage GenAI adoption among clients (for the moment at least) likely comes down to two factors:

1. GenAI Security Worries. This revolutionary technology has already been adopted as a powerful tool for cyber attacks, including stealing user credentials, malware and phishing scams, and sponge attacks that can reduce subsequent AI/ML efficiency and accuracy.
2. GenAI Use Case Confusion. It isn’t yet clear to channel partners the GenAI solutions they should explore, how they will benefit their clients, and how these offerings will boost their business results.

Explore more GenAI research insights and channel strategies in our AI in Action eBook. You’ll learn pathways to harness AI to boost internal efficiencies, drive new business growth, and venture forth on your GenAI journey with greater clarity and confidence. Read the eBook now.