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Follow ZDNET:\u00a0Add us as a preferred source<\/a>\u00a0on Google.<\/p>\n ZDNET’s key takeawaysBusinesses are using AI for mergers and acquisitions.It’s not without data security concerns, among others.Upskilling, regulation, and other factors could improve those issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n Many businesses are now using generative AI tools to assist with mergers and acquisitions (M&A), a new study from Deloitte found.<\/p>\n Based on a survey of 1,000 senior business leaders, the study found that 86% of respondents said their organizations have already incorporated generative AI into their M&A processes. The majority of those (65%) have started to do so within the past year, signaling a rapidly escalating trend that reflects a broader embrace of the technology throughout the private sector as new AI tools promise big productivity gains.<\/p>\n Also: You can now chat with third-party apps in ChatGPT – here’s how<\/a><\/p>\n There’s some trepidation surrounding the use of generative AI for M&A, though. According to the study, data security was the most prominent concern, cited by 67% of respondents, followed by data quality (65%), model reliability (64%), ethics and bias (62%), and other factors.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, 57% said their organizations are investing in upskilling and training programs to ensure their teams are prepared to use new AI tools competently and safely.\u00a0<\/p>\n How AI is helping\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Deloitte, the spike in businesses that have been fusing generative AI into their M&A workflows over the past year shows “investment is shifting from pilots to execution, as leaders seek measurable returns and anticipate further increases in [generative AI] spending.”<\/p>\n But the process of merging with or acquiring another company tends to be a long and complicated one, involving a huge amount of legal, financial, and personnel logistics. AI agents might be able to handle a variety of complex tasks in those domains — even though they occasionally snitch without reason<\/a>, among other kinds of misbehavior — but so far there’s no AI system that can comprehensively handle every part of every M&A process. So where is generative AI being most widely used in this regard?<\/p>\n Also: 97% of companies struggle to prove AI’s ROI – but these 5 expert tips can help<\/a><\/p>\n The Deloitte study found that while the technology is being applied at every stage of the M&A lifecycle, usage among survey respondents veered most heavily toward the earlier stages, such as strategy development and market assessment (40% on both counts). Similarly, close to half (48%) of those respondents whose businesses have embraced generative AI for M&A purposes said it’s been used to draft early legal documents pertaining to their deals.<\/p>\n For the latter stages of the process, in contrast — such as valuation and deal-valuation — businesses use generative AI less, according to the survey.<\/p>\n Issues and concerns<\/p>\n The majority of respondents to the Deloitte study (83%) said they believe that generative AI will “have a moderate or significant impact on M&A decision-making” in the future. That’s supported by a recent report<\/a> from market research firm Gartner, which highlighted “decision intelligence” — AI-supported charting of economic and commercial trends — as one of the major tech trends that will affect businesses in the near future.<\/p>\n Also: 97% of companies struggle to prove AI’s ROI – but these 5 expert tips can help<\/a><\/p>\n Widespread concerns about data security surfaced in the Deloitte survey, however, coupled with the intrinsic risks of generative AI tools (including their tendency to fabricate information<\/a>), are likely to prevent AI from playing a dominant role in the M&A process anytime soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n