VIEW SPEECH SUMMARY
Introduction and Early Reactions
- ChatGPT launch in November 2022 rapidly gained 1 million users in five days.
- Initial excitement mixed with skepticism about efficiency, trust, and safety at work.
- EY saw this as an opportunity to transform established ways of working.
EY's AI Integration and Scale
- Developed an internal ChatGPT proof of concept in 4 weeks.
- Rolled out to 300,000, now 400,000+ employees (81% adoption rate).
- Achieved 5 million hours of productivity gains and 1.5 million monthly visits to EYQ, EY’s proprietary AI platform.
- EYQ evolved beyond conversational AI to a secure global enterprise ecosystem.
Strategic Investments and Governance
- EY invested in AI and data infrastructure since 2017, building innovation centers and data offices.
- Generated $1.3 billion revenue in AI/data, with 20,000 dedicated professionals.
- Emphasized speed over perfection to respond promptly to AI disruption.
- Established AI marketplace centralizing capabilities by September 2023.
- Prioritized responsible and ethical AI use incorporating InfoSec, risk, and governance teams from the start.
- Developed AI solutions with internal “Client Zero” approach to understand challenges firsthand.
Key Challenges and Considerations
- Embedded ethical decision frameworks in AI governance.
- Secured executive buy-in for extensive AI upskilling across 150 countries.
- Centralized budgets to avoid fragmented AI efforts.
- Continued adapting to rapid AI/technology advancements.
- Balanced people, data, technology, and security needs.
- Leveraged century-old institutional knowledge by integrating it into AI tools.
Client Advisory and Social Impact
- Used EY’s own AI experience to advise clients on AI strategy, infrastructure, people transformation, and responsible AI practices.
- Explored AI’s positive social and sustainability impacts.
- Assisted clients in practical use cases, fostering client trust through EY’s first-hand experience.
Employee Adoption and Impact
- Addressed fears of AI replacing jobs by highlighting AI’s role in enhancing careers.
- 84% employees feel positive about AI’s impact on their work.
- One-third of employees actively use EYQ monthly.
- Achieved 40% improvement in technical quality of outputs.
- Simplified complex problem-solving workflows by consolidating multiple tools into EYQ.
Current EYQ Features and Technological Innovations
- Collaborative workspaces enabling multi-user dialogues, document sharing, and chat export.
- EYQ orchestration framework intelligently manages domain-specific AI agents for relevant answers.
- Unique prompt management system allowing professionals to refine and share prompts.
- Provides free development environments for innovation and experimentation.
Lessons Learned and Best Practices
- Focus on identifying AI use cases with true business value rather than numerous POCs.
- Centralize data and technology architecture for scale and consistency.
- Integrate risk mitigation and ethical AI principles from project inception.
- Embrace iterative learning and accept early mistakes as part of the journey.
- Serve as a “Client Zero” to test and validate AI before advising others.
Future Directions
- Continue transforming EY’s internal processes and client services with AI.
- Pilot autonomous AI agents, especially in tax domain automating 30 million annual processes.
- Expand AI-powered collaboration and solution co-creation with clients.
- Participate actively in shaping global AI governance, laws, and public policy.
- Maintain leadership by contributing to global AI reports, G7 principles, and legislative frameworks.
Call to Action
- EY invites organizations ready to transform with AI to partner with them.
- Emphasizes companionship through the AI adoption journey leveraging EY’s extensive experience.
Actionable Items:
- Ensure integration of ethical and responsible AI governance frameworks.
- Invest in comprehensive AI upskilling for all employees.
- Centralize AI initiatives and budgets to maximize impact.
- Adopt collaborative AI platforms for streamlining workflows.
- Build “Client Zero” approach to understand AI implications internally before client deployment.
- Collaborate in global AI policy and regulatory development.
- Explore automation opportunities with autonomous AI agents.
- Foster innovation by providing development environments for AI experimentation.
- ChatGPT launch in November 2022 rapidly gained 1 million users in five days.
- Initial excitement mixed with skepticism about efficiency, trust, and safety at work.
- EY saw this as an opportunity to transform established ways of working.
EY's AI Integration and Scale
- Developed an internal ChatGPT proof of concept in 4 weeks.
- Rolled out to 300,000, now 400,000+ employees (81% adoption rate).
- Achieved 5 million hours of productivity gains and 1.5 million monthly visits to EYQ, EY’s proprietary AI platform.
- EYQ evolved beyond conversational AI to a secure global enterprise ecosystem.
Strategic Investments and Governance
- EY invested in AI and data infrastructure since 2017, building innovation centers and data offices.
- Generated $1.3 billion revenue in AI/data, with 20,000 dedicated professionals.
- Emphasized speed over perfection to respond promptly to AI disruption.
- Established AI marketplace centralizing capabilities by September 2023.
- Prioritized responsible and ethical AI use incorporating InfoSec, risk, and governance teams from the start.
- Developed AI solutions with internal “Client Zero” approach to understand challenges firsthand.
Key Challenges and Considerations
- Embedded ethical decision frameworks in AI governance.
- Secured executive buy-in for extensive AI upskilling across 150 countries.
- Centralized budgets to avoid fragmented AI efforts.
- Continued adapting to rapid AI/technology advancements.
- Balanced people, data, technology, and security needs.
- Leveraged century-old institutional knowledge by integrating it into AI tools.
Client Advisory and Social Impact
- Used EY’s own AI experience to advise clients on AI strategy, infrastructure, people transformation, and responsible AI practices.
- Explored AI’s positive social and sustainability impacts.
- Assisted clients in practical use cases, fostering client trust through EY’s first-hand experience.
Employee Adoption and Impact
- Addressed fears of AI replacing jobs by highlighting AI’s role in enhancing careers.
- 84% employees feel positive about AI’s impact on their work.
- One-third of employees actively use EYQ monthly.
- Achieved 40% improvement in technical quality of outputs.
- Simplified complex problem-solving workflows by consolidating multiple tools into EYQ.
Current EYQ Features and Technological Innovations
- Collaborative workspaces enabling multi-user dialogues, document sharing, and chat export.
- EYQ orchestration framework intelligently manages domain-specific AI agents for relevant answers.
- Unique prompt management system allowing professionals to refine and share prompts.
- Provides free development environments for innovation and experimentation.
Lessons Learned and Best Practices
- Focus on identifying AI use cases with true business value rather than numerous POCs.
- Centralize data and technology architecture for scale and consistency.
- Integrate risk mitigation and ethical AI principles from project inception.
- Embrace iterative learning and accept early mistakes as part of the journey.
- Serve as a “Client Zero” to test and validate AI before advising others.
Future Directions
- Continue transforming EY’s internal processes and client services with AI.
- Pilot autonomous AI agents, especially in tax domain automating 30 million annual processes.
- Expand AI-powered collaboration and solution co-creation with clients.
- Participate actively in shaping global AI governance, laws, and public policy.
- Maintain leadership by contributing to global AI reports, G7 principles, and legislative frameworks.
Call to Action
- EY invites organizations ready to transform with AI to partner with them.
- Emphasizes companionship through the AI adoption journey leveraging EY’s extensive experience.
Actionable Items:
- Ensure integration of ethical and responsible AI governance frameworks.
- Invest in comprehensive AI upskilling for all employees.
- Centralize AI initiatives and budgets to maximize impact.
- Adopt collaborative AI platforms for streamlining workflows.
- Build “Client Zero” approach to understand AI implications internally before client deployment.
- Collaborate in global AI policy and regulatory development.
- Explore automation opportunities with autonomous AI agents.
- Foster innovation by providing development environments for AI experimentation.
EY as Client Zero: Our road toward AI transformation
13:40 - 14:00, 27th of May (Tuesday) 2025 / DEV TRENDS STAGE
Have you ever wondered how a global organization can lead the way in AI implementation? Join us for an exciting session where we will uncover EY's inspiring journey as ‘Client Zero’ in leveraging AI to elevate professional services. Join Joanna as she shares practical lessons and a proven framework for embedding AI responsibly and effectively into your own operations.
Don’t miss this chance to be inspired to transform your organization’s approach to AI!
LEVEL:
Basic
Advanced
Expert
TRACK:
AI/ML
