Consider this: CGI’s Voice of Our Clients results indicate that 36% of the organizations have implemented or are implementing traditional AI this year. National Grid is investing $100M in AI startups advancing the future of energy. The global market for AI in energy is projected to reach $76 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 17% from today.
What does all this mean? From where I stand, it’s clear. There is boundless potential for AI to transform utilities. This technology has the power and potential to redefine operations, accelerate top priorities like grid modernization and decarbonization, and answer some of the most fundamental questions utility leaders face, from customer service to forecasting.
Over the course of this series, we will explain how AI is becoming an indispensable engine for both innovation and value at utilities. And today? We are starting with the basics. Let’s dive in to see how AI can accelerate positive change for utility leaders—and how those leaders can make the most of this technology changing tides.
AI is doubling down on digital transformation.
Utilities are no strangers to cutting-edge technology: They can turn food waste into electricity, have increase demand response event frequency 173% from 2021 to 2024, and are debuting new smart grid technology on a near-daily basis.
But AI is upping the ante as an ecosystem of technologies—not just single or one-off innovations, but an integrated network of capabilities, enablers, and policies. At CGI, we define the AI ecosystem around six core elements:
Data
Workforce readiness
Infrastructure
Governance
Strategic alignment
Security
Each element matters on its own, but true impact comes from the connective tissue that binds the ecosystem, turning potential into sustainable outcomes.
When energy leaders integrate AI as a network of overlapping technologies and innovate across these areas with a holistic approach, they can scale technology upgrades faster and more efficiently than our discrete grid technology from the pre-AI era ever could.
AI requires a thoughtful framework for quick-scaling innovation.
Making AI work for you is about getting the basics right. AI is transformational. It’s easy to get caught up in all the “cool” things that this technology can do without focusing on a few key areas that must be priorities. An executive sponsor will ensure alignment of AI initiatives with the business strategy.
The first is cleaning up your data. This needs to be an explicit part of any AI roadmap with its own budgets, talent, and management if you want to move toward commercializing AI use cases (and avoid regulatory breaches, flawed decision-making, loss of stakeholder confidence, and more).
The second is knowing whom to call. A strong enterprise-wide data management program is essential to ensuring data quality, availability, governance, and security. Organizations that expect major innovation or technology advancements without this foundation often find that even the most promising AI applications fall short.
And the third is knowing your why. It’s about more than just wanting intelligent digital infrastructure. Utility business and IT leaders need to have a clear vision for why they are embarking on any AI initiative, which is inherently complex and cross-functional. And they need to communicate the why clearly and consistently to gain financial and organizational support.
Taken together, these three foundational elements set the basis for smarter, more efficient, and more scalable technology adoption across your organization.
AI is driving business value, plain and simple.
Making AI a game-changer requires focusing on business value. →
It’s imperative to focus on implementing AI for tangible return-on-investment (ROI), not just for the sake of AI itself. Achieving ROI is all about understanding your current benchmarks, setting attainable metrics, and tying these metrics directly to business value.
The critical questions to ask to ensure that AI is a driver of ROI:
Are the necessary data and talent available to support the project?
Is the desired outcome aligned with broader business goals?
Are you driving meaningful process improvements that leverage AI's true capabilities or simply automating tasks that do not require it?
So, when we put all this together…what’s possible?
One of the use cases we have developed at CGI involves integrating an AI-powered natural language chatbot into our CGI OpenGrid360 solution.
This chatbot allows utility personnel to interact with backend operational data across a broad range of utility functions, systems, and datasets simply by asking questions in plain English.
This intuitive, intelligent interface is just one example of how AI can embed directly into utility workflows, turning complex data into actionable intelligence and driving the energy transition forward with confidence.
To learn more about how AI can be a launchpad in your organization, check out CGI’s solutions for utilities.
But keep in mind: The idea of moving fast is interwoven throughout all conversations about the nexus of AI and energy. The pace of innovation is accelerating, which demands faster, more informed decisions regarding strategy, funding, procurement, supply chains, risk, and more.
So -- that’s what we are covering throughout the rest of this series, we will cover not just how AI is changing energy, but also how leaders are making it happen on their terms and timelines. We will explore critical utility use cases in more depth, including drone and image AI for wind turbine asset inspection, AI-powered call center transcription and insights, meter hub intelligence, and more.
Keep reading: This is the first in a series of four articles exploring how the utility industry is embracing AI as a key piece of the future energy puzzle. Watch for more to come in this series here and learn more about CGI here.