Nearly all IT managers (93%) are currently exploring or deploying some level of AI to streamline help desk systems, according to a new report from Freshworks.  Half of IT managers said they have already implemented AI tools.

Nearly 70% of IT managers said AI is either critical or very important for upgrading and modernizing their service desk capabilities. Even so, respondents said there are certain prerequisites for AI-enabled solutions. While the most desired characteristic of AI tools is their ease of integration with existing IT infrastructure, a majority of respondents indicated that any AI solutions for IT service management (ITSM)/IT operations management (ITOM) should be intuitive, scalable, collaborative, and fast and easy to deploy.

The survey explored a key metric associated with today’s demanding IT environment: the number of IT service inquiries received by the IT support desk each day. That number ranged from an average of 44 inquiries per day for small companies to 725 per day for large organizations.

ITSM chatbots were the clear leader in planned or actual AI deployments. The survey found that 25% of respondents expected AI-powered technologies to reduce IT staff workloads, and that 39% have already experienced this benefit.

Survey respondents also explained what they wanted to gain from implementing AI: Speed of implementation (40%), Integration with legacy systems (40%), Overall cost of implementation (38%), and training the AI bots solution to return the most accurate response (39%).

Conducted across 14 countries, surveying more than 850 senior IT executives the survey reveals that AI has hit the mainstream.

Read the full Right sizing AI report from Freshworks.