More than 90 percent of major Japanese companies are considering using or have already adopted generative artificial intelligence in their operations, but many cite data breaches and authenticity as concerns, a survey by The Asahi Shimbun found.

Of 100 companies surveyed, 41 said they are already using generative AI, while 50 said they are considering using it.

Two companies expressed a negative stance on AI. They had either banned it or were considering banning its use.

One company said it has no plans to use the technology. The remaining six gave other responses.

The poll was conducted between July 3-14.

The 91 companies using or considering generative AI were asked to state why and could pick from a list of activities. Multiple answers were allowed.

“Improving operational efficiency” was the choice of 80 companies.

In second place was “summarizing, analyzing and correcting texts,” which was picked by 64.

In all, 61 companies selected “chatbots,” or automated services that answer questions.

Generative AI entered mainstream business use after the success of ChatGPT, which was released in November by U.S. company OpenAI.

“(Generative AI) will likely change our business operations in a big way,” said Koji Nagai, president of Nomura Holdings Co., the parent of brokerage Nomura Securities Co.

The company is using generative AI to draft emails and documents, and to summarize texts.

Jun Ohta, president of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., said the company released a generative AI tool to domestic branches of subsidiary Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. in July. It helps employees to gather information and write documents.

Yoshinari Kitajima, president of Dai Nippon Printing Co., said 30,000 employees began using generative AI at the end of May. They use it to produce automated minutes of meetings from audio recordings and to prepare schedules.

At Asahi Group Holdings Ltd., which has Asahi Breweries Ltd. and other companies under its umbrella, about 100 employees are participating in a trial project that started in May. The project aims to improve the efficiency of company operations using generative AI.

FamilyMart Co. plans to introduce a generative AI assistant at 5,000 convenience stores by the end of March to help store managers order merchandise based on weather conditions and sales records at other outlets.

Meanwhile, the survey asked the companies about what worries them about AI. Again, they chose from a list and multiple answers were allowed.

Ninety-five companies selected “security, such as information leakages.”

In all, 85 expressed concerns over “verification of (information) authenticity and spread of false information.”

“Copyright” was cited by 74 companies, and “protection of personal information” was chosen by 71 companies.

“The primary challenge is how much we can ensure security and authenticity of contents,” said Ryuichiro Nishiyama, president of Seibu Holdings Inc., whose subsidiaries operate Seibu Railway and Prince Hotels.

Takeshi Matsui, executive vice president of Osaka Gas Co., said, “It is important that users are willing to ascertain the authenticity (of information) and are capable of doing that.”

Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. began using generative AI in June to draft replies to inquiries from insurance agencies on a trial basis. Kenji Okada, senior managing director, said employees double-check the replies to ensure their accuracy.

Some companies said it will take time before generative AI brings about a real impact on business operations.

“While (generative AI) holds potential in many aspects, time is needed before governance and rules are established,” said Masahiko Uotani, chairman and CEO of cosmetics maker Shiseido Co. Shiseido plans to use ChatGPT in-house.

“We should be ready to promptly respond to future changes,” Uotani said.

Fumiaki Koizumi, chairman of Mercari Inc., said, “Technologies will improve rapidly next year or the year after. Companies that can keep up with the changes will survive and those that cannot will be eliminated.”

(This article was written by Tomoya Fujita and Takeshi Suezaki.)