Increasing GenAI Visibility: Why Enterprises Need Clarity

A staggering 84% of enterprises surveyed in the Portal26 2024 State of Generative AI have already invested in GenAI to enhance core business functions. Impressed by its operational potential, and sold on its scalable capabilities, GenAI is being embraced with optimism – but many organizations are being swept away by its appeal without accounting for some key factors; one being GenAI visibility.

Enterprises that don’t have a clear cut, transparent overview of the ins and outs of their GenAI application are exposing themselves to some significant risks; and they’re also simply not getting the most out of their GenAI investment .

In this blog I talk about why having GenAI tools at your disposal isn’t enough when you are deploying them without sufficient visibility. I will also share some starting points for organizations looking to enhance usage transparency in this way; allowing your enterprise to see the real impact that GenAI can have on your day-to-day operations.

What do we mean by GenAI visibility?

When we talk about ‘GenAI visibility' at Portal26, we’re referring to the ability of an organization to monitor, track, and understand how GenAI technologies are being deployed, operated, and contributing across various facets of the business.

Why does GenAI visibility matter?

For enterprises, visibility into GenAI usage isn’t just about tracking numbers; it’s about understanding the bigger picture. Visibility is a pivotal factor in maximizing the benefits of these technologies, mitigating the risks of GenAI usage , and guiding strategic decision-making.

Visibility insights can inform broader aspects of your GenAI strategy in this sense, and they’ll give you actionable takeaways to put into practice, serving to boost the impact of your GenAI workflow as a whole. Below, we’ve broken down the importance of GenAI visibility into a few practical concepts:

1. Optimized resource allocation

Being able to pinpoint exactly where and how GenAI tools are being utilized within an organization allows for seamless, effective resource allocation.

By getting familiar with the intricacies of your GenAI usage, you can understand exactly where your operations are benefitting from the technology, and they’ll also allow you to quantify the resources (i.e, personnel and training) that you need to facilitate successful deployment. From understanding usage patterns, to determining which part of the workflow GenAI is being used at, and being able to see who is deploying it – these granular visibility insights all contribute to the effectiveness of your investment.

2. Compliance and governance

With regulations surrounding data usage becoming increasingly stringent, having visibility into GenAI usage helps organizations ensure compliance with legal and ethical standards, lessening the risk of legal infringements and resultant reputational damage.

From staying on the right side of international jurisdictions, to demonstrating an awareness of bias and adjusting workflows to ensure outputs are fair, representative, and legitimate; there’s a lot to factor into your GenAI governance approach – and visibility over these principles is a must.

3. GenAI performance evaluation

GenAI visibility allows organizations to assess the efficacy of their GenAI initiatives, identifying areas where the technology is being utilized to its full scale, and flagging opportunities for optimization. This, in turn, allows for enhanced decision-making processes and data-driven planning.

What are the consequences of a lack of GenAI visibility

The consequences of lacking visibility into GenAI usage can be far-reaching and detrimental to organizational success. Here are some of the potential repercussions of operating with a lack of GenAI visibility.:

Wasted resources

Without visibility, organizations risk investing in Generative AI tools and initiatives that may not align with strategic objectives or deliver tangible benefits. This can result in wasted resources and missed opportunities for innovation.

For example, your GenAI deployment effort might not be happening at the right stage of your workflow for optimal results. While you’re likely still seeing a degree of improvement, it’ll be diluted in comparison to using GenAI at the prime point of your process, where it can make a real, clear difference in operational efficiency and productivity – or both!

Compliance risks?

Operating with a lack of visibility into GenAI usage makes it difficult to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and data governance standards – we’ve shared some scenario-based examples of this below:

• Data processing

If you can’t determine the quality and characteristics of the data processed by GenAI training models for inputs, then your output will be compromised on a few different fronts. From accidentally processing sensitive data, or using factually incorrect information for inputs (even if the person doing so is unaware of its illegitimacy) your output could land you in a legal battle, and these kinds of entanglements can result in irreparable reputational damage.

• Uncontrolled bias

Bias is almost always inevitable to a certain extent, but not taking the steps to account for its presence and impact that it can have on outputs on GenAI systems could invalidate your outcome. As a bare minimum, bias should be acknowledged when working with GenAI, even down to the influence of the person that is deploying the technology.

• Shadow AI

As we’ve emphasized already, an enterprise should know exactly when and by whom GenAI systems are being used. Shadow AI usage is the consequence of not having these insights, and it’s characterized by unsanctioned, ad-hoc usage of GenAI tools. This occurrence is a genuine threat to your GenAI governance strategy, and it arises as a result of having a lack of GenAI visibility – underscoring the importance of this information.

Missed insights?

Generative AI generates valuable insights and intelligence that can drive business growth and competitive advantage. However, without visibility into its usage, organizations miss out on these insights, hindering their ability to make informed decisions and stay ahead of the curve.

What can organizations do to improve their GenAI visibility?

Enhancing GenAI visibility requires a concerted effort encompassing the technology itself, its usage processes, and the culture that it’s being deployed in. Here are some strategies organizations can adopt to increase their GenAI visibility:

Implement robust tracking mechanisms

Your impressive GenAI tech stack must be accompanied by an equally capable GenAI insights tool – and you should keep your objectives in mind when it comes to exploring the market. [Portal26 GenAI visibility and adoption platform provides this.]

On the whole, you’ll want to focus on finding a solution that offers comprehensive tracking of Generative AI usage, and you can get granular from here – for example, if you need to be able to track usage across various departments, or if you require insights on multiple GenAI-supported business functions.

Promote transparency and accountability

As mentioned, the culture that GenAI is being deployed in has a bearing on the attitudes towards overall visibility. There are steps that enterprises can take to foster a culture of transparency and accountability, and they’ll be fundamental for embedding GenAI usage into operations successfully.

Within the organization, teams should be encouraged to document and share their experiences with these tools; both positive and negative, as this can serve to improve training and GenAI education provisions for staff. Organizations can also empower their teams with GenAI knowledge sharing sessions, where best practices can be played out to engage with different learning styles.

Invest in training and education

Following on from our last pointer, enterprises are responsible for providing training and educational resources to employees, to enhance their understanding of Generative AI and its implications.

This promotes responsible usage, and it also gives individuals the skills needed to leverage these tools more effectively and with autonomy.

Improve GenAI visibility with Portal26’s AI TRiSM solution for enterprise GenAI adoption

Looking for clarity on your organization’s GenAI investment? At Portal26, we’ve tailored a custom solution for enterprises with our dynamic GenAI TRiSM platform. Visibility has been built into the core of our software, empowering key stakeholders with meaningful, real-time insights into their Generative AI usage. Analytics, reporting, and anomaly detection is at your fingertips with our cutting-edge solution – experience it first hand when you schedule a demo with our team online now.