AIGC: Bubble or Opportunity? [Hong Kong's Attitude Towards AI Tools] Market Research Report
Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT, the development of artificial intelligence has accelerated at lightning speed. Today, generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Bing AI, and MidJourney can write papers, create artwork, and produce videos, with some content even surpassing human-made quality. However, no matter how fast technology develops, it needs societal acceptance. How receptive are Hong Kong residents to these generative AI tools? How do brands plan to leverage these new technologies? And if customers had to choose between AI chatbots and human service representatives, what would they prefer?
uMax Data, in collaboration with Fimmick, conducted an anonymous market survey, including an online questionnaire and analysis of online discussions using the [xMiner Big Data Analysis Platform]. This survey aimed to understand the attitudes and usage habits of Hong Kong consumers, brands, and marketing professionals towards generative AI tools. Let's dive into the survey results.
The Use of Generative AI in Hong Kong
The survey found that a staggering 96.26% of Hong Kong respondents are aware of at least one generative AI tool, and two out of every three respondents have used these tools, indicating a very high adoption rate.
Unlike other emerging technologies, the public generally has a positive view of generative AI, with 78.87% of respondents finding these tools "very useful" or "useful". Furthermore, generative AI users span all genders and ages, without a specific demographic preference. Even among the traditionally more conservative 46-60 age group, 84.62% of respondents found these tools "very useful" or "useful".
These findings are in stark contrast to the NFT craze of last year. In a survey conducted by Fimmick last year, although many people discussed NFTs, only 25% of respondents had actually purchased them, and most were early adopters—young males. This indicates that generative AI tools are more widely accepted by the public and have a broader impact.
Comparison of Generative AI Tools
Analyzing online discussions in Hong Kong, we found that the public mainly discusses ChatGPT, accounting for 70% of the discussions, far surpassing any other AI tools. Although Google's Bard and Microsoft's Bing AI, both considered competitors of ChatGPT, have a fair share of discussions, their combined discussion volume is less than 20%. Interestingly, in the online survey, Poe, the second most used tool by respondents, only accounted for 2% of the discussions. This may be because ChatGPT has not officially launched in Hong Kong, leading netizens to discuss Poe as if it were ChatGPT, affecting the discussion volume.
From the sentiment analysis of these discussions, we found that the four most discussed generative AI tools are generally well-received, with positive discussions exceeding 50%. However, ChatGPT and Bing AI have about 16% negative discussions, primarily concerning the relationship between AI and humans. Analyzing the types of AI tools, we found that voice-based generative AI had the most positive discussions, while text-based and video-based tools had the least.
Differences in Attitudes Between Marketers and Consumers Towards Generative AI
Our survey found that 75% of marketers use generative AI, a higher proportion than consumers, indicating that marketers are more attuned to market developments and more willing to adopt new technologies.
Interestingly, 68.62% of respondents rated the content quality generated by generative AI as "very good" or "good". Therefore, when asked how they use generative AI, most marketers said the biggest use is to reduce the time spent writing articles, followed by quickly gathering information. Conversely, generating advertising content was the least chosen option. This indicates that while AI can assist with behind-the-scenes brand work, marketers still prefer human oversight and production for front-facing content.
This viewpoint is also reflected in marketers' concerns about AI chatbots. Comparing online discussions with marketers' survey opinions, we found that Hong Kong netizens are mostly worried that AI will replace human jobs (49.4%), while marketers' biggest concerns are that AI might provide false information (69.12%) and lack accuracy (67.65%). Only 39.71% of marketers are worried about human jobs being replaced.
Regarding other applications of AI, most marketers chose "processing and analyzing customer data" (69.12%), followed by "social listening and discovering social trends" (67.65%), and "ad targeting and performance tracking". As the deadline for phasing out third-party cookies approaches and advertising costs continue to rise, the demand for data from brands will only become more urgent. However, manually processing large amounts of customer data is labor-intensive, making AI the ideal solution.
Future Expectations for Generative AI Tools in Hong Kong
The survey found that the future development of generative AI is very optimistic. Up to 97.18% of respondents said they "definitely will" or "might" continue using these tools in the future. However, for generative AI to be widely adopted by brands, it must address challenges such as inconsistent content quality and potential security issues and gain consumer acceptance. In the survey, 55.66% of consumers expressed a preference for human responses to their questions, while nearly 40% chose both AI chatbots and humans, indicating a relatively high acceptance of AI chatbots. With the advent of GPT-4, we hope the accuracy and quality of intelligent responses will improve, further increasing audience acceptance.
About This Survey
This survey targeted Hong Kong marketing professionals and consumers and was divided into two parts. The first part was an online questionnaire, covering respondents' attitudes towards different social media, usage frequency, and functional applications. Among the respondents, 63.55% were marketing professionals, and 36.45% were consumers. Male respondents accounted for 36.45%, females for 55.14%, and those who preferred not to disclose their gender for 8.41%. In terms of age, 26.17% of respondents were under 30, 51.40% were between 30 and 45, 21.50% were between 46 and 60, and 0.93% were over 60.
The second part of the survey involved online opinion analysis, supported by uMax Data's big data analysis platform xMiner. This analysis covered over 5,700 posts and comments from Hong Kong on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, forums, and news sites from January 1, 2023, to March 12, 2023.
Finally, we remind everyone that any survey can be influenced by factors such as questionnaire design, sampling, timing, and industry. Therefore, we recommend staying updated on market developments and closely monitoring trends to formulate more effective marketing strategies. We hope the above content is helpful to you!
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uMax Data Technology Limited, founded in Hong Kong in 2016, is an innovative technology company driven by artificial intelligence and data. uMax Data offers a variety of SaaS products and solutions, including Social Intelligence Platform (SIP), on-premises AI server, social listening and online alert systems, all-in-one intelligent research and event management platform, AI search engines, social intelligent customer service platforms, AI Agents and chatbots, brand public opinion insights, social media risk management, and multimodal data processing and digital upgrading solutions. These are collectively known as "Social Intelligence." These products not only enhance enterprise productivity and efficiency but also help businesses make more informed decisions.
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