PwC has teamed up with generative artificial intelligence leader OpenAI to offer more tailored versions of the latter's top-tier ChatGPT service, as it expects the technology to play a key role in consultancy.
While San Francisco-based OpenAI offers ChatGPT Enterprise on its website, its partnership with PwC is “distinct” as it would be able to further tailor the service to what its clients require, Ali Hosseini, chief technology officer of PwC Middle East, told The National in Dubai.
This is in addition to providing a “strategic road map” to help PwC customers scale their AI infrastructure, applications and services, Mr Hosseini said.
The move also makes PwC the largest customer globally and first reseller of ChatGPT Enterprise in the Middle East, which “enriches our audit, tax and consulting services with a broad spectrum of business and industry solutions”, he added.
This collaboration is part of PwC's commitment announced last year to invest $1 billion over the next three years to expand its AI services to its clients, and is a follow up to a similar move in May in which PwC became the first reseller of ChatGPT Enterprise in the UK and the US.
The global consultancy did not reveal its pricing for the service, nor plans on whether to adopt this in the other regions that it serves.
ChatGPT Enterprise is the “most powerful version” of the generative AI service, featuring additional top-tier features, including enterprise-grade security and privacy, longer context windows for processing longer inputs, unlimited advanced data analysis capabilities, customisation options and unlimited higher-speed GPT-4 access, removing all usage caps and performing up to two times faster, OpenAI said.
It is one of the three paid tiers offered by OpenAI; the others are ChatGPT Plus at $20 per month and ChatGPT Team at $25 or $30 monthly for up to 149 users, according to its website. ChatGPT Free provides users with the basic tools.
Enterprise's rates, however, are not published and will vary depending on requirements of individual companies, with interested users needing to reach out to the company's sales team for quotes; reportedly, it costs $60 a month, with a minimum of 150 users and a 12-month contract.
“Ultimately, we are not just reselling a product; we are facilitating an AI transformation tailored to each client's unique requirements,” Mr Hosseini said.
PwC sees the use of generative AI growing further among enterprises: about 58 per cent of chief executives say the technology will improve the quality of its products and services, while 48 per cent agree it will help build trust with stakeholders in the next 12 months, according to PwC's latest Annual Global CEO Survey.
The same study showed that 70 per cent of chief executives believe generative AI would be able to “significantly change” the way companies create, deliver and capture value over the next three years.
“It's hard to imagine not having tools like ChatGPT today … you need to have access to knowledge and the analysis of data,” Mr Hosseini said.
“For sure we will see its impact on the way we work today and in the future it will become a lot more productive for all of us.”
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Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
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