The information technology consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd. said today it’s establishing a new practice aimed at helping enterprises take advantage of the industry’s hottest trend right now: generative artificial intelligence.

It’s a trend that has stolen all of the headlines lately, thanks to its ability to produce new content based on simple text descriptions. Generative AI is the technology that powers a new breed of chatbots and assistants, the most famous of which is OpenAI LP’s ChatGPT, that can engage in conversations, draw pictures, generate code and more.

Enterprises are keen to embrace the generative AI trend and discover how the technology can enhance their business processes and profitability, yet with so much buzz around the topic, it can be difficult to know where to start. That’s where Deloitte thinks it can help, providing the deep AI industry experience enterprise leaders need as they design their generative AI strategies.

Deloitte explained that generative AI has unlocked a host of new marketplace applications and can dramatically improve enterprise productivity. However, many need help as they plan, build, implement and operationalize new applications built on foundational AI models.

Deloitte’s new practice will be focused on helping enterprises implement third-party generative AI solutions, and also building their own. One of the key elements is its Generative AI Market Incubator, which consists of a team of engineers who’re focused on the rapid development and implementation of generative AI pilot programs.

Deloitte has also established a research and development team that will work alongside its alliance partners to train and fine-tune foundation models, it said. Both teams are said to possess deep experience in AI and cloud, thanks to Deloitte’s early adoption of generative AI and its acquisitions of startups such as HashedIn Technologies and Intellify Inc.

The new practice will also work in partnership with the Deloitte AI Academy. It was set up to bridge the AI talent gap and train thousands of people on a range of new AI skills, such as model development and prompt engineering.

Deloitte cited its recently published AI Dossier report, which lists a number of use cases where generative AI can be applied with almost immediate effect. They include developer productivity, fraud detection, supply chain optimization and smart factories, among others. Its new practice will assist clients as they deploy applications in these areas, while also helping them navigate ethical, legal and policy considerations.

Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller explained why this is likely to be a smart move by Deloitte, saying that enterprises are going to need help deploying and keeping up to date with the latest AI tools.

“Of course, that help is going to come from the traditional system integrators like Deloitte, which is starting with an incubator,” Mueller added. “It is land grab time for the AI services category as many things are in flux.”

Jason Girzadas, managing principal of businesses, global, and strategic services Deloitte U.S., and its chief executive-elect, echoed the cliche that “generative AI is transforming the way we work.” As enterprises look to embrace the trend, Deloitte stands ready to support its clients as they “develop and deploy new and innovative AI-fueled solutions,” he said.

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