Cognitive computing and artifical intelligence (AI) will see global spend reach $19.1bn in 2018, with retail overtaking banking as the primary sector driving growth, according to market watcher IDC. IDC's research director of cognitive/AI David Schubmehl, said: "Interest and awareness of AI is at fever pitch. Every industry and every organization should be evaluating AI to see how it will affect their business processes and go-to-market efficiencies." Retail firms will invest $3.4bn this year on AI use cases, including automated customer service agents, expert shopping advisors and product recommendations, and merchandising for omni-channel operations. Banking, meanwhile, will spend $3.3bn, largely on automated threat intelligence and prevention systems, fraud analysis and investigation, and program advisors and recommendation systems.