The term “artificial intelligence” conjures up images of sci-fi thrillers for an average user. While the stigma associated with dystopian cinema has yet to fade, AI is most commonly used in the business world.
Brands we see on a regular basis are investing in AI projects to help them become more efficient and productive. Companies such as Google, IBM, Salesforce, Facebook, and many others are incorporating AI into their daily operations, and many more are seeing the enormous potential of machine learning and AI technology.
Artificial Intelligence and Business Today
According to SEM Rush, AI is expected to generate significant business value and improve worker capabilities. “By 2023, the increased use of AI in businesses will generate $2.9 trillion in business value and 6.2 billion hours of worker productivity.” AI and machine learning are revolutionizing how businesses engage with customers and deliver more in less time, from predictive analytics and deep learning to chatbots and image recognition.
AI technology can be applied in a wide range of industries, including healthcare, sales, human resources, operations, manufacturing, marketing, and, of course, technology. AI use cases that are frequently discussed include self-driving cars and other autonomous technology, the internet of things (IoT), medical diagnosis, robotic assistance in manufacturing, contactless shopping, job candidate selection, and many others. The opportunities for business are limitless. However, in order to integrate AI and machine learning technology into businesses, we need a workforce that is capable of managing the technology.
How Are Businesses Using Artificial Intelligence?
AI software has various business applications. Despite movie portrayals, this has not yet manifested itself as sentient robots, but rather AI has become a behind-the-scenes player to help businesses enhance efficiency, streamline workflows and increase productivity.
- Personalization: AI makes it possible to enhance the experience for customers with personalization.
- For retailers, AI technology is capable of making product recommendations based on shopping history and past interests.
- Social media platforms can use it to determine the type of content users want to see.
- Amazon uses natural language processing to allow users to communicate with Alexa.
- Media streaming dominator Netflix is widely known to use AI to make viewing recommendations and dynamically populate content based on user interests.
- Process automation: AI is particularly useful for automating certain business processes, known as robotic process automation (RPA). Leading companies such as Deloitte, IBM, Microsoft, and LinkedIn regularly use RPA to automate rote tasks.
- Customer service: The purchasing journey is now motivated largely by online research and contactless options. Other e-commerce consumer trends such as hyper-personalization, comparison shopping, and ease of purchasing have led many companies to embrace AI to enable a streamlined approach to customer service. From chatbots to multi-channel experiences, AI is often applied to provide an enhanced customer experience. Amazon is among those who are utilizing AI solutions to improve customer service.
- Increase output: Many leading companies are using AI and robotics to ramp up the manufacturing process to deliver more output in less time. Forbes reports that Nissan is piloting the use of AI in an attempt to design new models in real-time, hoping to shorten the time to market for new models.
- Data analysis: One of the most commonly used AI applications in today’s business is data analysis. Using predictive analytics and data from multiple sources, Google is now able to perform tasks with AI-based on the analysis of information. For example, using data such as a home address, calendar entries, maps, and flight information, Google can now recommend when you should leave for your flight.
