There’ve been years of hype about the invincible power of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Still, a large gap between what AI promises and its verity for business transformation exists. Tech companies have pitched AI’s capabilities for a long-time. Yet, for the majority of organizations, the benefits of AI continue to be volatile. Artificial intelligence in business projects is precedence for most companies though. There are several possible drawbacks for the unwary.

Artificial intelligence In Business

It’s not easy to gauge the proportion of businesses that leverage artificial intelligence today. Recent reports show that adoption rates fall somewhere between 20% and 30%. With adoption generally interpreted as ‘implementing AI in some form’. KPMG’s survey among 30 of the global 500 companies showed that while 30% of respondents used AI for a particular range of purposes. Only 17% of the companies implemented the technology at a large scale within the enterprise.

All these reports state that businesses’ interest in AI is growing. As reported by Gartner, the number of companies deploying AI-related technologies in the past four years has surged by 270%. Johan Aurik, partner at the global strategic consulting firm “Kearney” stated that when talking to executives, it’s evident that they all go to all AI conferences and are well-aware of what the technology can do.

Unleashing AI Promise

The promise of Artificial Intelligence is tantalizing for business transformation. The high growth that the technology can achieve is thereby specialists. They are to the point that it becomes hard for any executive to be still unaware of the hype. A large number of businesses are well aware of AI’s massive potential. As they plan to speed up adoption. One application of AI is the use of machine learning for both marketing and sales purposes. Which analysts estimate could generate around $2.6 trillion in value globally.

To further strengthen our argument in favor of AI. Let’s look at some of the key benefits that AI can offer businesses that choose to develop a relationship with it.

Benefits Of AI

Improvements in productivity and efficiency

Probably the most often cited benefits of implementing AI within enterprises. Both productivity and efficiency see relative gains in both the short and long run. It shouldn’t come off as a surprise that AI has the potential to handle tasks at a pace and on a scale that humans can quite never match. More so, with the addition of AI, businesses automatically have the opportunity of removing any such tasks from worker’s responsibilities. Also, gear them to work on higher-value tasks that technology can’t be trusted with.
 
Ultimately this allows businesses to not only cut costs on the performance of mundane and repeatable tasks. Also helps them maximize the talent that their pool of human capital possesses. At the end of the day, you’re not only optimizing performance. Also enhancing the experience for your employees.

Increments to the speed of business

In today’s fast-paced world, businesses must keep up pace with their competition. Or otherwise, run the risk of falling way behind. This is where AI comes in. Helping businesses develop shorter development cycles and in turn reducing the time it takes to move from design to the commercialization of their products. Which ultimately leads to a better and more immediate return on investments for the business.
 
It is this domino effect that AI has on business practices that can catapult them into an entirely different realm altogether. In terms of the kinds of investment they can garner and the results they can offer their investors.

Potential for expansion and growth

As a business begins to operationalize AI and inhibit it into their enterprise. They’re automatically opening up opportunities for their business to take part in. Businesses are looking for new target areas to open up and enter a variety of markets. To create an all-encompassing business model. Helps them garner larger revenue streams.
 
Industrialists in the vehicle industry, for instance, have shifted towards autonomous vehicle development. Which has allowed them to gather a bunch of data that they were otherwise unaware of. With this particular data at their disposal. They now have the chance to identify alternate revenue streams for further development, new features, insurance, etc.

Improved customer service

Customer retention is crucial for any business. One of the main ways that businesses can keep their customers is by offering them improved and consistent customer service. With AI in place, businesses can know to learn more about their customers. Their needs and the solutions that they can offer to those customers. Moreover, by studying customer behavior, businesses are better able to understand the competition. Therefore structure their approach in a manner that caters to helping customers make the shift over to their products.
 
This culminates in the development of a more customized and personalized experience for customers. Offers them services that help them feel more at home with the business.

Improvements in monitoring

AI is heralded due to its capacity to not just take in humongous amounts of data. Also, process it in real-time, and providing organizations with the ability to instantly track the data. This real-time monitoring is what provides businesses with the capacity to be alerted of any issues. Recommend actions accordingly and even go on to start responses to cater to those issues.
 
An example of this could be AI gathering information relevant to devices being used on the factory floor. To learn any equipment or machine-related problems. Whilst also identifying any potential issues that might arise in the future. This provides the business with the opportunity to identify costs from beforehand. Prevent any costly last-minute breakdowns that might hamper the work progress. Instead, they can use this information to pre-schedule maintenance and work efficiently from the get-go.

Overall improved quality and decreased human error

When you’ve got machines doing the work for you. There’s an almost immediate decrease in the chance of errors taking place coupled with stronger adherence to the established standards. By incorporating AI and machine learning into your business practices. You’re helping the technology to not only speed up the process. Also, learn along the way to take upon broader tasks in the future.
 
At the end of the day, you’re looking at enhanced quality and service. Simply because you switched to a mechanism that works (and learns) faster.

Better talent management

With AI, you can also streamline the hiring processes and remove any bias when it comes to corporate communications. With AI-enabled processes, companies have the chance to cut down on hiring costs. Also improve workforce productivity by successfully sourcing, screening. Identifying top-tier talents from across the board.

Moreover, with the integration with natural language processing tools. Companies are now also considering the opportunity of creating chat-bots to provide potential candidates with personalized experiences and mentor employees that can track their progress and cater to their needs when it comes to particular tasks. AI has gone to the extent of actually gauging employee sentiment. Identifying high-performers for improved retention. Also determining pay scales based on employee performance.

Before we move on to an actual case study of AI integration. Let’s quickly get an overview of the areas of business that AI can be incorporated in.

Artificial Intelligence In E-commerce

  • Building smart searches and relevance features. To help direct customers to exactly the kind of service/product they’re looking out for.
  • Personalization as a service. Creating user-centric experiences that help customers feel like the content was solely created for them.
  • Product recommendations and purchase predictions. The former caters to the customer experience. Whilst the latter helps businesses decide future productions accordingly.
  • Fraud detection and prevention for online transactions to ensure customer safety.

Artificial intelligence In Marketing

  • Recommendations and the resulting curating of content in line with customer needs/behavior.
  • Pattern, image, and language recognition. To digest and collect any unstructured data from customers and create sales prospects accordingly.
  • Ad-targeting leading to optimized real-time purchases.
  • Customer segmentation to ensure that customers see what they want to see.
  • Social semantics and sentiment analysis to better understand consumer behavioral patterns
  • Predictive customer service to provide customers with feedback and suggestions. Even before they’re likely to look for it.

Artificial Intelligence In Business Management

  • Spam filters to ensure that any unnecessary and potentially harmful data is kept away.
  • Smart email categorization to help businesses categorize incoming queries. Business emails and any other communication.
  • Smart personal assistants such as Siri, or Google Now that help businesses function effectively.
  • Automated responders and online customer support. To ensure that customers can reach the business at any time during the day to log in their feedback/complaints.
  • Sales and business forecasting leading to better-informed predictions. Setting up future directions for the business.
  • Automated insights for data-driven industries. Which helps businesses keep track of all relevant indicators.

Why Kellogg Leverages AI?

By implementing AI, businesses can get a clearer picture of customer behavior to design customized offers. The American food manufacturer, Kellogg Company is pioneering the use of AI to get more insights into behavioral science. Along with Qualcomm, Kellogg has introduced an eye-tracking technology entrenched in virtual reality (VR) headset. Which keeps an eye on customers’ behavior whenever they shop. When users browse a simulated store, the device collects data about the product that grabs their attention or where they gaze for a longer time. Data is then fed to machine-learning algorithms to comprehend what causes the buying decision.
 
Also, the director of behavioral science at Kellogg, Stephen Donajgrodzki, recently stated at a conference in London that AI is beneficial for his team to understand why people act and when the behavioral mechanisms of customers become evident, it’s likely to impact their buying decision.

Moreover, it’s not about handling and managing human actions. When it comes to data-heavy industries like manufacturing. The ability of AI to process and analyze large volumes of information also has the potential of optimal effectiveness through the supply chain. Artificial intelligence will generate the most growth in marketing and sales, and in supply-chain management & manufacturing in the upcoming time.

Biggest Barrier Businesses Face in Adopting AI

Fear is the key factor that businesses are reluctant to embrace AI. With the narrative that ‘An AI can replace our jobs‘ putting off CEOs and their workforces. Yet, a recent report found that almost 87% of organizations are looking forward to increasing their employee numbers after the adoption of automation.
 
AI covers a variety of technologies. From the data-crunching of machine learning right up to cutting-edge work on artificial general. When you interject a bunch of tech companies and start-ups who are trying to make an impact by rebadging their exertions as ‘AI’ to entice zeitgeist-hunting customers. The actual state of AI usage becomes even more complex. Thus like this way Artificial Intelligence Transform Your Business.
 

AI can be valuable for many industries. If it’s deployed with a particular targeted strategy. In other words, think bigger!

With the unlimited potential that AI has to offer. Businesses must strategize and plan accordingly. Keeping in mind their individual needs and requirements. Jumping straight into AI utilization without creating an action plan will often lead to less efficient results and a move ‘away from AI. Which is something you don’t want. Instead, utilizing your time and resources to better understand AI. What it can offer you and how you can make the most of it is the most important first step that you will have to take.

So, to AI or not to AI?

It doesn’t look like businesses are going to have much of a choice when it comes to adopting AI. It’s in no one’s interest to run short on the revolution that algorithms will bring. If you don’t embrace AI, you’ll be out of business. Though; it will take a few decades before the technology flourish. But, at the enterprise level, it seems that another ‘Artificial Intelligence winter’ is not going to happen.