Forget potential, let’s talk about what AI can do right here, right now

I’m excited about how quickly retailers have gone from ‘potential’ to ‘ implementation’ in the last couple of months. Yes, the capabilities of AI are evolving at an incredible rate. And yes, it means life and work will look very different in the years’ to come. But exciting as that may be, the opportunity it offers in the now should not be overlooked. Rather than saying AI will transform your business in the future, I’m interested in how it’s going to make a difference right now.??

?I don’t think I’m alone. In my job, I have the pleasure of spending a lot of time with retail and CPG leaders. And, increasingly, they want to talk to me and my team about AI’s immediate impact on their organisation, not its transformative possibilities later on.? The good news is that many are making impressive progress already. From the warehouse to the shopfloor, personalised online advisors, contact centres, AI solutions are already becoming far more commonplace across the sector.??

?Some customers have shared that they often get too many ideas for AI projects and end up not implementing any of them. For others, the technology shift can be daunting. But this can be a good thing. The challenges as well as the successes can teach us how to make AI better and eventually scale up to full production. What matters is having a dynamic process of testing that keeps the business progressing.??

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AI is a business strategy not a tech project?

What I’ve also noticed is that the retailers having the greatest success in turning AI ambitions into AI realities are the ones that treat it as an overall business strategy, not a tech project.??

?In most instances, this starts by focusing on use cases that are relatively low investment but have a high impact internally. Why? Because here, firms have the freedom to test the diverse capabilities of large language models and discover how they can be adjusted to achieve different outcomes. If things go well, it then creates the confidence to go further, pushing them towards trialling more customer-facing solutions.??

?Of course, this needs the buy-in of multiple parts of the organisation. The most effective AI strategies therefore require the full backing of leadership who see it as an integral part of the go-to-market strategy, even if that means occasionally failing. A companywide process of trial and error in other words, led from the top and centred around business outcomes, like margin creation, not IT ones.??

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It’s happening now?

Which brings me to the other good thing about working closely with retail leaders: I get a first-hand look at this experimentation process in action. From smarter inventory management and enhanced provenance tracing to automated delivery planning and better, more personalised customer experiences, there are various ways firms can use AI to grow revenue, reduce costs and create better relationships with the people they serve.??

?For example, one retailer that sells directly to tradespeople has created a generative AI powered app featuring natural language prompts that guides fitters through the installation of specific features and products. Through the app, users can also check if they have the required parts and order them if not. This saves time and money by reducing demand for customer service support and boosts the productivity of installers onsite.?

?Likewise, we’re working with a consumer packaged goods (CPG) retailer to create its own brand-GPT (general-purpose language model) with a whole range of useful functions. This includes acting as a one-stop-shop where employees can quickly and easily access information, as well as providing instant document summarisation and process automation to help them work more efficiently.??

?Even animals are benefitting! In partnership with a veterinary services retailer, we’re using Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Teams to record, transcribe and summarise pet surgeries. Vets can then review and edit this information before sharing it with customers, massively reducing the admin time and cost of pet operations for all concerned.????

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The list goes on?

These are just a few examples—and I’m excited to see more arriving every day. And what’s true in every case is that the most impressive results tend to come from giving the technology a chance to flourish in real-life scenarios rather than just in concepting meetings. As one Microsoft customer recently put it: “I’ve realised that AI is like data. It’s only useful if you actually do something with it.” ?

?Helping retailers ‘to empower through’ AI is a core part of Microsoft’s mission . That might be by offering innovative products features like Microsoft CoPilot that streamline tasks for employees tasked with juggling multiple roles. It could be through creating AI-powered systems that automate stock levels or that help retailers optimise the space and layout of their stores. It may even involve working with them to establish the right governance and security infrastructure for using the technology safely and responsibly.??

However they choose to implement AI, the key for retailers is to begin that journey now. As we’ve seen, many are doing so already, meaning those that don’t risk potential opportunities for their organisations to thrive. With boardroom level uptake of technology at an all-time high, AI offers retailers a unique opportunity to increase revenues, deepen customer relationships, operate more efficiently and drive competitive edge. Not as a result of its potential impact tomorrow. But because its positive effects are ready and available at their fingertips today.??

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To read more about how AI can help unlock value for your organisation now, check out Microsoft’s AI hub or download our new whitepapers Building a Foundation for AI Success: A Leader’s Guide, and AI Use Cases for Business Leaders: Realise Value with AI.?

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