How Can Businesses Adopt AI Technology to Achieve Their Goals
Artificial intelligence is a dynamic force that keeps the industry moving forward to conquer more technologies. From manufacturing to hospitality to?retail ?and aerospace, AI is being adopted by several organizations across all industries.
However, businesses are still in varying stages of adopting AI in their enterprises. While the top companies have added AI technology as an integral part of their systems,?SMEs ?still use AI to develop pilot projects for certain departments like sales,?marketing , etc.
Let’s learn about the adoption of AI in certain industries and how they leverage it to achieve their goals.
Why Artificial Intelligence Is Important
The social applications of AI, such as home assistants, smartphone applications, etc., are different from enterprise-level applications. The latter is on a much complex and wider scale, encompassing various systems and processes in the business.
Artificial Intelligence Types
Unlike, in theory, AI is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It is vital to understand what the enterprise needs before investing in AI solutions. While pre-designed software is useful, it doesn’t deliver results like customized AI systems. But to understand this difference, we need to know more about artificial intelligence, the types, and what AI aims to achieve as an end goal.
AI is classified as follows-
Narrow AI
It is used for goal-oriented purposes such as facial recognition, speech recognition, etc., where machine learning algorithms complete the task based on a set of narrow constraints.
General/ Strong AI
It mimics human intelligence and behavior so that it can solve any problem and not be limited to specified tasks. We still haven’t successfully created AI machines with cognitive abilities.
Artificial Superintelligence
This is currently in the theoretical stages. ASI machines are supposed to not just mimic humans but become one of them by being self-aware.
Artificial Intelligence vs. Machine Learning
In simple terms, AI is an umbrella concept where machine learning and deep learning, understand data and make decisions based on it. ML algorithms are used to quickly process vast amounts of data and deliver valuable insights.
What is the End Goal of AI?
AI sounds fascinating, and we can see that large-scale enterprises and global organizations are already?getting results from AI . But questions are still aplenty for new businesses that want to hire AI services to revamp their systems.
The ultimate aim of using AI is to get measurable results to prove that the enterprise is better than its competitors. AI works the best with a centralized system where data is collected from several sources and is stored in a?data warehouse or a data lake ?for further cleaning and processing.
Artificial intelligence drives ROI for businesses and delivers long-term results when the technology used aligns with the systems in the enterprise. AI is not limited to scaling but also to measure the results and get the most out of data.
Why Should Companies Adopt AI?
What makes AI so important that companies adopt and integrate it as a part of their business processes? How does AI help organizations overcome challenges and become industry leaders?
The folloing are some uses of artificial intelligence that empower businesses to perform better in the competitive market and grab the opportunities that come their way.
1. Artificial intelligence enables better customer service and support.
AI is used to create and deploy chatbots, provide smart suggestions in emails, develop human-like interactive voice response systems, automate ticket generation and routing complaints, and make it easy for?customer service agents ?to solve an issue in less time. The live chat option on many websites has customized chatbots to respond to users’ queries.
2. AI helps with target marketing and generating more leads.
Artificial intelligence is used to create content for promotional emails, develop ads for each customer segment, provide product recommendations based on?customers’ purchase ?and search history, speech recognition, etc. Amazon’s website is the best example of target?marketing using AI .
3. Use AI in the HR department to hire eligible candidates and create customized training programs for employees.
HireVue is a well-known AI-powered platform that helps more than 700 leading brands to hire some of the best talents in the market. Vodafone, Unilever, and Oracle are some companies that use HireVue for recruiting purposes. Similarly, artificial intelligence helps create different training modules based on employees’ skills.
4. AI streamlines the supply chain and shortens the delivery cycle.
Amazon ?has the best warehouse management system powered by AI. Artificial intelligence helps in managing inventory, increasing safety for warehouse employees, planning the travel route for deliveries, finding alternate delivery methods, and so on.
5. AI makes the business more secure by enhancing cybersecurity.
Many of the latest antivirus software and malware are developed using artificial intelligence. The software is trained to identify phishing attacks and malicious links before employees fall prey to cyberattacks. The FaceID access feature of iPhones is a small yet everyday example of how AI is used for?cybersecurity.
6. AI technology is used to detect fraudulent transactions and minimize losses.
AI processes vast amounts of data in a few milliseconds and identifies patterns in transactions. Many banking and?financial institutions ?have started to use AI and ML-based fraud detection software to identify unscrupulous customers and cybercriminals with stolen identities. Teradata provides AI-powered fraud detection software to banks.
7. Data is put to good use through AI applications.
Data collected from social media and other sources is processed in real-time to extract meaningful and actionable insights. AI tools are used for predictive analytics and?data visualization .?Tableau ?is an example of AI-based data visualization software.
8. AI makes the workplace safer for employees, especially in industries like oils and mining.
Artificial intelligence is used to monitor the work environment using drones, surveillance cameras, etc., and determine that the workers are not at risk.?AI is used with IoT (Internet of Things) ?to collect data and process it to identify any signs of accidents or risk. AI helps the management create a safer working environment in factories.
9. AI optimizes the use of resources and helps the enterprise and employees become efficient and productive.
When recurring tasks are automated, it naturally saves time and energy for the employees. This allows them to finish the projects on schedule and prevent additional costs. The enterprise also doesn’t need to spend the same amount of resources to complete a project. The overall result is the optimization of resources and increased productivity.
How Do I Adopt AI in My Business?
To successfully adopt?artificial intelligence and machine learning , enterprises should understand and overcome the challenges faced during the initial stages. Most enterprises that had a bad experience with AI failed to perceive these challenges and their effect on adoption.
How much can the enterprise invest in AI? It’s a long-term commitment and requires periodic investment to stay up to date.
Where and how to apply AI technology? This depends upon the nature and volume of the business. Not all enterprises need a full-scale adoption.
How will employees react to AI? Will the existing work culture allow seamless use of AI? If not, what changes does the management need to make things easier for employees? What is the timeline for AI adoption? Does the enterprise have the required supporting technology? Instead of being burdened by the uncertainties, businesses can rely on artificial intelligence consulting firms to help adopt AI in the enterprise and implement it at various levels.
Artificial intelligence solutions can help in achieving business goals faster. The massive amounts of data that is collected by your business can be leveraged. The actionable insights can assist in creating business models that would yield more profits and reduce costs.
How Does a Company Adopt and Scale Up Artificial Intelligence?
Businesses should follow the below steps to implement AI throughout the business and achieve their goals.
1. Take Time to Understand AI
Before rushing to adopt AI in the business, learning and getting familiar with it is important. Check out the artificial intelligence 101 texts to understand how AI works and what it means to use artificial intelligence in an organization. Gather more information and read about machine learning,?predictive analytics , neural networks, IoT, and other related concepts and technologies.
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2. Identify the Problems That Need AI Solutions
How can AI improve business efficiency? What worked for Amazon or Facebook may not work for a small business. The requirements are different, and hence the approach has to be different. Start by identifying the areas of the business that will do better with artificial intelligence technology. Discover the use cases of successful industry leaders and get more insights about choosing the right AI software for your business.
3. Prioritize Business Needs
AI can help streamline several areas in the enterprise. However, does the business really need to adopt AI throughout the enterprise? Prioritizing helps break down the investment over a period. Start with what’s most important for the business and move ahead from there. The short-term goals are as crucial as the long-term ones. The financial value of the business cannot be undermined.
4. Unerstand Talent Gap Within the Enterprise
Wanting to adopt AI is one thing; having the ability to pull it off is an entirely different game. Traditional businesses do not have the necessary talent capabilities or the infrastructure to directly adopt AI. Implementing AI in a full-fledged manner is not possible if the employees cannot use the software. In such instances, should the organization hire new employees or turn to offshore services?
Hiring new employees means you have to spend more resources to add an expert to your team. The results may or may not be favorable as too many factors such as educational qualifications, easy availability, and employee retention can influence the success of this move.
Relying on?offshore services ?means that you can directly hire an experienced team to work on the project for as long as required. It is a cost-effective and preferred solution for many MSMEs.
5. Hire Experts to Start Pilot Projects
Most companies prefer to hire artificial intelligence consulting services rather than build an AI team from scratch. Experts know how to take care of the complexities involved in AI adoption and ensure a higher success rate.
The initial projects don’t have to burden the enterprise. There is no need to thickly invest in AI without seeing how it changes the business processes. Set a timeline for the pilot project and make it a success.
6. Build a Data Integration Team
Data is one of the major factors that influence AI adoption. If the data fed to the AI software is not clean, the results cannot be blamed on technology.?Build a team to work on data cleaning, processing, and integration . This data system will be connected to AI software or predictive analytics.
7. Don’t Forget Storage- Plan for the Future
Where will the data be stored for processing? We are talking about huge volumes of data from the past and present. This is only going to increase with each passing day. Make concrete arrangements to store data, not just for the time being but also for the future. Learn more about ways to build a?modern data management system ?in the enterprise.
8. One Step at a Time
This is applicable even when feeding data to the AI software. Don’t dump all of it into the system for every problem. Feed data based on the problem at hand. This provides accurate results and optimizes the use of resources in the enterprise.
9. Integrate AI into Daily Tasks
Artificial intelligence requires a modern approach where employees understand that the latest technology will help them be better at work. By integrating AI into daily tasks, employees will learn how to use AI. It gives them a chance to clear the misconceptions about artificial intelligence taking over their jobs in the enterprise.
10. Have a Balanced Work Environment
A mistake many businesses make is the assumption that AI will solve all their problems. But over implementing AI can lead to another set of problems. Find a balance and use AI wisely to grow the business and expand it into newer markets. Give employees the time to get used to AI and plan a detailed stage-wise implementation program.
What Applications of AI Offer the Greatest Business Value?
Do you know that almost 80% of executives think that?artificial intelligence applications will simplify their jobs ?and make them more efficient at work? Around 55% of them say that AI has increased productivity at work.
AI applications are being used in various departments in a company for a wide range of purposes. From R&D to?finance and accounting , AI technology has proved that it can empower employees to be more efficient and productive without compromising the quality of work.
1. Voice and Facial Recognition
Voice recognition software helps convert speech to text irrespective of the language and the dialects used by the person.?Facial recognition ?is used for security purposes in several industries (airports , manufacturing industries, etc.)
2. Virtual Assistants and Chatbots
AI-powered virtual assistants help teams schedule meetings, send reminders, and respond to messages. Chatbots are used to empower employees with self-service and also to enhance customer experience.
3. Personalized Product Suggestions
As previously mentioned, providing personalized product suggestions to customers will help boost sales. This is highly helpful for eCommerce websites.
4. Email Spam Filters and Malware Protection
AI software has made it possible to combat phishing and hacking attempts by adding multiple spam filters to emails. Employees’ devices are protected using AI-based antivirus software. Even if any device were to be attacked, it can be isolated and cleaned before the virus spreads to other devices in the network.
5. Fraud Detection and Prevention
Insurance companies can now assess whether a claim is genuine or fake using AI-based software.
6. Automated Scheduling, Responding, and Reporting
There’s no need for employees to type a response to every email, manually generate a report, or schedule calls. Artificial intelligence-based software can take care of it.
7. Content Personalization
Netflix and Amazon Prime are the best examples of content personalization. They suggest recommendations based on your search and watch list.
8. Business Forecasting
AI and ML models are used to understand the business by tracing patterns in historical and real-time data. From predicting product demand to planning distribution, AI plays a vital role in assisting the management make better decisions.
The artificial intelligence benefits a business can reap are-
How Can Artificial Intelligence Help in Business Strategy?
– AI is used to analyze data and make predictions about future events.
– It helps companies predict customer behavior and optimize their products.
– AI is also being used to automate repetitive tasks that humans do today.
How AI is expected to Change the Future of Business
Giants like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and even Netflix are using AI and ML to conquer the customer base. SMEs have no option but to tag along and invest in AI to survive the competition.
The futur of artificial intelligence promises to be exciting with advanced technologies. It is expected to?make data analytics more accurate ?and reliable. AI is likely to change the way industries work, and this will impact each business and every employee. The feasible way to become a part of this change and be ready for future developments is by training employees to use AI applications and hiring AI service providers for enterprise-level AI adoption.
Conclusion
Artificial intelligence can help MSMEs and large-scale enterprises achieve their goals to take the business to new heights. When a business understands and implements AI technology, it can boost its?revenue by up to 30% ?(according to a study done by Accenture).
Taking the help of an offshore firm that provides AI consulting is a feasible and cost-effective option compared to creating an in-house AI team from scratch. It might help you get a clearer picture of how AI can boost the business and increase ROI.