Top 5 Ways Business Uses AI Today

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not some sort of sci-fi or apocalyptic vision of the future. In fact, it’s already being used by some of the most successful businesses across the globe, both in and out of the Fortune 500, to reduce costs, generate revenue and increase productivity. This is why 2015 will be the year of AI. Here are some of the top ways your business could begin using AI this year.

1. Turning Big Data into Understandable Narratives

The majority of us are not data analysts. We need systems that actually explain in plain English (or Spanish or French or whatever) what data means and what we should do about it. In short, we need systems that speak our language, not systems that speak dataese, to coin a term. Well, such systems exist, and in 2015, business intelligence and analytics companies will use AI systems to understand data in real time.

2. Writing Stories from Algorithms

2015 will be the year when robo-journalism comes into its own. Last year, conventional robo-journalism systems were very limited in terms of speed, development, time and even language output. These conventional systems were very good at explaining factual events but could not explain the rationale behind a conclusion or add any contextual information. Now, next generation robo-journalism systems like Smart NLG report on facts but also offer context and explain why and how a conclusion was reached.

3. Acting as a Smart Coach for Sales & Customer Service

Across the service sector, businesses are competing on their ability to deliver expert service and attention to their customers amidst a world of growing data and an ever increasing array of product and service offerings. Here’s where smart machines enter the scene. Smart machines help businesses respond to their customers by turning data into high-level service. Systems like Yseop Smart Machine connect to customer data, are programed with a business’ best practices and then act as a “smart coach” for customer service or sales teams.

4. Providing Analytics We Can All Understand

Today, dashboards have become so complex that businesses need to hire the services of a data analyst to explain what the data means and what trends to draw from it. However,according to McKinsey, the U.S. faces a shortage of 190,000 people with analytical data skills and a shortage of 1.5 million analysts who can make decisions from data. To address this problem, businesses are turning to Artificial Intelligence. Technologies like Smart NLGcan quickly analyze and explain what data mean as they draw insights and action items from the data set.

5. Replicating the In-Store Experience, Online

It’s hard for businesses to sell complex products online (such as financial services, automobiles or other big ticket items) because customers need to be educated before they are willing to make a decision. This is the reason why online conversion rates are so low and conversion rates in stores are 10 or more times higher. Today, if a customer wants expert advice they must go into a store or call. But now, for the first time, Artificial Intelligence software can mimic the in-store experience and deploy it online. This goes much deeper than simple dialog, it means deploying the actual expertise of a business on the web to help sell more complex products online. Yseop Smart Machine currently does this with clients on both sides of the Atlantic who have reported online sales skyrocketing by a factor of 16.