Artificial intelligence, or AI for short, has become very popular recently as technology has advanced in many ways to provide all sorts of benefits to businesses. Across the world, AI is being implemented into business operations and applications to help improve customer services.
How can you use AI for your business? There are lots of ways in which AI can filter into your business and this guide will hopefully give you plenty of insight into the ways that are available for your business in 2022. We’ll start off with a brief introduction to AI and how it’s grown before jumping into the methods you can utilize to your advantage.
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What is AI?
Artificial intelligence is a term that’s used to refer to computer science that focuses on building smart machines that are capable of performing tasks typically requiring human intelligence. There are four types of AI that fit into this branch of computer science: reactive machines, theory of the mind, self-awareness, and limited memory.
Each plays an important part in the AI we see in today’s digital environment and in the real world. It’s something that’s used in both businesses and domestic environments. In fact, 37% of businesses and organizations employ AI. In the home environment, a study from 2019 found that 45% of households in the US owned a smart speaker - and that's a figure that’s likely grown substantially in the last few years.
Other examples of how AI is used in daily life include self-driving cars, conversational bots, and the recommendations you get via your Netflix subscription.
How has the AI market grown over the years?
While the technology is considered to be new, the concept of AI is one that was coined a lot earlier than most would have thought.
Mathematician Alan Turing, who was responsible for breaking the Nazi Engima encryption machine and helping allied forces win World War II, would go on to question ‘can machines think?’. His paper Computing Machinery and Intelligence in 1950 would establish the goals and visions that have become AI.
AI software has grown considerably over the years, surpassing $10 billion in growth in 2018 alone. Fast forward to 2020 and its revenue was valued at $24 billion. It’s expected that by 2027, this figure could be a whopping $138 billion.
7 ways to utilize AI for your business this year
Now that you know more about this incredible technological industry, how can you adapt it to your own business practices? The answer? In many ways! There are lots of ways that you can utilize and harness the power of artificial intelligence in 2022. Here are seven ways to get you started for your business.
1 A UX design toolbox to improve customer experiences
A customer’s experience is more important than some businesses care to believe it to be. If you’re not providing your customers with value and an experience that’s memorable, they’re more than likely to do their business elsewhere.
That’s why it’s important to do everything you can to elevate the experience and simplify customer journeys. A UX design toolbox is a great online tool that’s worth using in order to better product development and projects that require a detailed focus on user experience.
How do you know if you’re presenting a great experience to your users if you don’t know what they want? A design tool like this one can help put all that customer data to good use so that you can create aesthetically-pleasing products and services as a business.
2 Insights into your customer data
As a business, customer data can have a substantial impact on certain business decisions that are made and the influence it has can help with the company’s success.
A deeper understanding of your consumer market is always beneficial and can help to create products or services that have significance to your customers. Employing AI in your business strategy through the use of online tools can be beneficial in providing insights into your customer behavior online.
With most people having a digital footprint, it’s a good opportunity to utilize the tools available to assess this customer data for your company’s benefit. Google Analytics is a prime example of a tool that uses AI and has thus helped many businesses find more out about their customers and the behavior that influences their purchasing decisions.
Incorporating procurement reporting tools further refines this data-driven approach, enhancing visibility into supply chain operations and financial metrics.
3 Streamline long and monotonous tasks
A lot of tasks that an employee has to undertake are often monotonous and before AI was so readily available, most would simply sacrifice the time it took to get the work done. AI can remove the need to answer each question your employee has, and you can do that by using AI in human resource management and saving time for more important tasks. Artificial intelligence helps businesses work smarter, not harder in some cases.
AI has enabled many employees to utilize their time more efficiently by automating tasks such as web scraping, letting computers take the reins on operations that can be handled without much human interaction being required.
Some businesses might also not have the resources available to do everything they need to do, so it’s likely having several extra pairs of hands to help out with things from social media scheduling to onboarding new employees into the business.
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4 Improve productivity within your business
Productivity is a big one for businesses and something that some still struggle with even in today’s work environment.
It’s perhaps a problem that comes from a human’s inability to concentrate for long periods of time. The average employee was found to only be productive for 2 hours and 53 minutes per day. That’s a small window of opportunity that the business has to utilize when it comes to business growth.
This, along with the daily struggles of life like stress and personal turmoil, can lead to a lack of productivity in the workplace. With that said, employers need to look at how they can create a productive work environment and to encourage each individual employee to be productive in their roles.
AI technology can help a lot with this, like helping out with the mundane tasks mentioned in the above point. With AI, it’s also helpful in alleviating those employees who have a mammoth workload that’s likely contributing to the lack of productivity in their daily work life. It can even automate the work of creative teams with huge workloads by allowing them to make slides with text to PowerPoint efficiently and creatively.
This technology has helped greatly for businesses during the pandemic when many staff had to go remote. Helping keep staff members connected and engaged, was great for maintaining productivity levels, even in the most unusual of circumstances. Furthermore, tools like a digital business card can streamline networking and contact management, freeing up time for employees to focus on more critical tasks
Holger Sindbaek, serial entrepreneur and the founder of Online Solitaire, says, "We embraced AI to automate the routine task of analyzing customer feedback, a process that once consumed hours of our team's day. By deploying the AI system, we shifted from manual analysis to instant insights, freeing our team to focus on high-impact tasks like enhancing user experience and feature development. This strategic move not only improved employee productivity but also significantly enriched the overall service quality, showcasing the transformative power of AI in elevating both employee satisfaction and business outcomes."
5 Better sales and marketing strategies
Marketing your business is of major importance because all of that hard work you’re doing is going to waste if people don’t know about the business or what you’re up to. So adopting better sales and marketing strategies, including AI for sales and marketing, is essential for your business's growth.
Many businesses that have transitioned to online markets have had to adapt to advertising online. AI has become helpful in developing marketing and sales strategies that best suit their consumer market.
As a result, it can help boost sales revenue and build a presence online that perhaps wasn’t as prominent as before.
6 Understand consumer behaviors
Understanding consumer behavior is a necessary one, especially online. You don’t see your customers face-to-face, which means making a sale is immediately more challenging. You don’t get the customer’s body language or mood online, as you would in a store, for example.
AI helps curate the information and preferences you need to help interact with your consumers in the right way. Each customer is going to be that little bit different and they’ll also be at a different point in your sales funnel.
With that being said, it’s important to understand what your consumers need and want through their behaviors online, via both your website and social media profiles. AI can help to forecast business incentives that will hopefully match what the consumer wants and needs.
7 Use it for cybersecurity protection
Finally, with cybersecurity being more of a worry than ever before, securing your business and its systems is essential. Integrating Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms into your cybersecurity measures can offer a robust defense against AI-related risks, providing a holistic view and security controls across all AI deployments to prevent misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and threats within the AI pipeline.
Artificial intelligence is often used nowadays in the security tools and software that businesses use to protect themselves. At the very least, your business could benefit from this type of technology to help track and identify user data that could be malicious in its intent. By having the information, you can help put protocols in place that will protect you and your customers. Additionally, using a top-notch enterprise password manager can strengthen your business's security efforts, safeguarding sensitive information from potential threats.
Artificial intelligence is the future of business
For many businesses that have adopted AI tools into their operations, there’s been a lot of positive results that have come from utilizing the technology. It’s particularly helpful for those smaller businesses who may need all of the extra help that they can get in this competitive world.
If you haven’t already incorporated artificial intelligence into your business, then what are you waiting for? Don’t miss out on the opportunities that AI technology can give to your business.
Pro tip: By leveraging nearshore AI software development services, you can access cutting-edge technology while maintaining cost-efficiency and close collaboration. This approach ensures that your business stays competitive and agile in a rapidly evolving market.Placement: see attached.
Author: Natalie Redman
Bio: Freelance writer for many clients across multiple industries. Natalie has two years of copywriting experience. Natalie has a wide range of experience copywriting for web pages for businesses across many industries. She’s also an owner of two blog websites and a YouTube content creator.
