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What does AI mean for business?

Adam Harling Jun 30, 2020 12:00:00 AM
AI concept

Many of us still associate Artificial Intelligence (AI) with science fiction dystopias rather than technology we use in our daily lives. In business, artificial intelligence has a wide range of uses and is already disrupting virtually every business process in every industry. As artificial intelligence technologies increase, they are becoming necessary for businesses that want to maintain a competitive edge.

Rather than serving as a replacement for human intelligence and ingenuity, artificial intelligence is generally seen as a supporting tool. So what are some examples of industries using AI to stay ahead and how can your business replicate these changes?

Industries already using AI

The less surprising industries that artificial intelligence is actively used in are based in science, healthcare and medicine, and robotics. But even industries that are completely dissociated from computer science and AI are benefiting from its innovations. 

Healthcare and medicine

Medical professionals at all levels have encountered artificial intelligence to some extent. From front desk receptionists at clinics to CNAs, nurses, doctors, surgeons, and those in specialised areas, AI is helping automate processes across the board.

For example, AI-powered bots assist with surgery, including heart, colorectal, and thoracic. Using robots to assist surgeons helps with higher accuracy, lower risk of infection, less blood loss and pain, shorter hospital stay, and quicker recovery times.

Marketing

Marketing deals with a number of operations that benefit from part or total automation. Marketing technology is crucial for business success and can be found in many marketing tools.

For example, rather than spending hours A/B testing and running different headline and description combinations to determine click-through rates, Google’s Responsive Search Ads can be used to collect results. Google AdWords will show many different combinations which help marketers optimise headline-description combinations and broaden the reach for potential customers.

Retail and e-commerce

AI in retail and e-commerce is a sector that benefits largely from automation given the volume of customer information, stock and inventory (in-store and online), and sales forecasting and predictions that have to be tracked.

For example, cart abandonment occurs when a customer has items in their online shopping cart but does not complete their site visit with a purchase. By using predictive analytics and chatbots for retail, online stores can help lessen the likelihood that potential customers navigate away from their site without making a purchase. Closing sales are important, so what better method than having a chatbot remind your customer of the items in their cart before they navigate away for good?

As you can see, artificial intelligence is already widely used in business applications, including automation, data analytics, and natural language processing. Across industries, these three fields of AI are streamlining operations and improving efficiencies.

Ways to use AI in business

To understand the type of AI that will be best suited to your business, you’ll need strategic advice from your IT Partner to ensure the IT foundations of your business are solid, secure, scalable and AI-ready. But for now, here are some of the ways AI could revolutionalise your business.

Business process automation and optimisation

The automation of recurring business processes that allows companies to save time, improve services, and make employees more productive. Whatever process we speak of, we can automate it by leveraging AI and Machine Learning (ML) mechanisms, as long as it consists of a sequence of repetitive, predictable steps.

Chatbots

It’s almost impossible to use the internet without ever bumping into a chatbot. Many companies take advantage of open frameworks such as Google Dialogflow or Motion.ai to build their own chatbot solutions and tap into the opportunities an additional channel of proactive customer engagement can bring.

While AI-powered bots are usually associated with conversational marketing, they can also help with routine tasks. Intelligent bots can assist humans by scheduling appointments, setting/sending notifications and reminders, handling bookings, or leading basic employee training.

Predict user behaviour

Anticipating user behaviour with predictive algorithms enables brands to bring a personal touch to interactions with their customers and predict buyer demand by offering relevant products and services.

By sifting through data from the Internet and social media, predictive AI solutions can learn about each buyer and assess with high probability what kind of offering might be of interest to them. This capability provides companies with the opportunity to pick through potential buyers, prioritise those who are farther on the buyer’s path, and nudge them to proceed with a purchase by sending push notifications, social media campaigns and personalised mailing with promotions.

Security

Netitude work with several technology partners who use ML within their product development to monitor systems; predicting and identifying when they will need repair, patching, and protection. For example:

  • WatchGuard uses Machine Learning to solve Malware problems. Identifying overall patterns in malware that humans cannot find on their own. WatchGuard uses the best technologies to improve security strategies.
  • BitDefender has continuously been developing and training Machine Learning algorithms for cybersecurity proposes since 2009 with six issued patents for Machine Learning technologies on how malware behaves and how malware algorithms complement security researchers in offering protection against malware.
  • VMWare is currently one of the global leaders in cloud infrastructure and digital workspace technology. VMWare has also worked to embed Machine Learning within its larger systems that manage servers and whole data centres, such as vSphere and vRealize to improve functions such as resource allocation, dynamic scaling, and hybrid cloud operations.
  • Microsoft Azure Machine Learning in the Cloud helps computers learn from existing data to forecast future behaviours, outcomes, and trends. Amazon Web Services (AWS) Artificial Intelligence services on the AWS cloud bring Deep Learning (DL).

With so many different ways to leverage AI in business, it can be hard to know where to start. As experts in IT, Netitude can work with you to fully understand your business needs and provide the right technology to not only increase productivity and efficiency but accelerate business growth. Technology constantly changes, and so do your requirements. Our fully managed model ensures we stay in tune with your business, and enable your organisation to use technology as a strategic advantage.

If you would like to understand how digital transformation applies to your business, get in touch with one of our experts today, we’re always happy to help!

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