Does your business already use an AI program? If not, have you thought of incorporating AI into your business? There are many questions we could ask regarding artificial intelligence and its relevance to business. However, the statistics and trends speak for themselves.
In future, businesses of all kinds will be centered on AI. So, it wouldn’t be bad to start making preparations now. Research shows that in the next two years, nearly 40% of businesses will have at least one AI system controlling a specific aspect of the business.
Since we can safely assume that very soon all businesses will need to use AI to make progress in their operations, it makes sense to start making plans for these changes early. Here is how you can prepare for AI integration in your business:
- List down the key areas of your business that would benefit from AI or machine learning.
Not every aspect of your business will need AI intervention. There will be areas where the human touch is still required for positive outcomes.
- Study industry trends to keep up with new innovations
Things are constantly changing in the technology world. New products come up, old ones are phased out, existing ones are updated, and products are merged or synced for integration of functions between different platforms, and so on.
Analyzing industry trends helps you know what technologies will be widely adopted and therefore a required standard for integration and compatibility.
It also helps you identify technologies that are specifically built for your industry and how you can leverage them for better results.
- Consider consumer trends
As consumers adopt a range of technologies that boost convenience and simplify solutions, they will expect the same levels of competency from you as a business. Keeping tabs on changing consumer habits, preferences and expectations will help you take steps to meet these consumer expectations.
- Plan your budget
AI solutions can be expensive. Having a budget gives you a clear figure to work with, and you can search for solutions that are within the target price range.
As more AI products are developed, the cost of AI business solutions is also swiftly coming down. In the near future, price will no longer be a hindrance.
- Be on the lookout for trial offers
As tech companies begin to introduce new AI-based products to the market, they often give free trials for a limited time. Use this opportunity to familiarize yourself with the product and see what impact it has on your business.
Others will offer to give you the product license for free in exchange for something else, like linking to your system to monitor the product’s performance, a data exchange, et cetera. It’s a great trade-off that allows you to dip your feet slowly into the AI waters and get familiar with different products.
Benefits of artificial intelligence for businesses
- Automation of processes
Process automation improves efficiency, cuts costs, and boosts outcome. If you haven’t automated the mundane aspects of your business, consider doing so. Things like invoicing, billing, ticket and receipt generation, and transaction processing are all things that can be automated.
- Reduced probability of error
The margin of error goes down significantly when you use AI in place of human resources. What you get in turn is optimized productivity and a healthier bottom line.
- Get precise customer information
Artificial intelligence is used to analyze customer behavior in relation to existing data on the customer. It’s then able to correctly predict the customer’s next move. With this information, you can display information that is relevant to what they’re searching for or show them similar products, greatly increasing your chances of closing the deal.
- Enhance security and reduce fraud incidents
Every business that operates within the cloud processes payments online. The bigger the industry grows, the more creative scammers and identity thieves get. The good thing is that artificial intelligence is far more analytical than the human mind and can analyze millions of data on activity and identify anomalies that lean towards fraud.
Installing such a system for your ecommerce operations safeguards your customers’ personal and financial information and protects them from falling victim to fraudulent cyber activities.
- Consistently adapt to behavior that enhances performance
AI can process and analyze massive amounts of industry data and compare it to your key performance indicators (KPIs). With this information, you can see what direction the industry will take in the near future and adjust your systems accordingly to reap maximum benefits from the change or cushion yourself against major losses.
- Stay accessible to the customer 24/7
Even the best online chat support services go offline every now and then. The ecommerce economy is a 24/7 economy and only the most aggressive business owners win over the customer who shops at odd hours.
You can use an IM bot for all your website, blog, and social media interactions with customers instead of relying on actual customer service representatives. Aside from the fact that you would need to keep hiring more people to handle the increasing customer demands as your business grows, the bot will be available 24/7 to take care of customer enquiries. You’ll still be technically accessible even during the hours when you’re offline.
Customers interacting with the chatbot can’t tell they’re interacting with a machine (well, some of them can but it’s not a problem) because the exchange is as natural as a conversation with a customer care representative would be.
- Generate more and better quality leads
You can use AI to extract useful information from a cross-section of databases and sort it to identify new leads with good conversion potential.
At the end of the day, you determine how much AI input you want in your business. There are plenty of benefits to be reaped from using this technology, and with the right product, AI will take your business to the next level. Find the right product by identifying solutions that are relevant to you and use them as a starting point for AI implementation.