AI is enjoying a breakout moment. Although AI technologies have been on the market for a while now, they’ve exploded in the past couple years. From generative AI solutions like ChatGPT (the fastest-growing app ever) to open-source AI software, AI is everywhere. And the technology is ready to transform your company far beyond your IT and customer-facing operations.
One-third of companies already use AI, and another 42% are starting to explore it. If one of those sounds like you, that’s incredibly smart — especially if you want to remain digitally disruptive. However, you might not be leveraging AI comprehensively. Plenty of organizations aren’t applying AI holistically across most (if not all) of their functions, which is leaving them at risk of losing their competitive edge.
To find out whether you’re making the most of AI as an asset, start looking for AI-related workflow gaps. A straightforward method to find each gap is to consider how to leverage AI to benefit several areas of your business.
1. High-level decision-making
Forget relying mainly on hunches and gut instinct. AI can not only collect and retrieve data, but also use it to produce predictive insights. This allows you and the rest of your leadership team to make more informed, up-to-the-minute decisions backed by real numbers.
You can still depend on your experience and knowledge to guide your final decisions. You’ll just have more proof to support your choices. For instance, you might want to more accurately pinpoint when to expect sales fluctuations, such as seasonal dips. AI algorithms can assess historical data from your company, as well as data across your industry, social signals, and other variables, to show what’s likely to happen in your vertical. With those insights, as well as your personal experience, you can adjust your budgets and advertising appropriately.
2. Employee recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and training
Although the human touch is important when working with job candidates and employees, AI can augment your HR team’s processes. Take the arduous duty of sifting through applications. An AI system can be trained to look for applicants who are apt to be good matches based on the credentials of your best existing workers. Not only will AI be able to screen people quickly, but AI tech can also send personalized messages to candidates throughout the hiring pipeline.
In terms of new hires, AI can create customized onboarding journeys. From that point, employees can be shepherded through training geared to help them become more proficient, high-performing professionals. The result is an engaged and confident workforce ready to do their best work.
3. Customer support and service
It doesn’t matter whether you’re in a B2B or B2C business: You will always have customers who need service and support. AI solutions like chatbots can smooth the way for fast resolutions to common problems. Yet chatbots are only the tip of the AI iceberg in how AI can foster better buyer loyalty and satisfaction ratings.
One of the most exciting applications of AI in customer service has been as “assistants” to customer service agents. AI solutions can learn to interpret the language and tone used during phone calls and email exchanges. The AI assistant can then prompt the human agent to say certain phrases or make individualized recommendations. When agents don’t have to wonder about customer intent, they can move quickly and wow customers with a prompt, pleasant experience.
4. Logistics and supply chain management
Does your company grapple with uneven supply chains and logistical nightmares? Like a technological crystal ball, AI platforms can be created to forecast everything from inventory needs to the most efficient delivery routes and carriers. AI is valuable in the warehouse, too. AI robots can be taught to fetch items rapidly — and they never need to “clock out.”
If you’re involved in a manufacturing process or use equipment, you can turn to AI to keep all your systems running smoothly. Thanks to Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, you can stay on top of maintenance requirements and be alerted the moment a machine goes awry.
5. Marketing and sales
We’re going through a time when consumers are demanding higher and higher degrees of personalization in their interactions with brands. Yet tailoring marketing efforts and messaging to every single lead or customer would be unfathomably difficult unless you learn how to use AI for marketing and sales. An AI system can assess all the customer information in your database and help you construct individualized content in real time.
It’s not unusual for salespeople to have little time to spend converting prospects. AI can not only give them more time, but it can also shower them with data-driven solutions on how to improve their sales numbers. For example, AI software could examine top performers’ sales flows and unlock the “little things” that they could tweak to be more efficient and effective. With this know-how, everyone in your sales department could enjoy higher close rates.
6. Research and development
In research and development, people spend a lot of time sifting through information. AI can swiftly scan patents, fetch research, and unearth market trends. Although you’ll want to back up all pertinent business intelligence and reporting with human eyes to ensure accuracy, you’ll go further faster with the help of AI.
Remember that AI can create digital twins and simulation models, too. Simulations fuel innovation because they allow you to put “What if?” hypotheses and inventions to the test. This gives you the opportunity to get to your “Eureka!” moments more rapidly.
7. Finance, risk management, and operations
Fraud is a huge problem affecting businesses around the world. AI algorithms can spot potentially fraudulent activity and take actions automatically, like shutting down transactions and putting up barriers during data breaches. In this way, AI can lower a company’s risk.
Other operations can get an advantage from AI as well. For instance, automating repeated tasks like approvals, help desk ticketing, ordering, and payroll can streamline your entire system.
Even if you’ve brought some AI in-house, you can probably do more. After all, AI is far more than just a one-trick pony. It’s a whole stable worth of horsepower primed to take you to your desired destination.