For most of the 20th century, artificial intelligence was presented as the stuff of science fiction. The computers of the time weren't powerful enough to "think" for themselves or provide enough virtual "intelligence" to be of practical use to businesses. That isn't the case here in the 21st century. Computers are faster, smarter, and more powerful than they were twenty years ago, and they’re becoming much more adept at considering and then making the kinds of decisions that used to require human input twenty years ago. Now, it’s going to revolutionize the world of business.
In the past few years, we have seen AI starting to become integrated with types of industries where it's never been seen before. As an example, last year, the British gambling industry started to incorporate AI as a form of protection for players who use online slots websites like Kong Casino. A form of AI that is now mandatory in many gambling locations and online slots websites now monitors playing habits and steps in to perform safety checks when a player's habits become erratic. If you start losing money hand over fist while playing online slots and continually make bigger and bigger bets in an attempt to catch up, the AI program will step in and query whether you're sure you want to continue. If there are serious concerns, it can lock the player out of the online slots completely.
That is just one example from one niche industry, but here are five bigger-picture ways that AI can and will help your business in the years to come.
Chatbots
Chatbots have existed on the internet for a long time, but mostly as a curiosity. You could have limited conversations with them, but before long, they would lose track of the conversation or wouldn't be able to provide a relevant response to the input you provided them with. They're smarter these days, and there are several chatbots online that can hold conversations just as well as a human can. Now, you can incorporate a chatbot for your website and have it handling customer queries 24/7. This means that you can have a virtual ‘sales assistant’ dealing with customers who land on your webpage out of office hours, taking questions, providing answers, and gathering information for you to work with when you contact the customer directly the following day. Before long, they’ll be able to conduct an entire sale on their own.
Tailored Marketing
Every time a customer or potential customer interacts with your business, they generate data. You can keep track of the products or services looks at on your website in addition to the things they buy. Going further, you can monitor when those customers buy from you, right down to the time of the month, and even the time of the day. An AI marketing program can use that information to generate customer-specific offers that appear to the customer at the perfect moment in terms of their usual buying habits. From providing a timely discount offer to letting a customer know when you have something in stock that might interest them, AI can handle it all.
Monitoring Feedback
Last year, China Eastern Airlines started using AI to monitor customer complaints. The software doesn't just monitor the substance of those complaints - it also assesses the language used in the complaints to gauge the customer's emotional state before a human complaints handler gets in touch with them. AI can provide the same service for all written communication everywhere. A well-built AI program can monitor your emails, the comments on your website, and the things that people are saying about you on social media even if you're not tagged in the posts. It can then tabulate that data to give you a complete picture of how your company is perceived, where your shortcomings are perceived to be, and what you're consistently good at. Using that data, you can change track to avoid problems before they happen and focus more on the things you do well.
Enhanced Automation
The fewer outgoings you have, the more profitable your company becomes. An AI program doesn't require a salary and doesn't need any time off or holidays. It doesn't even need to sleep. Many of the lower-tier jobs within your organization could probably be automated if you had the right software to do it with. Whether it is auto-generating correspondence, handling incoming phone calls, or generating sales offers, AI can do the jobs that used to take up a lot of working time for several of your employees. Having saved that time, you can either make cutbacks to improve efficiency, or you can find a new wake to make use of the free time your staff now have on their hands. By doing this, AI makes your business cheaper to run and more productive.
Price Optimization
Be honest - do you really charge the same price for the same product every day of the year, or do you occasionally apply seasonal discounts? Do you sometimes drop a price to close a sale? Almost all businesses do this to some extent, but there's rarely a solid pattern as to when and why these discounts are offered. AI can create those patterns, and it can make them work for you. Through absorbing all the information you can provide to it concerning sales histories, demand, time of year, operating costs, and many more variables, AI can tell you where to set your price in order to attract business and deliver the maximum possible return at any given time. It strips all of the emotion out of the question and provides you with answers based on logic.
Conclusion
It isn't yet necessary to introduce all of these changes into every workplace, but they're coming. Now might be a good time to speak to a company in your area that knows about AI and can make recommendations about how it could improve your business practices. The way we do business is changing, and digital platforms will be the foundations upon the businesses of the future are built. Don't get stuck in the past. Find out what AI can do for you, and start reaping the benefits of it before your competitors do. It's the best way to stay ahead of the crowd!
