HomeNewsHow AI (Artificial Intelligence) can help your business
How AI (Artificial Intelligence) can help your business
In late 2022, AI (Artificial Intelligence) took a massive leap forward with the release of ChatGPT. Large companies had already been using AI for things like automation and data analytics. But ChatGPT brought along changes, making AI accessible to non-technical people too. From streamlining tasks to understanding customers, AI has unlocked new ways to work.
In this post, we’ll explore how AI can help with your business. We’ll also recommend some useful tools to get you started and flag a few things to watch out for. Whether you’re curious about chatbots or data analysis, we’ll share how to make AI work for you – without the jargon.
Why businesses are embracing AI
AI is now so integral to online tools and business apps that you may not even realise it’s being used. It can cut down on repetitive work, improve efficiency, and analyse data. In many cases, it’s freeing people to work at a higher level by doing the routine tasks.
AI is changing how businesses operate, and its potential applications are expanding fast. Here are ten practical ways that AI can be used in your business:
1. Customer service
AI chatbots offer instant 24/7 customer support. They can handle common issues and routine queries, directing customers to relevant web pages. This allows small businesses to provide customer service on the same level as bigger organisations. Advanced natural language processing (NLP) also enables more nuanced, complex conversations with customers.
AI can analyse customer behaviour, helping to personalise ads and prioritise leads via potential value. It can also forecast demand based on historical sales and manage outbound email campaigns. ChatGPT and Google Gemini are useful tools for market research and analysis.
AI is often used to help draft emails, social media posts, and blog post outlines, making content creation faster and easier. It’s important to personalise any AI-generated content to ensure it connects with your audience. ChatGPT is of the most popular tools, alongside others like Jasper and Google Gemini. Grammarly is also helpful for spotting spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.
AI is great at analysing past data to predict future trends like customer demand and sales. This helps businesses manage inventory better and cut costs. It can also provide real-time insights so companies can react quickly to market changes. Plus, AI can spot unusual patterns that could signal fraud or other risks.
AI can automate many accounting functions such as reconciliation, invoicing, and reporting. This can help reduce errors and speed up processes. It can also analyse market trends and give financial insights. Through this, companies can make better investment choices and identify cost saving opportunities.
AI can help businesses create videos, graphics, and presentations by automating tasks like editing and design. Tools can generate visuals, suggest layouts, and resize images for different platforms. For presentations, AI can also recommend slide designs, organise content, and help with speech writing.
AI can automate content creation, generating captions or designing posts based on trends. It can also look at the analytics, helping you understand what your audience likes to see and when they’re the most active. AI-powered tools can even respond to comments and messages, saving time and giving 24/7 customer support.
AI can help with staff retention by analysing satisfaction levels and identifying those at risk of leaving so early action can be taken. Learning platforms can personalise content to match learning styles, helping with skills development. And AI can also look at the best staffing for productivity and employee wellbeing. For recruitment, AI tools can quickly scan CVs for key skills and qualifications.
AI can manage lighting, heating, and equipment, helping to optimise energy use. For deliveries, it can analyse carbon footprint data, then create energy efficient routes that also reduce costs. AI can also identify production inefficiencies and help reduce material waste too.
AI can help automate repetitive tasks like inputting, updating, and organising data. It can also clean and analyse data, finding and correcting errors. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) will scan documents and convert them into digital format. By taking care of these routine jobs, AI frees up time for employees to do other work.
While AI has lots of benefits, there are still a few concerns that need to be considered:
Accuracy:
AI systems are not always right, and only as good as the data they’re trained on. For example, when writing content with AI, it’s important to check for accuracy as it can produce errors or incomplete information. Poor quality, incomplete, or biased data can lead to unexpected consequences.
The human element:
AI lacks emotional intelligence. Humans bring life experience to situations, helping with people management and customer service. While AI is great for routine tasks, it can’t replicate the empathy often needed in people-focused interactions. Relying too much on AI can also limit human contact, leading to issues with trust and relationship building.
Cost:
Setting up AI can be expensive, with costs for hardware and software, along with the specialists needed to operate it. AI models also need regular updates, retraining, and data maintenance, which add extra cost over time.
Data and security risks:
AI systems handle large amounts of data, often sensitive, which increases cybersecurity risks. There are also data protection regulations, like GDPR, that need following to avoid legal and privacy issues.
Employee morale:
Automating routine tasks with AI can make some jobs redundant, causing employees to worry about job security. This can lower morale and create resistance to AI changes.
Bias issues:
AI systems can inherit biases from the data they’re trained on. This could lead to discrimination, especially in recruitment. The lack of transparency in how AI models make decisions can also lead to unfair or unethical actions, undermining trust.
Environmental concerns:
AI models, especially large-scale, use lots of energy, which can contribute to high carbon emissions. This can be a challenge for businesses with sustainability goals, as the environmental impact of running and maintaining AI systems may conflict with their carbon reduction efforts.
In summary
AI is now a vital tool for businesses of all sizes, and often built into systems and processes without us even noticing. Since the launch of tools like ChatGPT, AI has become much more accessible. Small businesses can now use it to improve customer support, automate marketing, analyse data, create content, and more. It can help us work smarter and stay competitive.
But while AI offers many benefits, there are challenges to keep in mind. By understanding these and using AI responsibly, you can make the most of its potential.
Tenant Directory
