oday’s artificial intelligence landscape is a fragmented one, and this poses significant challenges to entrepreneurs who are looking to leverage AI in their business. The first challenge is that there are so many AI subfields. This makes it difficult for anyone (even Google) to know everything about AI and its various applications and use cases. In fact, your average person wouldn’t be able to list more than 5-10 AI subfields off the top of their head. And if you’re reading this blog post, chances are you’re probably not your average person! Which means that you have an edge on the competition because you now know where you need to focus your research efforts. There are also different types of AI algorithms (e.g., neural networks, decision trees, etc.), which creates another challenge because it might influence which type of applications you should focus on developing with AI technology. But we have to start somewhere, so let’s start at the beginning.
WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a subset of computer science that focuses on machines that can “think” for themselves. It’s arguably the most important and disruptive technology of our time. AI can be applied to all kinds of business processes and technologies. It allows us to use machines to replace human effort, where appropriate. Nowadays, AI is used in a wide variety of applications and industries including health care, agriculture, transportation, and commerce. AI can be used to help with tasks such as managing customer service, branding, advertising, supply chain management, financial reporting and auditing, compliance, and other areas of the business.
BUSINESS BENEFITS OF AI
Artificial intelligence is a term that gets thrown around a lot these days, but what exactly does it mean? At its core, AI is simply the ability of machines to mimic human behaviour — and it’s something that businesses can use to improve efficiency and productivity. The best way to understand the benefits of AI is to consider the problems it solves. AI offers innovative solutions to common business problems by: When it comes to AI, the most important thing to remember is that it’s not a one-size-fits-all technology. There are several subfields of AI and each one can be implemented in a number of ways. In order to get ahead, entrepreneurs need to understand the nuances of AI and how it can be applied to their unique business challenges.
AI IN ADVERTISING
Businesses in the advertising and marketing space can benefit significantly from the use of AI. The most common application of AI in the advertising industry is to improve the effectiveness of digital advertising campaigns. Digital advertising is a $205 billion industry that has been plagued by issues like ad fraud, brand safety concerns, and a lack of transparency. AI can be applied to tackle important issues like ad fraud, which costs advertisers $ 16 billion every year. These machines can also help advertisers avoid brand safety issues by using AI to monitor brand mentions. Advertising is a very data-driven industry and AI is an ideal technology for processing large amounts of data. One of the most interesting applications of AI in the advertising industry is in creating personalized ads. Thanks to advances in machine-learning technology, advertisers can now create personalized ads that are specific to a particular customer.
AI IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Computer-based systems have been used for decades to manage supply chain activities such as inventory management and order fulfillment. However, AI can be used to go way beyond these activities and drive long-term value for businesses. One of the most promising applications of AI in supply chain management is computer vision. Computer vision is used to identify and classify objects or people in images. This technology can be used to detect issues in a warehouse, scan products, or even evaluate employee performance. A recent survey revealed that the use of blockchain technology and AI will be the top supply chain trends in 2019 and beyond, the latest figures available. This makes sense given that the two technologies are a natural fit and can be used to solve a number of supply chain challenges, such as data security, traceability, and scalability.
AI IN FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING
Finance and accounting are two areas where AI adoption has been surprisingly low, given the significant benefits that can be achieved. One of the most promising applications of AI in finance and accounting is in the area of auditing. Traditionally, auditing has been a very time-consuming process, but AI can expedite this process. AI can also be used to help detect financial fraud such as money laundering. Another important application of AI in finance and accounting is in the area of tax preparation. Tax preparation is a very data-driven process, which makes it a great fit for AI technologies. Moreover, tax software and AI aren’t mutually exclusive; they actually work very well together.
AI IN MARKETING AND BRANDING
Marketing and branding are two of the most data-driven disciplines in business. This makes them an ideal candidate for AI implementation. There are a number of ways that AI can be used in marketing and branding. One of the most common applications is in automating marketing campaigns. Marketers often struggle to keep up with the growing demand for their products and services, which means they often fall behind on executing their marketing campaigns. AI can help alleviate this issue by automating parts of the marketing process. Another important application of AI in marketing is to identify and segment customers. Companies that are smart about their use of AI will use it to better understand their customers and tailor their products and services accordingly.
AI IN CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUPPORT
Businesses have increasingly shifted their focus to providing stellar customer support and service. This is mainly because customers have become more demanding and expect more from the businesses they do business with. AI can be used to improve customer service in a variety of ways. One of the most common uses of AI in customer service is to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks. For example, when a customer submits a ticket to a call center or contacts a support team through email, most of the time they’re given the same answer or asked to provide the same information over and over again. You can use AI to automate tasks like these and save your support team a significant amount of time. Another important application of AI in the customer service industry is to identify and resolve issues faster. AI can be used to collect data related to support tickets and resolve issues before they become full-blown problems.
AI IN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT
AI can be used in a variety of ways in the legal department. One of the most common applications of AI in the legal department is to automate discovery. Traditionally, legal teams have relied on humans to manually conduct discovery and review documents in anticipation of upcoming court cases. Now, legal teams can expedite this process by leveraging AI to automate the review and extraction of data from documents. Another important application of AI in the legal department is in the area of contract review. Because the legal industry is so heavily regulated, it’s not a great fit for AI. However, there are a few areas of the legal department where AI can be used to provide significant value.
CONCLUSION
The world of Artificial Intelligence is a fragmented one, meaning that it’s incredibly fragmented, and it’s hard to know where to start when it comes to applying AI to your business. Entrepreneurs who want to benefit from AI need to first know what types of AI exist and what they’re used for. They also need to know how to implement each subfield of AI and determine where in the business it can be used to maximize benefits. However, the good news is that there are also different types of AI algorithms (e.g., neural networks, decision trees, etc.), which creates another challenge because it might influence which type of applications you should focus on developing with AI technology.
