Artificial intelligence, AI, isn’t a thing of the future. It is already being used and impacting the way people work each day. While some may think it is a tool for science or technology-focused companies, there are more opportunities than ever to apply this technology to many types of businesses in a wide range of ways.
Recent Developments in AI Technology
Many people see AI being used and don’t realize it. The simple inclusion of voice assistants in the home is a good example of this. But what is it, really, and what’s changing in this field?
AI describes computer software of various types that creates humanlike tasks. It can solve problems, plan, and learn. Machine learning is one form that processes huge amounts of data within moments. These are designed to learn over time, which means they can get better and more enhanced than ever before.
Deep learning is another component of AI. It’s a specific type of machine learning that uses neural networks to engage in nonlinear reasoning. It can perform complicated tasks that are difficult for people with ease.
Generative AI
Generative AI has recently taken on the world with its availability through recently released programs and tools. Without a doubt, it is one of the best resources for those who want to find a way to enhance business operations. Generative AI learns from numerous sources of existing data to create new information. It automates many of the tasks that people do and can increase productivity and efficiency as a direct result of it.
One of the most talked about recent developments is ChatGPT, which was developed by OpenAI. Millions of people used this on the day it was launched to see how well it could work, and it did well in that regard. ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot are powered by underlying systems, including DALL-E 2, GPT-3, Stable Diffusion, and others. These tools are helping to push the technology into areas that were once thought to be things only people could do. Midjourney is a tool that focuses on the use of AI in image generation.
Some of the latest tools are large-scale, deep learning models. These have the ability to gather incredible amounts of data from unstructured data sets across most topics. They enable people to simply fine tune the outcome to create a better product.
ChatGPT, which uses the GPT-3.5 model, is able to translate text as well as sequence proteins for research. There’s no doubt there will be a wide range of ways this type of tool may work in the future, but what is it doing now to help business professionals?
Fields Impacted by AI Right Now
Around the world, business is changing. The use of AI is moving into a wide range of sectors, creating opportunities for improvement in the way people are doing just about everything. Consider a few of the ways AI is being used right now in business.
- Marketing and Sales
One of the industries most impacted by AI currently is the marketing and sales sector. There is no doubt that AI isn’t going to be that car salesman selling a vehicle to a customer, but it has the ability to create personalized messages, technical sales content, like video and text, and social media engagement that enables companies to better reach their targeted consumers.
- Research and Development
Another area where AI is profoundly beneficial is in the area of research and development. There, it is able to take huge datasets and come up with answers and conclusions. It could be better understanding the way disease progresses or discovering new chemical structures that define the way the environment works. In business, this type of technology can be used to test new strategies, develop new products, and even process large amounts of data to simply have a better understanding of a person’s needs.
- Maintenance Services
Consider the maintenance tasks that keep many businesses operational. While AI isn’t going to sanitize an office, it can be used to provide constant oversight of things like the operation of a business’s equipment and changes in factors such as productivity or efficiency. This can signal a change that needs to be addressed and keep equipment working efficiently.
- Operational Improvements
In business environments where operations are managed by dozens of automated tasks, AI is working to do what humans have always done. That is to generate task lists, create plans for managing business operations, oversee data, and execute various activities at various times. In the day to day operation of businesses, these operational improvements can create substantial improvements in the way people work – doing the tasks that can be automated for them while allowing them to have more time to meet their ongoing needs.
- Engineering
Technology industries themselves are changing thanks to the use of AI. For example, engineers no longer have to compile data on their own, write, document, and review code for errors or pinpoint problems in applications. Now, there are tools to allow IT professionals to let robots do that work. This means that, unlike humans, there are fewer errors entered into code, and more prominently, the work can be done at a much faster rate, solving problems and helping companies to reach new goals.
- Smart Energy Management
Consider how smart energy management has benefited from the use of machine learning. It has helped to capture large amounts of data from sensors located on a wide range of assets. With this information and the constant watchful eye of AI, it is possible to make better decisions about energy use. Data can be contextualized by machine learning algorithms, and once done, that information can help company leaders to make better decisions about using energy.
- Cybersecurity Operations
Every business today is increasingly at risk for cyber threats, which not only occur in large numbers but also continue to evolve and develop new ways of infiltrating systems. The use of AI can help to minimize some of these risks. The tools can be used to look for computer network holes or gaps that put companies at risk for ransomware attacks. It can also react to cyberattacks faster if picking up input from the data it is monitoring. It can then help companies to backtrack that information to find the source of the problem and stop it or prevent it from occurring again.
- Customer Relationship Management
Another important component of modern business is its ability to meet the very unique and individual needs of consumers. Gone are the days of mass campaigns, and instead, there is more demand than ever for personalized solutions and customer relationship management. AI can fill in the gap here by helping to reduce the heavy workload that tasks like this typically require when people are doing them. That includes managing self-updating, managing communications, and even responding to questions.
- Personal Assistants
Business owners and executives can begin to see the value in using AI as well, especially in the area of personal assistants. It can answer questions, find data, or otherwise compile reports that business owners need to make decisions. It can handle things like answering emails with personalized responses and maintaining an executive’s calendar. It can help to offer suggestions on improving workflow, overseeing timelines for projects, and help to provide insight into how to improve work, tasks, or decision making.
- Responding to Customers
Many businesses, especially those with an ecommerce focus, are using AI chatbots to help with answering customer questions in real time. Though initial tools only could use a bank of information from which they were programmed, today’s AI systems are able to grab answers to even complex questions about customer orders or new product releases, enabling them to get the help they need right away (and often encouraging the sale immediately rather than having to wait for a person to be available to help).
- Create New Ideas
Companies need to remain competitive, and one of the most important ways to do that is through the constant development of new information, new ideas, and different perspectives. AI can help with this, too. It can help companies to field new ideas and gather insightful details about consumer behavior to help with the production of the next item or the development of a new tool. Entrepreneurs, too, can look for AI assisting tools for inspiration and guidance when researching and brainstorming new ideas for a business.
- Risk and Legal Support
Another very authentic way that AI can contribute to business success is in the area of risk and legal. It can help to answer complex problems and review data to ensure it meets compliance requirements. It may be used to pull legal documentation to help attorneys to have more information heading into court, but it also helps investors to make decisions about risk and manage their bottom line.
What Is the Future of AI in Business?
It is hard to say how AI will continue to expand and grow in terms of business functionality. It is likely to become a more valuable tool than ever in the day to day operations of most companies – not just those in science, research, or tech. It will help to take over the mundane tasks that companies have to manage to improve productivity with the goal of enhancing life.
As technology continues to develop and becomes more specialized for various tasks and business functions, it will be easier than ever to incorporate it in multiple ways into the world around you. As a business owner, the only limitation on how to use AI to grow, expand, improve, or launch a business is truly only limited by how you can adjust this technology to fit your needs.
