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There’s been a lot of discussion circulating in the news and taking place in boardrooms, around the innovation and development of transformative technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), cloud computing, blockchain, and super-fast network protocols like 5G.
As things move toward creating “intelligent enterprises”, where advanced technologies and best practices within agile, integrated business processes to run at their best are applied, business owners need to have a greater understanding of the impact AI and other technologies will have on your business and industry.
New solutions for the automation of manual, routine, and creative workloads, hybrid and remote working, and business decision-making, can be combined to effectively make the completion of a range of tasks more efficient and cost effective.
Embedding the right technology throughout business processes and operations will result in better customer service, more efficient supply chains, more effective sales and marketing, the ability to introduce products and services that are more aligned with customer needs, and streamlined manufacturing processes.
Most companies are already using cloud systems, integrated apps and online solutions to maximise efficiency and data integration. But what can AI add to the mix?
How does artificial intelligence work in a business context?
Artificial intelligence (AI) uses complex software algorithms and machine learning to create smart AI assistants and digital workers. And with a mix of different AI assistants on your team, you open up the potential to scale and grow your business in new and innovative ways.
AI has had a bad rep in recent years, being wrongly labelled as ‘soulless robots coming to steal our jobs’. But this is a misconception of how AI works and the goals of any AI tool.
AI assistants are not coming to take your job – they’re coming to take on the monotonous, repetitive tasks that most of us dislike. With the repetitive jobs taken care of, your human team has more time to think, innovate and collaborate. They also have more business hours available to get stuck in with higher-value customer-facing work and business development etc.
5 ways AI can help lighten the workload
So, how could an AI assistant help your business? And what are the main operational areas where AI can reduce the workload and make your team’s life easier?
Here are five areas where AI can take on some of the heavy lifting:
- Finance and accounting – cloud accounting platforms, like Xero, already have smart coding that uses machine learning to automatically match and reconcile your transactions. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Fintech-focused AI tools can be used to process incoming invoices, chase up late-paying customers or process complicated rule-based transactions in your finance system. It’s efficient, cheap and error-free.
- Reporting and analytics – AI can process data at a speed that would be impossible for any human. Using complex data-processing and machine learning tools, AI can devour your data and spit out variances, deep insights and long-term analysis of your business. If you’re looking for great insights, AI delivers amazing automated analysis.
- Customer support – having an AI taking care of your customer experience can make a huge difference. A voice AI assistant can make or take phone calls, and can do it at a volume that transforms the effectiveness of your contact centre. Customers get answers to FAQs and any complex queries can be seamlessly passed to a human agent. It speeds up your customer support and turns customers into long-term advocates.
- Operational logistics – AI excels at tasks that need logic and intense data-processing. Sorting out delivery schedules or picking goods from your warehouse in a logical order are ways to streamline your operations and make the most of this AI power. For example, AI has been used extensively in shipping to drive the loading and unloading of container ships, adding speed, efficiency and a reduction in human error.
- Project management – keeping on top the management of a busy project can be a nightmare. But with a project management AI solution in the mix, you can quickly sort through schedules, staff availability and project requirements to manage and resource each job in the most effective way. Let the AI do the planning, and leave the creative innovation and human skills to your team.
Start thinking about the benefits of AI
Managing a business can be tough. But by embracing the benefits of AI in your company, you reduce the admin workload, improve your data analytics and deliver a more streamlined, connected and efficient business.
