Can AI bring Improvement to Your Business or Will it Affect Adversely?

Artificial Intelligence has not just become a buzzword today.

Several organizations are actively implementing AI-based tools, and are benefiting from them. Businesses owners have realized the power and potential of AI.

So, one need not wait for many years to realize the impact of AI in business. It is happening in the present day!

On one hand, the small and medium-scale businesses may not have enough in their pockets, to explore the benefits of AI.

But on the other hand, large establishments are looking for ways to benefit from the technology. 

Will AI snatch away jobs?

No discussion about AI in business would be complete without contemplating the prospect of technology replacing human employees.

As you may see in the next section, several benefits of AI overlap with the need to minimize human error in the job.

Therefore, when a business owner turns to AI for better accuracy in work, some jobs may vanish.

AI can either be used to give employees a helping hand or it can completely wipe away some business roles. It is in the hands of the business owners to decide how they want to implement AI. 

AI in business – The Current Scenario

Here are some of the ways in which AI has already taken its first footsteps in business. 

1. Enhanced Customer Support at a lower cost

We may be the last generation to see businesses extensively depend on customer service representatives to resolve queries.

Today, it is more common to see business websites featuring chatbots.

Previously, as the digital transformation was taking place, emails and social media handles were responsible for customer queries. What makes a chatbot better?

Customer service representatives cannot be available round the clock. Thus, businesses should employ multiple employees to work in shifts.

Chatbots however, can handle queries 24/7 without a drop in performance. Unlike phone calls, the customer is not put on hold. Unlike emails, there is no waiting period. 

Instant engagement with the customer is an attractive feature that simplifies the customer service rep’s duties. 

AI can not only help with handling customer queries. Businesses also use sentiment analysis software to gain insights regarding the moods of the customers based on the tone of the words they use in their chats. 

2. AI for Talent Acquisition

Businesses may either have an in-house HR department for recruitments or outsource the job. Either way, there is a lot of money and time involved in recruiting new employees for a business. 

AI is slowly changing the way businesses approach the recruitment process. It can help automate tasks such as screening resumes, scheduling interviews and notifying the concerned people regarding the same.

AI can analyze an applicant’s resume – the skills, experience and knowledge, and decide if he/she will be a good fit for the role.

In the future, there may even be AI-based software to conduct video interviews of applicants. Models can be trained to detect the candidate’s micro expressions, body language and gestures. 

Overall, artificial intelligence is on its way to simplify the HR’s job.

3. Optimization of Operational Costs

Tasks which have a high human error rate can be transferred to AI-based algorithms. It will not only reduce costs. The employees can also be used more effectively.

For companies that deal with machinery, wear and tear is inevitable. However, AI has concepts of predictive maintenance where the company does not wait until a machine breaks down. 

Proactive measures are taken to ensure minimum downtime. Thus, operational costs in the form of repair and losses due to downtime can be minimized. 

4. Predictive Marketing

Digitization has revolutionized the way businesses carry out marketing.

Digital platforms help in gaining an international reach. A business’s website, blogs and social media handles play a powerful role in marketing.

Next, there is the CRM system.

A human employee managing a CRM system would take time. An AI-based CRM system on the other hand, can update and clean the system on their own, saving time.

5. Better Cybersecurity

With businesses largely migrating to the cloud, they are shifting their data to remote servers.

AI has increasingly proven to be beneficial when it comes to cybersecurity.

Therefore, businesses can rely on AI for protection against cyber attacks and secure authentication methods.

The other side of AI

No technology is perfect. The same holds for AI in business.

The downside of relying on AI for several activities include massive implementation costs and rise in unemployment.

Employees who are involved in mundane and repetitive tasks are likely to lose their jobs to machine learning algorithms. 

Summary

In the age of technology, the ones who can unlearn and relearn with every new step would be the ones to rule.

As more businesses incorporate AI in their operations, employees must aspire to be knowledgeable enough to handle the shift.