The role of AI in business

You’d have to be living under a rock to miss how artificial intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our lives. Software is rapidly making time-consuming and mundane tasks a thing of the past. 

Think back just 10 years: face IDs on your mobile phone and driverless Teslas were still confined to basements and research teams. Now they’re household items. 

But perhaps the most tangible change is in business: AI can lift your bottom line.

Think a Spotify recommendation that becomes your new favorite album, a chatbot on your favorite clothing store’s website that tells you when that cool T-shirt will be back in stock, or a text tool that can summarize an article or podcast for you in seconds.

These newfound efficiencies are subtle to the user, but save literally thousands in revenue – when done right. 

Although AI can seem super technical, most applications can be split into two types: machine learning and deep learning. So, before we get into business applications, let’s understand these terms.

Machine learning vs deep learning

1. Machine learning

Machine learning relies on an input, usually by the human user. Using the example of Alexa, everyone’s favorite virtual assistant, the input takes the form of a question: Alexa interprets that command to provide you with an answer.

Every time your voice is understood (or misunderstood), the machine uses this interaction to inform its next response, continually learning and remembering over time.

This is how your voice assistant recognizes your voice, or how Uber Eats always seems to know when you’re in the mood for late-night Mexican takeout.

2. Deep learning

Deep learning, on the other hand, is a more complex version of machine learning. In the case of a driverless Tesla, the sensors on the vehicle are constantly processing what’s happening around the car while the navigation software is programming the fastest route to your destination.

AI tools your business should adopt in 2024

It doesn’t take a fleet of Teslas to introduce AI to your company. Some of the most powerful, labor-saving additions you can make are those that take charge of simple but repetitive workflows. This includes:

• Chatbots trained to guide or educate website users
• Password protection of documents with multi-factor authentication or password strength assessment
• Management of your calendar and schedule
• Note-taking and transcription of meetings
• Grammar and tone checks of anything your write

This list could go on for many more pages – over on Zapier, it does! But these tools all have one thing in common: they eliminate those annoying, time-wasting chores and free up your team so it can focus on more complex tasks. 

How big business is adopting AI

So you’ve used AI to free up time to focus on bigger problems. How about doing a deep dive into how more complex AI applications could revolutionize your business entirely? Here’s how some big companies have used AI to make millions.

Netflix 

How do recommended shows get on your list? With millions of active users and thousands of options on-demand, Netflix has a virtual goldmine of data on its users’ watch habits. 

The Netflix Recommendation Engine (NRE) uses machine learning to predict what you might be interested in. It looks at what people watch and then compares this with the habits of other users. 

The idea is that if your viewing habits align with a large group of users, there’s a high chance you’ll enjoy other TV shows members of this group also enjoy.

And it works. In 2017, 80% of Netflix’s watched content came via its NRE. The streaming giant has even reported that this use of AI “saves” around $1 billion a year in customer retention.

TD Bank

In a recent article, Dr. Hossein Rahnama, founder and CEO of artificial intelligence concierge company Flybits, revealed how this Canadian bank uses AI to inform customers that their loan is up for renewal.

“...if you have a mortgage with the bank and it's up for renewal in 90 days or less … if you're walking by a branch, you get a personalized message inviting you to go to the branch and renew [the] purchase," he says.

Google Search

Google is one of the original AI innovators, and it’s been quick to integrate the latest AI advancements into its traditional search engine. It has a world class chatbot, of course: Gemini (formerly known as bard) is a generative AI chatbot that can pull from Google’s vast information resources and answer almost any question you put to it.
Outside of just chatting, Google Search is now generating long-form answers to search queries that address any follow up questions you might have.

What does AI mean for the future of business?

AI was initially seen by some as the end of low-income workers and creatives. But it’s possible AI will support, rather than replace, the workforce. It’s already clear that AI is bringing about:

Increased efficiency

When time is money, wasted time becomes lost revenue. Having talented team members bogged down with time-consuming tasks doesn’t just result in increased workloads; it also stifles innovation and makes it harder to launch that next big feature or campaign.

Targeted AI solutions give team members time back, so they can give big projects attention they deserve.

Increased revenue

With employees able to access what they need more efficiently, the result is they inevitably save time – which saves you money. 

We’re not saying that it’s time to throw out Xerox and Cisco just yet. But there are digital alternatives to your old pen-and-paper processes that can save time while eliminating physical running costs like paper and printer ink.

How your business can implement AI

It’s never been easier to use to plug-and-play AI software. But how do you know it’s going to work? When AI solutions are poorly chosen and implemented, it can create more work for your team – not less.

A great place to start is by asking your employees what tasks are taking up the most time in their day, and then exploring whether there’s a way that AI can assist.

The follow up question then becomes: what could your team do if they no longer had to manage this task?

The impact of AI is much bigger than cutting down on menial tasks; it’s freeing up your team for bigger and better initiatives.

AI is going to be instrumental in the development of the global economy for decades to come. It’s estimated by the IMF that up to 60% of jobs will be impacted in some way by AI, while Bank of America has forecast that AI will contribute more than $15 trillion to the global economy by 2030.

Automation is very likely to become a key part of your business' DNA – possibly in ways that don’t exist yet. Digital literacy is a must-have for modern business. Are you ready to learn about it?