Blog Post

The conversations around AI applications have moved from ‘what is it?’ to ‘how can I use it in my business?’. Artificial Intelligence or AI is the ability of machines to have cognition, to learn, and to take decisions. Large enterprises like Google, Facebook, Netflix, Amazon, etc. have invested millions of dollars in developing AI to help their organizations. However, it does not mean that smaller organizations cannot start thinking about using AI to improve business efficiency and increase sales. In fact, companies in healthcare, banking, retail, e-commerce, transportation, and logistics are already using AI effectively.

To understand if your business needs AI, let’s first understand what AI can do. AI is simply a thinking and learning software with two main capabilities –

1. It can automate repetitive tasks
2. It can analyze heaps of data

Businesses today are faced with stiff competition at a breakneck pace. Customers demand prompt resolution to their queries. So, you have a choice to make. Hire a lot of people to take care of the needs of the business or automate monotonous and tedious jobs. As a small business, it is wise to work with a lean workforce. Tasks like processing forms, customer service, and streamlining email marketing can be handled by AI.

AI builds its capabilities through something called machine learning or deep learning. It is a data science where the software learns from data that is fed to it and improves its performance. An example of such learning is speech recognition by voice assistants like Siri or Google Assistant which recognizes and learns different accents and improves its performance.

Now that we have a clear understanding of what AI can do, let’s look at the areas where AI is being used by small businesses.

Customer service

Chatbot helps reduce the load on customer service executives by automating and streamlining query resolutions. The millennial customer expects real-time query resolution. An AI chatbot can learn from previous interactions and constantly grow in its effectiveness. Facebook has introduced chatbots in Messenger that help businesses to deliver automated customer support, interactive experiences, and e-commerce support.

Analyzing customer data helps businesses understand customers in ways that were not possible before. AI can be a great tool to provide cutting-edge customer service that can be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful business.

Streamlining operations

Streamlining and categorizing email based on its content can help reduce employee workload significantly. Another area for optimizing business operations is identifying qualified and unqualified leads. AI can also streamline the hiring process by reading through resumes and shortlisting the most appropriate candidates. AI can be as simple or complicated as required by the business.

Enhance security

AI can detect suspicious online activities before they can become a threat to the business. As the workforce moves towards a remote working model, data security becomes crucial. This issue can be solved with an AI-based smart password manager.

Improve your product

When you go on Amazon, you will find products that are customized to your taste based on your shopping history. Similarly, Netflix, Facebook, TikTok, etc show you content based on your likes. These capabilities greatly improve sales and customer experience. Small businesses can and should harness this power of AI to provide customers with customized services. AI can also be used to monitor customer sentiment online and help improve your product.

Conclusion

This article has only scratched the surface of what AI can do for your business. However, we have attempted to give you an overview of the possibilities. As a business, first, identify areas that can be automated, start small and then scale up with AI. Resolve Technologies can help you identify the right AI solutions for your business pain points.