Artificial intelligence has evolved technically in a major way since its introduction just a few years ago. It’s become far more accessible to non-technical personnel, and it has been put into the hands of all kinds of business personnel. AI is helping employees to become more efficient and more productive, and in the meantime, it’s revolutionizing how business is actually conducted. A recent survey found that 86% of all CEOs consider artificial intelligence to be a mainstay in their business because it manages the software that can be used to run day-to-day operations. Most people think of AI as being associated with robots and complicated machinery, but actually, AI consists more often of sophisticated software that predicts customer behaviors, reduces the amount of manual data that has to be entered, and makes several other tasks much easier to accomplish. In this article, we’ll be discussing some of the reasons why your business should adopt artificial intelligence as soon as possible, and how your business can make the best use of AI.
Using AI in sales
A study conducted by the Harvard Business Review determined that companies using AI in their sales processes have the potential to increase leads by upwards of 50%, and can reduce costs by between 40% and 60%. Call times can also be reduced by as much as 70%, and these statistics should make it clear why many businesses have already adopted artificial intelligence to improve their bottom line. In the area of sales, AI can be used to conduct outbound email campaigns, which are still very effective in producing results for companies. Many companies also use AI in the area of demand forecasting, because it allows the entire process to be automated, and can create accurate sales projections after evaluating historical sales results and client interactions. AI can also help in the area of prioritizing leads, and assessing the likelihood of any given customer to convert and becoming a paying customer.
Marketing uses of AI
Most companies struggle to achieve a balance between providing the optimal customer experience and achieving operational efficiencies. By adopting artificial intelligence, your company will be able to optimize both and receive the benefits from it. AI can be used to accomplish market research so you’ll have a good understanding of consumer trends and interests. It can also be used to analyze offerings from your competitors so that you’ll be aware of what you’re up against. One of the most effective uses of AI in marketing is in the area of search engine optimization. Analyzing SEO can tell you how many consumers are conducting searches for specific phrases and terms when they’re looking for products or services. Many machine learning algorithms have now grown so sophisticated that they can understand the intention behind the usage of specific search terms and phrases, as well as the intention behind such searches.
AI in customer support
There aren’t many things in business that are more important than your customers, so the way you manage your customers can be extremely critical. That means providing prompt and appropriate responses when customers inquire about something and maintaining up-to-date relations with customers that help nurture them along the purchasing cycle. Artificial intelligence can be priceless in assessing customer messages since it has the capability now to detect the tone and purpose of all messages sent by your clients. Even a very long message can be accurately assessed by AI software and routed to the appropriate department. And AI can also be used to sift through mountains of conversations with the leads you have, as well as your long-term customers. It can not only pick up on certain trigger words or phrases, but it can also interpret the entire context of all messages.
Using AI in Operations
Many businesses have been completely transformed by using artificial intelligence in their operational processes. As an example, machine learning can be used to increase productivity and efficiency in such areas as inventory management. Data and images can be uploaded to AI to detect flaws and defects in products and to categorize and label all uploaded images. If you had to tag all these images and all this data manually, it would slow down your process significantly. By using AI in your operational areas, you can expect to gain several efficiencies, and to increase your profit margin because your expenses will have been lowered.
Using AI in Human Resources
The Human Resources area of business has been drastically altered in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily because remote working and hybrid working have now become so prevalent. When recruiting new employees, companies are now incorporating AI algorithms to expedite the process and lower the cost associated with recruitment and hiring. AI can also help analyze candidate profiles and can match them up with appropriate openings in your company. AI can similarly be used to analyze all your business relationships, to identify the most advantageous business strategies that can be used to increase your bottom line and make your company more profitable.