Similar to the transformative impact that computers and the Internet have had on business, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is bringing us into the
fourth industrial revolution. From banking to healthcare to agriculture, there isn’t an industry I can think of that won’t benefit from this evolution. But just like other cases of technological disruption, if businesses try to stick to the status quo instead of adapting, they will be left behind. AI is here to stay, and businesses that embrace it will gain an important edge over their competitors.
AI can be fundamentally defined as computers doing tasks that are characteristic of humans--but that can mean a breadth of things. AI can refer to narrow, non-sentient machine intelligence (machines operating within a limited, pre-defined range--which is where the technology stands today), artificial general intelligence (this idea that machines will be at least as smart as a typical human) or even superintelligence (machines with intelligence that far surpasses the brightest human beings). For the intents and purposes of this post, my use of the term refers to the narrow AI that is currently reshaping business as we know it.
AI is transforming the way new products and services are designed and developed, improving business operations with increasing efficiency, and opening up completely new business models. For example, apps like Hopper wouldn’t exist today without machine learning--a subset of AI--capabilities. Hopper uses algorithms capable of predicting future flight and hotel price fluctuations based on factors such as historical fares, seasonal trends, demand growth and more. With over 8 million downloads, this app’s unique model offers customers better choices and a more efficient booking process.
AI also gives businesses a level of understanding about customers that was previously unattainable. Using machine learning, data from apps, smart products and internal customer information systems can be used to identify opportunities for improvements in existing products and services, discover opportunities for completely new offerings and improve marketing strategies. For instance, a New York City-based Harley Davidson dealership used AI marketing platform, Albert, to analyze its CRM data and identify defining characteristics and behaviors of its high-value past customers. Albert then used this data to find lookalike audiences with which to test new micro-campaigns to learn what copy and visual combinations worked best before extending them more broadly. This intelligent approach to their marketing increased sales leads by 2,930%!
At Project Insight, we’re currently leveraging AI to optimize our Slack integration. We're working to make our
bots smarter over time and deliver a truly humanized experience that will garner higher engagement with the Project Insight Slack app. To do this, we are analyzing user interaction data to identify what keeps users engaged with our bots and what doesn’t. For instance, does a humorous tone outperform a serious one? Do in-depth messages resonate better than short and to the point? Our analysis is improving the adoption of the Project Insight Slack app as well as helping project managers collect consistent and timely project updates by providing teams with a virtual assistant they will actually want to use.
If you are planning to adopt AI into your own business (and you should be), but don’t know where to begin, here are a few things to consider to help get you started:
What kind of data do you have access to? There is a plethora of unstructured data floating around your business just waiting to being discovered. Every document, email, contract, media asset, CRM record—all of this data is holding insights that can add value to your business. Looking at the data you have available will help you decide what may be the easiest or best place to start.
With the data you have, what questions can you solve? Once you’ve familiarized with the types of data you can access, the next natural step is to decide what questions you want to answer. Will you use AI to determine the leads most likely to convert, which customers are most likely to churn, or what new features should come first on your roadmap? Consulting with a data scientist can help you explore the span of your options, and trust me, there will be a lot. You’ll want to prioritize which business problems are the most important to solve to avoid becoming overwhelmed.
What is the medium from which you will deliver the answers? Whether you’re going to use AI to streamline internal business processes or improve your external product or service, think about how those benefits will be delivered. Will you send new services to customers via smart technology like the Amazon Echo or Google Home? Will your sales team gain a new live-streaming dashboard to show them their highest quality leads? Ensuring the best user experience will extract even more value from your AI.
With its expectations of completely upending industries as we know them, implementing AI into your business can be a daunting thought, but it doesn’t have to be. And even if you or your employees don’t yet have data science skills, platforms like
Azure are making AI more easily accessible to all.
Remember, there are varying degrees of AI, and not every business has to have the equivalent of a self-driving car coming off of the production line. Start small, get your feet wet, and familiarize your business with the great benefits that AI has to offer.
This week I’ll be speaking alongside fellow panelists from MERIDIUN, Alelo, and Crowe Horwath at the
2018 SIIA Annual Conference. I look forward to discussing in more detail how businesses can take advantage of AI to create a competitive edge.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Steve West serves as the CEO of Project Insight (PI®), a Business Management Platform that provides performance tools and blended reporting capabilities for enterprises, small businesses, and entrepreneurial teams. Since 2002, Steve has been at the forefront of elevating project managers’ capabilities in addition to providing key insights for stakeholders. In 2017, he co-developed VirtualPM™, a patent-pending artificial intelligence bot used to capture essential information, create efficiency and engagement within a company. From this, PI® was named Best Project Management Solution by SIIA in 2017.
Outside of software, Steve embodies a “work hard, play hard” attitude spending much of his free time swimming, surfing, and with family. Steve holds multiple Masters World Records in swimming (breaststroke), and often competes in US Masters Swimming events throughout the year.
Prior to PI®, Steve architected solutions (ecommerce, intranet, project management, etc.) for Fortune 2000 and small companies alike. Steve holds a dual Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Communications from University of Michigan.