Your business already uses some AI, likely through a third-party provider. If you use website analytics, spam filters, or cybersecurity software, you benefit from AI. And if you use generative AI like ChatGPT and Copilot, you're already part of the AI revolution.
A majority of companies use AI, and adoption is growing fast. This year, 72% of businesses said they use AI for at least one business function, up from 55% a year ago and 20% seven years ago. Much of that growth has been through generative AI.
More than one AI
But even though generative AI ignites our imaginations with a knack for natural human speech, it's not the only option nor necessarily the best use of AI in your business. Several types of AI can improve your business operations by adding efficiency, visibility, and automation.
Let's take a look at the most prominent examples of AI:
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Business Analytics: The concept of business analytics (BA) is ancient because it refers to using historical information to make current decisions. The modern version uses AI to analyse data and provide insights for performance and strategic planning. The leading BA services like Oracle use machine learning and deep learning to understand data.
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Data Platforms: Data platforms help companies discover and organise data. The biggest challenge with data is that it tends to reside in many different places (called data silos) that are often difficult to access and use. Data platforms like DataRobot use AI to find and classify data and help companies access that data more easily and reliably.
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Automation: AI is helping automate manual tasks and processes that keep people from focusing on higher-value activities. Robotic process automation software like that provided by Datadog can learn to mimic user actions on a computer, and business process automation services are using machine learning and natural language to create a new trend called Intelligent Process Automation.
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Real-Time Monitoring: Companies have many moving parts, and AI is making it easier to track them by continuously observing, analysing, and reporting data as events occur. This is called real-time monitoring, and it's used for many tasks, such as maintaining IT systems, tracking patients' vitals in hospitals, stopping fraud such as credit card theft, and predicting maintenance for equipment such as delivery vehicles and manufacturing machines. New Relic is one company providing this type of resource for businesses.
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Generative AI: Generative AI is currently the most popular example of AI commonly seen in platforms like ChatGPT and Midjourney. It can understand human instructions and create content. Though it's exciting to see such an AI generate text and images out of thin air, the real benefit is that generative AI can interpret normal human language and is very easy to use.
How to choose AI for your business
There are many types of AI that could do a lot for your business. Choosing the correct one for your business's needs will save you money while making your company more efficient. Start by looking for business issues you could solve with AI, like finding patterns in your data for planning, a chatbot to resolve common customer issues, or a routine task such as data capturing.
The next step is finding a platform or service to handle your use case. If you want to use business analytics, look at popular BA platforms. If your use case is for predictive maintenance, there are many suitable services that do that. Perhaps you need a generative AI chatbot that can do creative tasks for you.
The third and fourth steps are crucial: classify and clean your data so it's AI-ready and set guidelines and policies for employees to confidently use the AI service.
These four steps often run in tandem with each other. Adopting the best AI for your business is a journey that will get easier as your understanding grows. Many popular software platforms such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Salesforce include AI services you can test without unexpected repercussions or costs. Look around your industry and see what other companies are using for their AI needs.
Speak to a trusted service provider like Vodacom Business and see how they can collaborate with you to use AI for better business decisions and efficiency.
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