Dall-E image generation and now Chat-GPT - 2022 has shown that AI is no less than revolutionary. But can businesses actually take advantage of AI superpowers in their day-to-day operations?
They definitely can!
AI has not just evolved technically. It has also become more accessible to non-tech users, with companies like Levity putting AI technology into the hands of business people.
Not only is AI helping people become more efficient; it's also revolutionizing the way we do business. In fact, 86% of CEOs note that AI is a mainstay in their offices, and it's not in the form of robots and complex machinery, but instead software to run their day-to-day operations. From predicting customer behavior to reducing manual data entry, AI in business is becoming indispensable in ways never seen.
Thanks to AI, you can make decisions much faster and more accurately than ever before.
In this article, we are going to go over seven AI uses cases in business.
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How AI benefits businesses
Automation, data analytics, and Natural Language Processing (NLP) are among the top applications of AI. But what does this actually mean and how does this simplify processes and increase operational efficiency?
- AI Automation: People are being saved from boredom thanks to automation. Teams no longer spend countless hours doing repetitive tasks and employees' time is freed to focus on higher-value work. Another added bonus - AI Automation is more precise and less likely to let any relevant information fall through the cracks. Improved employee satisfaction and improved processes!
- Data analytics: Data analytics allows businesses to gain insights that were previously inaccessible by discovering new patterns and correlations in data.
- Tone Detection and Natural Language Processing (NLP): Natural Language Processing is top of mind for many people because it empowers search engines to be smarter, chatbots to be more helpful, and boosts accessibility for those with disabilities, such as hearing impairments.
Let’s dive in and look at the most common and useful cases of AI in business!
1. Artificial Intelligence in Sales
Expert sellers and sales companies are rethinking the balance between humans and machines in sales. Automation AI is already affecting sales and will continue to do so. A study by Harvard Business Review found that companies using AI for sales can increase their leads by more than 50%, reduce call time by 60-70%, and have cost reductions of 40-60%. Given these numbers, it’s clear that businesses looking to improve their bottom line should look into Artificial Intelligence.
Here are a few uses of AI in sales:
- Outbound email campaigns - Email campaigns are steadfast in sales and marketing strategies and for good reason- they get results. But sending out hundreds or even thousands of mails and tracking their responses can be exhausting. With AI solutions like Levity, email responses are monitored, categorized, and filed however you would like. Removing the need for manual monitoring of replies and flagging the actually worthwhile emails. Check out living proof of AI success in Sales from Incendium, a B2B growth consultancy firm.
- Demand forecasting – Forecasts are complex, but they can be automated. Artificial intelligence enables the creation of automated and accurate sales projections based on all client interactions and historical sales results.
- Lead scoring – AI aids in lead prioritization. These AI tools help sales professionals prioritize customers based on their probability to convert. With AI, the algorithm can rank the opportunities or leads in the pipeline based on their chances of closing successfully by compiling historical information about a client and social media postings, and the salesperson's customer interaction history.
2. Artificial Intelligence in Marketing
If you work in marketing you will know that finding the balance between operational efficiency and customer experience is key. One of the best ways to optimize both is by implementing intelligent technology solutions.
Here are some of the best ways to do this:
- Market research - don’t let customer feedback and other quantitative responses go to waste. AI tools like Levity analyze these at scale - no manual tagging required from you or your teams and insights centralized for easy access.
- Competitor Analysis - instead of spending hours scrolling through competitors' tweets, use AI to categorize by topic or themes and notify you of trends.
- Image recognition – with Computer Vision, computers and systems can infer meaning from digital images, videos, and other visual inputs and then act or recommend accordingly. Marketers can use this to analyze the millions of pictures published daily to social media sites to gain insight into how and where products or services are used. By doing so, market penetration and brand awareness can be measured in new ways.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)– in search engine optimization, the term "search volume" informs us of how many people are searching for specific terms and phrases while looking for items or services. Machine Learning (ML) algorithms are now being used to get a better grasp of the intent behind search term usage as well as the substance of searches. Another application is to analyze competitor SEO tactics in order to identify any holes that may exist in your own, or to take advantage of keywords that competitors aren’t using. AI can also create SEO-friendly marketing material for your own website.
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3. Artificial Intelligence in Customer Support
Businesses rely on their customers to be successful and there’s no two ways about it. Resolving their issues is the main aim but sometimes this is just not feasible. In the meantime, prompt, effective replies to customers who contact you can be enough to keep your online reviews in the green. Dedicating resources to monitoring customer messages is money-and-time-consuming. Not only this but customer mails can fluctuate and you might find your customer support team run off their feet one afternoon, and completely free the next.
This is the perfect situation for AI to solve with:
- Automatically assess customer messages- AI tools use advanced technologies to detect the tone and purpose of incoming messages from customers. More than just detecting a certain keyword like ‘complaint’, AI will asses the entire context of the message. Meaning even the most long-winded text can be categorized correctly and sent to the appropriate team. Tools like Levity provide this functionality and are made for non-engineers, so you don’t need any coding knowledge to implement. Check out the image below to see a sample customer feedback workflow using Levity.
- Tag urgency and trigger actions- Use Artificial Intelligence to sift through tons of conversations with clients and leads. AI models can recognize the most important words that indicate urgency. In the case of customer queries, AI can pick up crisis-prone words or sentences like "I'll leave your business." In the case of leads, AI can recognize sentences like, "This offer sounds interesting," or "I'd like to buy next week," and others that may indicate a possible sale.
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Try for free4. Artificial Intelligence in Operations
Known as AIOps, the use of AI in business operations is already helping businesses on the path toward a successful digital transformation. Here are just some of the ways AI improves business operations:
- Inventory Management - Machine Learning, a subset of AI, uses image recognition abilities to increase efficiency and productivity across a wide variety of processes, one example of this is inventory management. It's as simple as uploading image data to an AI tool that can detect defects, or categorize and label the images. You can even connect these apps to your existing tool stack or online shop meaning the labels are automatically assigned.
Check out this quote from fashion company Veneka who use Levity to automatically keep track of inventory and update their online stores:
“Manual tagging slows down our onboarding efforts. With Levity, we identify and tag 60+ product attributes accurately, significantly speeding up how quickly our stylists use new products in their capsules.” — Shivika Sinha, CEO Veneka.
5. Artificial Intelligence in Human Resources
Human resource teams are in a drastically different environment than they were prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hybrid and remote working is continuing to increase in popularity. Virtual recruiting, as well as a greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion, have introduced new dynamics and reinforced existing ones. New platforms and technologies are required to stay competitive, and AI is at the center of this growth.
Here are a few current uses of AI in human resources:
- Analyzing candidate profiles – many companies have invested in AI to help with the hiring process. Using AI, HR managers can analyze a potential candidate's past work experiences and interests and match them with the best roles.
- Organization Network Analysis – to assist your company in becoming more sustainable and successful, AI can be used to analyze formal and informal relationships in the business, which can help develop business strategies that increase the organic exchange of information.
6. Artificial Intelligence in Accounting
As mentioned already, AI can automate tedious activities, improve accuracy and efficiency, and uncover hidden trends. It can upload files, read them, and classify them in the correct accounting codes. AI never sleeps, tires, or makes human errors. So it’s no surprise that AI is making headway in this demanding field.
Below are just some of the uses of AI in accounting:
- Performing repetitive tasks – repetitive actions like recording data, categorizing transactions, reconciling accounts, entering and correlating data from scanned receipts and invoices to transactions, evaluating employee expense reports, and tracking pricing changes are just a few things that take up a lot of accountants' time. AI can do all of these tasks with much less error than a human. This way, employees are saved from mental overload and can focus their work on other ongoing tasks.
- Semi-automating complex processes like payroll – AI is likely to alter the future of payroll. Unlike automation, which is based on cause-and-effect, true AI systems can analyze data, learn from failures, and solve issues strategically. The market for cloud-based payroll software was valued at $7.88 billion in 2018, and is anticipated to hit $13.37 billion by 2026. Company executives are increasingly eager to invest in advanced AI-supported payroll systems.
7. Artificial Intelligence in Contact Centers
Every contact center encounter with a consumer either increases loyalty or pushes customers away. So, efficient customer service is a major focus. Contact centers hold a wealth of data, and AI can help businesses better understand their clients.
Below is one of the most popular uses of AI at contact centers:
- Running outreach campaigns – an Artificial Intelligence voicebot can contact hundreds or even thousands of individuals to present and sell your product's offering. It can respond to simple questions, and pass them to a sales rep if the person is interested. Automating this was a previously impossible task for most businesses, but thanks to accessible AI tools, any business can take advantage.
The bottom line...
As we’ve mentioned, AI and Machine Learning have revolutionized and will continue to revolutionize businesses for many years to come. From Marketing to operations to sales, implementing AI into business environments cuts down on time spent on repetitive tasks, improves employee productivity, and enhances the overall customer experience. It also helps avoid mistakes and detect potential crises.
It’s really no wonder why businesses are leveraging it across all functions and you should too.