Insights for Organisations
Paul Brown
10.03.22
The global AI market is forecast to grow by 33.2% between 2020 and 2027. As consumers, we’re used to ‘Conversational AI’ like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant in our daily lives. But what is the potential for AI in business? Before we delve into that, let’s take a minute to define what artificial intelligence is.
What is AI?
Artificial Intelligence or AI is a branch of computer science, and its purpose is to simulate human intelligence via machine learning. From marketing to recruitment, and media to healthcare, AI is used across multiple industries in almost every business function. AI can automate a range of tasks and help boost business productivity. It also collects and analyses data that provide valuable insights to form a business strategy.
5 Top AI Uses in Business
1. Marketing
Customer preferences and buying trends are changing constantly. It can be difficult to market products that align with these needs at the right times. AI collects data from browsing histories. It provides valuable insights that marketers can use to understand consumer needs better. The uses of AI in marketing are both qualitative and quantitative.
AI analyses data about consumer preference and purchase history and uses predictive analysis to forecast future trends. It uses a combination of algorithms and machine learning to do this. For example, Amazon displays recommendations of related products based on your search and shopping history. So, if you recently browsed or bought a book by a particular author, Amazon will show you more titles by the same author or books from the same genre.
This kind of personalised marketing powered by AI can boost sales vis-à-vis quantitative benefit and enhance user experience vis-à-vis qualitative benefit.
This recommendation system is used by multiple companies and perhaps most commonly by Netflix and Spotify. Netflix spends a cool $1 billion annually on its AI-powered recommendation engine! Recently, Netflix has upped the ante on AI-backed personalisation. The company uses algorithms to determine the kind of artwork that is most likely to entice viewers to click on a film or show title.
According to the Netflix Tech Blog:
“Let us consider trying to personalize the image we use to depict the movie Good Will Hunting…Someone who has watched many romantic movies may be interested in Good Will Hunting if we show the artwork containing Matt Damon and Minnie Driver, whereas, a member who has watched many comedies might be drawn to the movie if we use the artwork containing Robin Williams, a well-known comedian.”
There are multiple uses of AI in business marketing. Paid marketing is another area that benefits from AI automation. Digital marketers use consumer data to identify the best places to display ads. But with customer behaviour changing rapidly, it’s not possible to keep up with these trends in real-time.
AI uses machine learning to track consumer data in real-time and bid for ads based on consumer location, shopping history, and more metrics. This allows businesses to target optimum channels for the best price.
2. Recruitment
According to a report by Gartner, 38% of companies use AI for recruitment. AI automates large volumes of tasks that are both repetitive and time-consuming. This has revolutionised talent acquisition and made the recruitment process more efficient and timely. From initial applicant sourcing and screening to scheduling interviews, a large majority of administrative tasks in recruitment can now be automated.
AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can also answer large volumes of applicant queries on the company website in a fraction of the time it would take a hiring manager. The scope of AI in recruitment also extends to the automated listings of new roles in job boards. Interestingly, AI contributes to diversity in hiring. The automated sourcing and screening of applicants remove the possibility of any subconscious biases. AI-powered applicant tracking systems can be set up to ignore data like gender, age, and ethnicity to facilitate a fairer hiring process.
3. Social Media
Social media is one of the most powerful mediums for businesses to promote their products and services. It’s also one of the most effective ways for businesses to build engagement with both new and existing customers. The scope of AI in social media is huge. Here’s a stat to highlight this: according to a survey by Markets and Markets, the AI in social media market is estimated to grow from $633 million in 2018 to over $2.1 billion by 2023.
From automating your postings on social media to tracking the performance of individual campaigns, AI streamlines social media management. Let’s consider two popular social media platforms and how they typically use AI.
The popular professional networking platform uses machine learning to study user preferences to make job recommendations. It also uses the same analytics to recommend new connections and display tailored content for each user.
Facebook uses AI to show you content based on your browsing history. So, if you liked a recipe video, Facebook’s analytics will use that data to show you related videos in future.
4. Finance and Accounting
According to a recent report, AI in finance and accounting is expected to register a CAGR of 30% between 2022 and 2027. AI can be used to automate the processing and authorisation of multiple accounting tasks. This includes procurement, accounts payable and receivable, invoicing, expense reports, and more. So, finance managers can focus on tasks that require more specialist knowledge.
AI also uses natural language processing (NLP) to monitor communication and can provide real-time status of financial matters to businesses. RPA in accounting also facilitates compliance with state, federal, and industry laws by reviewing documents and automatically raising alerts when necessary.
AI can also scan large volumes of data to check for possible fraud. Automation reduces the risk of human error and can potentially save a company from losing revenue.
5. CRM
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the way businesses engage with customers. Providing a positive customer experience has become a top priority for businesses around the world. This is hardly surprising. According to a report by PWC, 32% of US customers stop engaging with a company after just one bad experience.
This probably explains why the global CRM market is expected to grow to USD 82 billion by 2025. Companies can benefit from using AI in their CRM programmes for more effective and timely engagement with customers. For example, chatbots and VAs can address large volumes of frequently asked customer queries in seconds. This helps customers to ‘self-serve’ and creates an enhanced CX.
AI also collects data about customer preferences through loyalty programmes and reward systems. It then provides specific recommendations for salespeople like customised emails, newsletters, and messages sent at specific times. By offering tailored products to customers according to their preferences businesses can reduce bounce rate and boosts sales.
AI is the present and future of business. AI-powered RPA boosts productivity by automating high-volume admin tasks. AI also provides an unprecedented level of granular consumer data. Businesses can use this data to optimise the way they engage with customers. This boosts their potential for conversions and ultimately their revenue.
To find out more about what an RPA Developer can do for your company, check out FDM’s RPA Consultant Services.