How AI will affect your business in 2024

What is AI?

AI is effectively the ability of computer technology to simulate human intelligence. The software learns from consumer behaviour, algorithms and the internet to enable it to perform tasks – often much faster, and potentially more accurately, than a human. It can be integrated into most industries as well as into businesses of all scales; according to a report by Constant Contact , 91% of small businesses have found using AI has made them more successful.

Ways AI can help your business

AI should generally be seen as a ‘supporting tool’ for SMEs as it can save them time and money by automating repetitive tasks, which are often done on autopilot anyway, and can therefore free up time and money for investment and innovation. Some examples of the tasks it can carry out are:

• Increased access to skills : Various AI tools can be used to fill gaps in the skills sets of you and your employees, potentially saving you from needing to hire a new staff member and increasing the efficiency of operations without lots of staff training.
• Cybersecurity : Complex IT problems often require expertise, which can be expensive for SMEs – despite being necessary. AI is increasingly being used to help protect systems and spot attacks, although the deployment of IT to police IT raises other issues , which the industry is racing to keep up with.
• Staffing : With attracting and retaining talent an increasing issue for businesses of all sizes, at a time when unemployment is at its lowest, AI may provide solutions for tasks you are struggling to cover, ensuring your business isn’t left high and dry by the tight labour market.
• Customer service: With the quality chatbots and the ability for automated customer emails improving, implementing AI for tasks you don’t have time for can allow your employees to spend more time developing and pushing the business further, rather than being bogged down by emails, as well as keeping your business open all hours. While this may seem like it would disconnect you from your customers, studies show using AI can actually have the opposite effect: Octopus Energy used AI to send out customer emails and the customer satisfaction rate was 15% higher than it was for the human-written emails.
• Marketing assistance: Many SMEs struggle to find the time or the budget to spend on marketing the business. Generative AI can be used to come up with content ideas to engage with your audience. It also has the benefit of gleaning insights from the internet to judge what content is most likely to engage with your customers so that you don’t have to trawl through the internet, analysing trends yourself.

Considerations

There are many aspects to consider before diving in and implementing AI across your business.

• Cost: Although it can be efficient, rolling out AI can be expensive, so it is worth considering if the net gain will overall benefit the company.
• Rubbish in = rubbish out: While AI is largely effective and useful, it isn’t perfect yet. It works by using information available on the internet and as it is a limited, open source of data, it is sometimes inaccurate which can lead to the outcome containing biases or not being able to serve its intended purpose.
• Brand tone: AI should be capable of learning the tone of your business, but sometimes it can be lost in translation and the loss of a personal connection between you and your customers can be very detrimental. It could be worth doing pilot rollouts and testing engagement before permanently transferring certain customer-facing roles to AI.
• Staff engagement: With AI becoming increasingly present in the workplace, there are concerns over how it will impact employment and the risk of humans being replaced by technology. It is therefore important to include your employees in discussions covering the integration of AI and how it can benefit both them and the business.
• Environment: A very important consideration, not to be overlooked, is the impact increasing your business’s use of AI can have on the environment. Reports show it uses alarming amounts of electricity as the compute power required for its operations is enormous – which will significantly impact your business’s carbon footprint. As being ESG conscious is increasingly important to all businesses, AI use should be carefully calculated into your environmental strategies and consideration should be put into how its impact can be offset.

The future of AI in business is both an exciting and, to some extent unknown, prospect. If used efficiently and integrated into your business in places where it is both useful and timesaving, it can be an incredibly valuable tool. Research and trials into different types of AI and which will be most suitable for improving your operations will be very helpful when deciding how and when it should be implemented.

If you are looking for a business centre which will support your SME as you look to make technological developments, get in touch .