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What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to when computers are programmed to perform tasks that mimic human thinking and usually require human intelligence to complete.
These tasks include things like understanding language, making decisions, or even predicting outcomes. AI can learn from data and get better over time.
AI is already a part of our daily routines, often in ways we don’t even notice. Whether unlocking your phone or using a streaming service that recommends movies based on our viewing history. AI makes us online shopping product suggestions based on past purchases and our email apps filter out spam.
AI is working behind the scenes making tasks more convenient and personalised.
Tools
Different Types of AI
AI is a broad field with different types that can be used for different purposes.
Understanding these different types of AI can help you choose the right tools to help your business.
Here are some of the types of AI that small businesses might encounter:
- Machine Learning (ML): Machine Learning is a type of AI where computers learn from data. The more data you give it, the better it gets at making predictions or decisions. ML can analyse a customer’s previous purchases or browsing history to recommend products.
- Natural Language Processing (NLP): NLP is the ability of AI to understand and interpret human language. This allows computers to read, understand, and respond to text or speech. NLP can interpret and understand customer questions and provide answers, just like a human would.
- Computer Vision: Computer Vision is AI that can interpret and understand visual information, like images or videos. AI with computer vision can analyse security camera footage, helping to prevent theft or improve store layout based on customer movement patterns.
- Robotic Process Automation (RPA): RPA uses AI to automate routine tasks that are usually done by humans, like data entry or processing simple transactions. Modern accounting programs already automatically process invoices and reconcile accounts, freeing up staff to focus on other tasks.
- Speech Recognition: This type of AI converts spoken language into text. It’s what powers voice assistants like Siri or Google Assistant.
How AI can help your business
There are lots of opportunities to use AI in your business. See below how AI can help you and your business now.
If you are not quite ready to use AI, having an understanding of AI and how it can help you is a good place to start, as it will become more common and easier to use as the technology progresses.
You can use AI-powered tools to streamline operations, automate repetitive tasks and increase productivity. The use of AI can free up time that you can use for other work.
Some examples of everyday tasks that AI can help with are:
- Data entry
- Scheduling appointments with AI creating meeting notes post appointment
- Task and project management
- Inventory management
- Generating reports
- Email management
Example:
A small café can use AI to track which items sell the most and predict when you’ll need to restock. For instance, if AI notices that you sell more coffee on weekends, it can alert you to order more beans in advance. This helps prevent running out of stock or over-ordering.
AI can respond to your customers 24/7 over email or through a chatbot on your website. It can also send your customers to a human for assistance. Your customers will feel they are always supported by your business.
Example:
A small retail store can use AI-powered chatbots on their website. These bots can answer common customer questions, like store hours or return policies, even when you’re not around. This means customers get help quickly, and you save time answering the same questions over and over.
AI can analyse large amounts of data and provide valuable insights about your customers, trends, products or services, or internal processes. This can assist you in making informed decisions about your business, optimise your offering and improve customer satisfaction.
Example:
A manufacturing business could use AI to analyse last year’s sales data. The AI tool might reveal that customers are more likely to purchase extra items when offered discounts on complementary products. The store can plan more effectively, create targeted marketing campaigns, and adjust their pricing to maximise profits.
AI can provide support to write content and improve clarity in all your communications. AI tools can be used to create social media posts, advertising campaigns, newsletters, images, website content, and much more.
Example:
A small bakery could use AI to generate engaging social media posts showcasing daily specials, creating consistent and attractive content that saves time and helps attract more customers.
With the widespread use of digital tools, fraudulent acts are also on the rise. Through vast data analysis, AI can notice anomalies that may indicate suspicious activities. The AI-powered two-factor authentication provides an extra layer of security for your business and customers.
AI tools can improve accounting processes by automating tasks and making them more efficient. Some tools can analyse data for cash flow forecasting, catching errors and irregularities that can indicate security risks.
Important Considerations
While AI offers great benefits, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Security and data protection. It’s important to take into consideration the security and data protection policies of the AI tool you plan to use. If you are unsure of how the data will be handled or whether it will be secure, you should avoid sharing confidential or private information with the third-party AI service. When collecting data from an individual it is important to have a collection notice that explains how you will use, store and share the information collected.
- Cost considerations. The price range of AI tools can vary. AI cloud-based solutions tend to be the more cost -effective option for small businesses.
- Data quality. Data must be easily accessible and of sufficient quality.
- Employee training. Your staff needs to be trained on how to use AI tools and how they can help them to do their job better.
- Understanding AI Limits: While AI can save time, it’s important to keep a human touch in your business. AI is smart but not perfect and it’s important to know that AI does make mistakes and can miss small details that a human might catch. Don’t rely solely on AI for important decisions, and always double-check an AI’s suggestions.
- Customer data and customer understanding: The responsible use of AI is essential to ensure customers are aware and accept the use of AI.
Find Help
If you are unsure how to use AI in your business or which AI tool is suitable for your needs, you can find help in the following places.
