- …
- …
IMPACT ON BUSINESS
HOW ARE BUSINESSES USING AI?
Businesses have been using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning for some time to simplify processes, reduce costs and save time. From our research, 82% of businesses say they recognise the importance of AI and have adopted it in at least one aspect of their business. SME businesses are the largest proportion of businesses to have adopted AI (85%), followed by mid-tier companies (79%) and finally by PLC’s (60%). Given each business size faces different technology challenges and has varied IT requirements, it’s not surprising that this differs. Although there is likely an opportunity for PLCs to invest more research and budget into how they may use AI to compete with larger firms.
Lack of resource, budget and expertise can often impede small business owners from investing as much time as they might like into implementing smarter processes and ways of working, putting them at a disadvantage.
For those businesses using AI, our research found three common reasons for deployment:
- Data management and analysis
- Content creation
- Natural language processing
UK BUSINESS SIZE THAT HAVE ADOPTED AI
"AI will bring with it answers to solve key challenges. We are already seeing this in sectors such as logistics and transport, where AI solutions are being deployed to plot the most optimal route from a fuel efficiency point of view and how energy companies are using it to calculate and reduce their carbon footprint, which at the moment can be highly challenging. As the technology becomes more mature, it will be applied across a wider set of business and societal problems, to improve the customer experience and drive positive change. We will see more organisations talking about how they have deployed it in their annual accounts and sustainability reports."
Geoff Guerin, Strategy and Sustainability Director
1. DATA MANAGEMENT AND ANALYSIS
Over 50% of businesses who completed our survey told us that they’re applying artificial intelligence, to automate data management tasks, like data capture, anomaly detection and data validation. Tasks that would normally require manual work, often resulting in human error, are now being analysed by AI algorithms. One client remarked, “[We use] use AI technology to analyse customer data, provide more accurate target customers, optimise marketing strategies and sales forecasts.”
Whilst another commented…
“Our business adopts AI technology for data analysis and prediction, [to] improve research, innovation ability, and accelerate product development.”
Collibra, data intelligence company, found that, “two-thirds of data that is available to businesses is not utilised [because] companies are unable to derive deeper, actionable insights from…data [that] is inaccurate [and] not accessible” (Collibra: AI driving the future of data intelligence). The opportunity for AI managed data to improve customer insight and delivery is therefore significant.
2. CONTENT CREATION
The third trend our research found was the use of AI tools, which are trained to follow an instruction or prompt, such as ChatGPT. The tool uses a complex machine learning model to process language and automatically create responses. Many businesses are using it for language translation, research and content creation, often helping them to save time and work smarter. There are, however, limitations with many tools creating content that is inaccurate or out of date, often without statistical evidence or references. With the recent launch of GPT-4, the newest version of AI’s language model that can mimic human speech and reasoning, Sam Altman CEO of OpenAI, knows all too well the opportunities and threats for businesses. In his latest interview he emphasises that businesses should be using the tool as a ‘reasoning engine’, not a ‘fact database’. “I'm particularly worried that these models could be used for large-scale disinformation…The thing that I try to caution people the most is what we call the 'hallucinations’ problem…The model will confidently state things as if they were facts that are entirely made up”, says Altman (abcNEWS: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says AI will reshape society). Businesses therefore need to be aware of this constraint and take the time to check and ratify results.
3. NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING (NLP)
Another common use for AI within businesses, as identified by our survey results, is language processing. This is a form of artificial intelligence that uses algorithms to process, understand and generate human language. Examples include; chatbots and virtual assistants, which are common customer service tools used to guide the customer through a series of complicated workflows.
One client commented,
“[We have implemented] Chatbots for customer service…that use natural language processing and machine learning to interact with customers, answer their questions, and resolve their issues.”
Named entity recognition (NER) is another NLP example, used to make information more accessible through text-to-speech and speech-to-text capabilities, as well as suggesting words to a user during a google search or when they’re filling out a document. In many instances, the end goal is for a machine to respond with text or voice, just as a human would.
NLP will continue to play a key role for businesses, as they look to enhance the customer experience and make information more accessible, particularly for those with disabilities.
HAS YOUR ORGANISATION ADOPTED AI OR MACHINE LEARNING IN ANY PARTS OF THE BUSINESS?
READ NEXT SECTION
©2023 Idex Consulting