Many people balk at the very idea of Artificial Intelligence (AI) controlling their lives, like some sort of human-robot from the “Terminator” series. The notion of AI as controlling people’s lives is scary. However, in one way or another, AI is already in your life. For example, do you date using Tinder? Or even eHarmony? Artificial intelligence is used in both of those applications to match you with someone you might be compatible with, based on either your preferences or your previous selections. It’s not a bad way to date, it saves time and money, so you don’t have to go out with someone who looks like your worst nightmare.
AI works much the same way in business. AI is used in business to streamline processes and speed up parts of doing business that used to be very time-consuming. The businesses of the 1940s and 1950s used to have receptionists whose whole job was to come in and take notes on shorthand during meetings, then they would transcribe those notes. Now, business people every day take notes on the computer, or better yet, speak into a computer and allow AI to take the notes for them. This is one example of how AI has changed how we do business.
AI For Communication
Perhaps one of the biggest uses of AI has been in the internet telephony field. If you have a business that uses voice over internet phone (VoIP) technology, then Voice AI phone system will really help you improve your business communication. First, AI can detect those callers by the sound or strain in their voice to determine whether a customer merely needs to ask a question, needs additional information, or is very upset and needs to speak to someone directly to get their problem resolved.
In addition to the voice stress recognition, AI can also speed up the amount of time that a customer service representative takes with each caller by asking for identifying information up front. That way, representatives will be able to immediately see who they are talking to, and any other relevant information, such as the number of purchases made, and whether or not an order was delivered, or a service was performed. Customers respond well when they feel a business understands them and their needs and can quickly respond when they have a concern.
AI in internet telephony has also adapted for chatbot functions as well. Rather than needing to answer all calls coming into the business, chatbots may be able to help your customers answer basic questions or even make purchases without interacting with a customer service representative, which leaves the representative able to concentrate on those individuals who really need help with their particular issue. This chatbot ability saves you time and money and saves your client headaches.
AI and Marketplace Suggestion
Another area of business that AI is changing is target marketing. There are many different kinds of target marketing, but anyone who has been surfing the web for any amount of time has ads targeted at whatever they are looking at. If you are looking for a new dog food for your dog on a website, and you jump off that site to browse something else, you are bound to get ads for dog food as you are browsing other sites. This is meant to keep you interested in whatever it is you were looking at. The more you return to the original site to look at it, the better the chances are you will eventually buy whatever dog food you were looking at in the first place. This is the impetus behind targeted marketing.
In addition to targeted marketing on social media, AI can make suggestions for your customers on your website based on past purchases, which allows you to offer them incentives or coupons for buying, or discounts off your services. This type of marketing is especially important for your customers who spend a lot of money with you, for the better, they are treated, the more money they are likely to spend. AI can also help you keep track of birthdays, anniversaries, even their children’s or grandchildren’s birthdays. This may not seem like such a big deal, but in today’s customer service world, attention and personalized service are everything.
Decision Making with AI
Much like AI in telephone service, artificial intelligence programs can speed up your decision-making processes. In the 20th century, doing business meant that you would come up with an idea, hold a meeting to flesh out the idea, then hold another meeting to see if your managers liked the idea, and perhaps hold a meeting with the rest of your staff, depending on how big the idea is, and how much it could potentially change your company. However, now AI can tell you exactly how your new idea will fit in with your company, and whether or not it will be a good fit for your customer base. AI is able to analyze the buying patterns and customer satisfaction rates for your business to determine whether your idea is a good one.
In addition to analyzing new products, AI can also analyze and neutralize threats to your security systems based on customer buying patterns or company purchasing patterns to let you know if irregularities are present in either buying or selling. While it does not seem that AI would be useful as a safeguard against cybersecurity, humans are creatures of habit, and because their buying power tends to repeat, it becomes much easier to tackle a potential threat as soon as they occur.
No matter where you are in your business growth, from the beginning of your business–starting out with one or two employees and a dream–or whether you are farther along, AI can help your business grow stronger through customer service applications, marketing, analyzing data and cybersecurity. While it may be a bit scary at first, cybersecurity gives business owners the tools they need to be successful at a fraction of the cost of additional employees.
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