As organizations increase their use of artificial intelligence By integrating technologies into their operations, they are reaping tangible benefits that should generate significant financial value.
Eighty-nine percent of organizations believe AI and machine learning will help them increase revenue, boost operational efficiency and improve customer experience, according to the “Global State of AI, 2024” report from research firm Frost & Sullivan report.
These are just some of the benefits AI can offer.
Here are 12 benefits that technology brings to organizations across various industry sectors.
1. Better decisions
Organizations are increasingly using AI to better understand their data—or, in today’s business jargon, to make data-driven decisionsIn doing so, they realize that they are actually making better, more accurate decisions, instead of making decisions based on individual instincts or intuition tainted by biases and personal preferences.
As an example, Kavita Ganesan, an AI consultant, strategist and founder of consulting firm Opinosis Analytics, cited a company that used AI to help sort survey responses from its 42,000 employees. The technology analyzed narrative responses and presented summarized results—an approach that allowed company leaders to effectively understand what workers wanted most rather than offering them ranking options through checkbox choices.
2. Efficiency and productivity gains
Efficiency and productivity gains are two other big benefits organizations get from using AI, said Adnan Masood, chief AI architect at UST, a digital transformation solutions company.
Masood said AI enables organizations to handle tasks at a volume and speed that humans simply cannot match, whether they are using AI for research or to analyze data to gain insights, create software code or execute specific business processes.
AI not only operates at a scale beyond human capabilities, Masood noted, but it also removes time-consuming manual tasks from workers — a productivity gain that allows workers to perform higher-level tasks that only humans can do. Using AI in Software Development as an example, highlighting the fact that AI can create test data to verify code, allowing developers to focus on more engaging work.
This allows organizations to minimize the costs associated with performing mundane, repeatable tasks that can be done by technology while maximizing the talent of their human capital.
3. Improved speed of business
In the digital age, businesses are moving at such a speed that AI is helping them move even faster, said Seth Earley, author of The AI-powered business and CEO of Earley Information Science. “It’s about speeding up the clock of the business,” he said. AI essentially enables shorter cycles and reduces the time it takes to move from one stage to the next — for example, from design to commercialization — and that shortened timeline, in turn, enables measurable return on investment.
4. New capabilities and expansion of the business model
Leaders can use AI for the expansion of economic modelsexperts said, noting that organizations see new opportunities as they deploy data, analytics and intelligence across the enterprise.
For example, autonomous vehicle companies could use the volumes of data they collect to identify new revenue streams related to insurance, while an insurance company could apply AI to its vast data stores to access fleet management.
5. Personalized customer services and experiences
AI analyzes and learns from data to create highly personalized and tailored experiences and services, said Brian Jackson, senior research director at Info-Tech Research Group.
He said the most visible examples of this phenomenon come from the consumer world, as streaming services such as Netflix and retailers use intelligent systems to study purchasing habits, individual consumer data and broader data sets to determine what each customer prefers at any given moment based on their personal style, interests and needs.
However, AI provides this personalization in many other areas, such as healthcare, where it personalizes treatments, and in work environments to meet the individual needs of each employee.
6. Improved services
AI creates interactions with technology that are easier, more intuitive, more accurate and, therefore, better across the board, said Mike Mason, director of AI at consultancy Thoughtworks.
He quoted a real estate website that uses generative AI so users can refine their property searches through conversational queries rather than clicking boxes.
“AI understands an unstructured query and unstructured data,” Mason explains. In other words, the technology can analyze a user’s query even when it’s phrased in simple, conversational language; analyze all the descriptive elements of each listing, including narrative notes added by real estate agents; and present the user with a finely tuned, highly accurate list of properties that meet their requirements.
7. Improved monitoring
AI’s ability to ingest and process massive amounts of data in real time means organizations can implement near-instantaneous monitoring capabilities to alert them to problems, recommend actions and, in some cases, initiate a response, experts say.
For example, AI can improve quality control in manufacturing as well as using information gathered by the devices on plant equipment to identify problems and plan necessary maintenance operations. The latter helps avoid disruptive breakdowns and costly maintenance work carried out because it is necessary rather than planned.
AI monitoring capabilities can be effective in other areas, such as in enterprise cybersecurity operations where large amounts of data need to be analyzed and understood.
8. Better quality and reduced human errors
Organizations can expect reduced errors and better adherence to established standards when adding AI technologies to processes. when AI and machine learning are integrated into robotic process automation — commonly known as RPA, which automates repetitive tasks based on rules — the combination not only speeds up processes and reduces errors, but can also be trained to improve and take on larger tasks.
With this reduction in errors and better quality, “AI improves the value proposition,” Earley said.
THE Using AI in Financial Reconciliationfor example, almost always provides error-free results, whereas this same reconciliation, when managed, even in part, by human employees, is subject to errors.
9. Better talent management
Companies use AI to improve many aspects of talent managementfrom streamlining the recruiting process to eliminating bias in corporate communications. Additionally, AI-powered processes not only save companies on recruiting costs, but can also improve workforce productivity by successfully sourcing, screening, and identifying the best candidates. natural language processing AI tools have improved, companies are also using chatbots to provide candidates with a personalized experience and to coach employees. Additionally, AI tools can assess employee sentimentidentify and retain top performers, determine fair compensation, and deliver more personalized and engaging work experiences with fewer demands on boring and repetitive tasks.
10. More innovation
As workers at all levels become more comfortable and confident working with AI, experts said they are starting to use AI tools to help them be more creative and innovative.
In his book, Ganesan describes how a restaurant chain used the technology to power a mobile app that lets customers create their own cocktails based on their mood and food choices, with the tool concocting the recipe and then sending it to a human bartender to mix and serve.
Other industrial sectors are using AI to support R&D activities, such as in the healthcare sector for drug discovery and in the consumer goods sector for the creation of new products.
11. Increased profitability
As organizations use AI in more areas of the business—from personalizing services to helping manage risk to supporting innovation—they will see improved productivity, lower costs, increased efficiency, and potentially new opportunities for growth.
Taken together, the a How Businesses Use AI Wisely According to Sreekar Krishna, U.S. AI leader at professional services firm KPMG, “In terms of revenue, its potential is exponential: you can continue to grow as long as you deliver value to customers.”
12. Industry Specific Improvements
In addition to the benefits listed above, AI can drive the following industry improvements:
- Retailers can use AI to better target their marketing efforts, develop a more efficient supply chain, and better calculate prices for optimal returns. In retail businesses, AI helps predict customer needs and appropriate staffing levels.
- The pharmaceutical industry can use this technology to perform data analysis and predictions in drug discovery that cannot be achieved with conventional technologies.
- The financial sector can use AI to reduce risks and strengthen its fraud detection efforts.
It’s important to remember that as businesses find ways to use AI to gain a competitive advantage, they also face challenges. AI Biasgovernment regulation of AI, data management needed for machine learning projects, and talent shortages. Additionally, financial gains may be difficult to achieve if the talent and infrastructure needed to implement AI are not in place.
Editor’s Note: This article was published in June 2023 and updated in August 2024 to reflect current research and include hyperlinks to recent articles.
