You’ve undoubtedly heard about generative artificial intelligence (AI) at this point in one form or another. Whether that’s been the ChatGPT language model from OpenAI, AI-powered image generators, or even AI tools implemented into your workflows, the reality of artificial intelligence in business and general society is coming to fruition.
AI has captivated the scientific, technical, and entertainment industries for decades. However, realistic AI solutions are just recently starting to come onto the scene. With that in mind, it’s important to realize that these solutions are only scratching the surface of AI’s potential and there are still a lot of unanswered questions regarding how to apply AI in business, how to responsibly implement AI solutions, and the ultimate direction of AI tech development.
On top of the questions surrounding practical implementation, there are also several vital legal aspects that need to be addressed when it comes to generative AI. This is best exemplified by the ongoing class action lawsuit between artists and Stability AI, as well as the lawsuit between Getty Images and Stable Diffusion, which was developed by Stability AI.
This comes down to AI being in its infancy and is partially why many organizational leaders acknowledge the influence artificial intelligence will have in business, even if they’re a few years away from implementing AI solutions themselves.
“The KPMG study paints a picture where 65% of 225 US executives foresee a significant influence of generative AI on their organizations in the next three to five years. Interestingly, 60% of the same group, however, confess they’re still a year or two away from implementing their inaugural generative AI solution.”
On a global scale, it’s also worth noting that, according to a 2022 IBM study on AI adoption, the United States ranks last (14th) in AI deployment and exploration compared to the other countries in the study.
Take a Breath
This is important context, but considering how young advanced AI technology is and the current grey areas being traversed, taking a slow-and-steady approach to AI implementation isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Especially considering that according to Statista, only about 200 companies are actively using ChatGPT and the vast majority of those are in the tech or education industries.
“While other industries do utilize the OpenAI-made chatbot, there are less than 100 institutions and companies that use ChatGPT in other industries. This is especially true of agriculture, cultural, and legal industries, where only a single company is using ChatGPT in 2023.”
This is to say that there’s no need to panic if your company isn’t using generative AI yet.
We’re going to break down some of the most popular AI use cases in business, dig into some of the data orbiting artificial intelligence solutions in their current state, and consider some possibilities for the AI of tomorrow.
There are always opportunities to improve, and you don’t want to miss them, especially when they’re fairly obvious. Watch Impact’s webinar to learn How to Identify High-Value Opportunities for Innovation.
Examples of Artificial Intelligence in Business
While advanced AI solutions are certainly in their beginning stages, early adopters are already testing the limits of what’s currently possible.
AI solutions may just be getting off the ground, but some of the experts predict a short runway, estimating that the global artificial intelligence market will be worth nearly $267 billion by 2027 and will be contributing a staggering $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.
These predictions are ambitious, but they aren’t entirely unfounded. Forbes Advisor found that over half of 600 business owners already using or planning to use AI in some fashion or another are using AI in customer service or cybersecurity and fraud management. This starts to demonstrate some of the different practical areas of application that business owners are finding for AI implementation.
“Other notable uses of AI are customer relationship management (46%), digital personal assistants (47%), inventory management (40%) and content production (35%). Businesses also leverage AI for product recommendations (33%), accounting (30%), supply chain operations (30%), recruitment and talent sourcing (26%) and audience segmentation (24%).”
– Kathy Haan –
Customer Service and Communication
Customer service is likely the largest space in which AI is being actively implemented and has been implemented for years already. Chatbots are certainly more advanced today than their early 2000s predecessors, yet this is still one of the most common use-cases for businesses to implement AI.
73% of the Forbes Advisor respondents already use AI chatbots to answer common questions and help facilitate the online experience, or are planning to in the near future.
Internal and external communications present major potential for artificial intelligence in business. With an AI tool managing your email inbox, for instance, you won’t have to sift through hundreds of emails a day or spend hours on micro-communications. Instead, you can address the most pressing emails that need your attention immediately, and allocate those precious saved hours to more fulfilling work.
Optimizing emails and email campaigns is one of the biggest AI use-cases in business so far.
Customer Experience Customization
Another space in which AI is taking off and making strides is in the area of customer experience customization. For years, marketing professionals have understood the importance of consumer data and an individualized consumer experience that feels personal and authentic.
This gave way to tailored online experiences like personalized product suggestions when perusing an e-commerce site or targeted ads based on user-data. With AI coming into the mix, more online shopping sites are planning to use AI powered product suggestions and revamp their consumer personalization efforts entirely.
The key here, as it always is with AI, is clean data.
Other Use Cases for AI in Business
There are several other notable areas that AI is being implemented in business. Cybersecurity, for example, is a space in which constant monitoring is an absolute must. Having AI tools supplementing the efforts of your cybersecurity team can help them identify, isolate, and respond to threats more efficiently.
Data aggregation and visualization is another space in which artificial intelligence excels. When used as a proper tool, AI can streamline data analysis and empower your team with more actionable insights.
Lastly, AI assistants are wildly popular, as is best evidenced by the rampant adoption of voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant.
“Over 110 million virtual assistant users in the US, with Amazon’s Alexa supported on 60,000 different smart home devices globally, demonstrating the growing popularity of AI software.”
AI Today and a Look at AI Tomorrow
As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, it will only improve. Being familiar with the current state of AI and keeping up to date on the significant advances in the field will help you decide when and how to implement AI tools into your workflows, where they make the most sense and will add the most value.
While there are still a lot of questions around generative AI, its influence is already here, and it will eventually fundamentally change certain workflows and work processes.
Wrapping up on Artificial Intelligence in Business
AI is a white-hot topic right now, and it may feel like everyone is using artificial intelligence in their businesses. However, the adoption, implementation, and even exploration of the technology is a much slower turning wheel than it seems on the surface.
Cybersecurity, data privacy, legality, and cost are four of the major hurdles generative AI tools still need to clear. Perhaps the largest hurdle that AI still needs surpass, though, is proving its value in the context of a major business case that yields strong data which other decision makers can then use as fuel to champion an AI initiative in their own organization.
Right now, there’s a lot of steam stemming from generative AI conversations, but there aren’t necessarily the flames to match.
If you’re struggling to think outside the box, watch Impact’s webinar on How to Identify High-Value Opportunities for Innovation so you’re always on the ball and up to date with your workflows, processes, and technologies.