AI is Upon Us: What Does This Mean for Businesses?

AI, or Artificial Intelligence, was something that could only be imagined just a few decades ago. The boom in technological innovation, however, has made artificial intelligence a reality. Not only is it a reality, many business owners are now concerned with the impact it could have on their business. Is it going to be beneficial for businesses or is it going to cause many different issues?

AI Is Already Here

AI is already here and is already being used around the world. From personal assistants to video games, there are AI components to a lot of what you see and do today. They might not be robots like you could have imagined, but AI is starting to be far more prevalent in today’s society and this is only going to increase going forward.

Many people today use virtual personal assistants like Siri or Alexa. These assistants learn as they go and are always improving what they can do and how they can help you. Business owners, employees, and consumers all use assistants like these today to help manage their day-to-day life.

Video games are another example of AI in use today that you might not have noticed. In the past, enemies were located at predictable points in the game and acted in predictable ways. Now, enemies in the game can learn from what you’re doing so they can hide from your attacks or change how they’re attacking to make it more difficult for you to beat them.

AI is also being used for customer support today. Many businesses are opting for a chat option on their website so customers can easily get in touch with them. When the customer first connects with the chat, chances are they’re talking to a bot that will be able to answer most of their questions. If the bot cannot help them, they can then be transferred to a live person.

How Fast AI Can Change the World

AI is constantly improving. It wasn’t that long ago that AI was just a thought written about in science-fiction books. Now there’s virtual personal assistants, chatbots, and even cars with AI being created. The boom in technological innovation has continued in recent years and it doesn’t look like innovation will be slowing down in the near future. The next couple of decades could see vast improvements in the function of AI as well as growth in how frequently it’s used by everyone.

AI Implementation in the Workplace

Businesses have many different opportunities to start to use AI in the workplace. Some companies are using AI to chat with their customers about what they need help with before the person speaks to a live person. They can answer most basic questions for the customer and only those customers who have a more complicated question will need to speak with a live person.

Other businesses are using AI to boost their productivity and stay on top of all of the tasks they need to work on. This can be as simple as asking Siri or Alexa to remind you to do something at a certain time or it can be through using a virtual personal assistant for far more complex tasks you may want to automate. The possibilities for using AI in the future for businesses is nearly limitless.

How AI Impacts Productivity

AI can boost your workflow by automating tasks you do regularly or by reminding you of scheduled events. Instead of hiring a personal assistant to track everything for you, AI is capable of doing this. If you have a meeting coming up and you need a certain report before the meeting, you can use AI to remind you to print the report and to go to the meeting. If you regularly receive attachments through Gmail that you’ll need to download and look at on a mobile device, you can have the virtual personal assistant download the file, add it to the cloud, and then let you know it’s been uploaded to the cloud.

As time goes on, AI will become even more useful in the workplace. You’ll be able to take advantage of AI for many different tasks, from helping your consumers to keeping track of projects you’re working on and even helping you with those projects.

How AI Impacts Consumers

Much of the concern about AI is that consumers won’t want to talk to a robot when they need something. However, in the case of AI chatbots, consumers might not even realize they aren’t speaking with a live person. They’ll be able to contact the business and get the information they need quickly and easily.

The reality is, AI can boost consumer interaction, help them purchase the products they need, and provide much of the help they might need after they’ve purchased a product. AI can also be used to help remind consumers about services that are coming up, rescheduling their appointments, and much more. AI could actually be incredibly beneficial for consumers today.

Downsides to AI in the Workplace

Concerns today are that AI will take jobs away in the future and will make it harder for potential employees to be hired. This is a concern as more tasks are automated as fewer employees may be needed to manage a business, and many people are worried about high levels of unemployment.

However, there are still many jobs that AI cannot do and there will always be jobs AI cannot take over completely, so there will still be jobs in the future. Additionally, it’s too early to determine how big of an impact this might have as there are likely going to be many more jobs created because of AI that aren’t available yet.

AI is here and it’s only going to become more widespread over the next few decades. While it can be hard to predict what will happen as a result, there is a chance it will end up being very beneficial for most people. Looking around, you may already be able to see how AI is helping you keep everything organized and productive and how it can help you further as it improves and becomes more prevalent in society.