AI is the future, but how can you apply it to your business today?

AI is extremely important for the future of almost any company. The numbers agree with this statement, after all, Machine Learning alone (a subcategory of AI) is a USD 25 billion market and is expected to rise to an impressive USD 225 billion by 2030 (Fortune Business). The big question is how to apply AI in day-to-day business in a way where the performance gains quickly outweigh the investment required. And this is possible because AI already has the potential to present gains that lead to an accelerated payback, just like any other good project in your company.

There is no magic formula for how to apply AI, but I can safely say that there is a maturing path to follow. If a process is still in the early stages of maturity, it needs to evolve before receiving the full technological boost. If your company’s pricing process is still based on gut-feeling, investing in AI is a waste of time and money. In this case, the right thing to do is to evolve, to create algorithms for elasticity, turnover, demand forecasting, market price mapping, … and only then invest heavily in artificial intelligence.

AI is not a shortcut, but a great enhancer. Want to improve sales conversion? Do you already have a tool to help salespeople offer what their customers are looking for? If so, why not take advantage of all the computational processing to improve the assertiveness of the SKUs/services offered to the customer, as Netflix does with its movie/series suggestion algorithm? If not, the ideal is to take things one step at a time, postponing the decision to apply AI in the short term.

And how can we fully answer the initial question? Choose the areas and/or processes that are most mature, look for the best applications and find a partner who can not only develop all the AI-based technology for your business, but also has the experience to help with the previous steps. Today’s AI technologies already have the potential to boost your company’s performance, so don’t be left out.