AI for Business Leaders: A Beginners Guide

Everybody’s talking about the tremendous transformative power possessed by AI for business leaders. But has anyone talked about the basics that one needs to be fully familiarized with before jumping on the artificially intelligent bandwagon? 

For starters, artificial intelligence is real and regardless of its alarming portrayal in movies, it’s actually a pretty helpful tool for everyone – tech leaders, students, the local coffee shop owner… you name it! 

To get a better understanding of AI and its wonders for business leaders, let’s explore the realm of artificial intelligence (AI). Let’s delve into its definition, various forms, and growing significance among aspiring and seasoned business leaders.

So, without further ado, let’s uncover the transformative power of AI in shaping our world.

AI for Business Leaders 

3… 2… 1… Liftoff!

To say that AI has revolutionized every single industry out there would be an understatement. The fact that it is a unique combo of human intelligence mixed with Machine Learning is truly what makes the AI systems penetrable, adaptable, and capable of making intelligent decisions based on experience. 

According to a recent study brought to attention by the United States Artificial Intelligence Institute, the size of AI’s global market is likely to reach an estimated $1581.70 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 38% from 2021 to 2030. These stats confirm that AI is here to give all the previous technologies that posed slight competence a tough run for their money. 

Talking from a business perspective, marketing, and sales are the top two departments that utilize the power of AI and Machine Learning to drive success through analytics, prediction, innovation, and automation. 

Moreover, an estimated 48% of organizations resort to AI-backed tools to address concerns pertaining to the quality of the data gathered. For instance, Google utilizes AI to facilitate the Spam Filtration feature in Gmail, whereas, Netflix uses AI to enhance content creation and make better personalized recommendations to its users.

AI For Business Leaders

Can Small Businesses Benefit From AI’s Power?

Microsoft explains it quite aptly. Imagine owning a flower shop with an online presence. Every time a customer would enter a search query on the website, that business would train its website on AI-powered algos to suggest an intelligent response. 

Taking it a step further, the same business can also utilize machine learning capabilities by teaching its website to showcase seasonally available flowers as an effective marketing tactic. This may make shopping for flowers based on holidays and occasions remarkably effortless for the customers. 

All in all, the benefits of AI are not exclusive to large organizations only. AI technologies have become all the more accessible and affordable nowadays, enabling large and small businesses to leverage their advantages. Let’s quickly go through each advantage:

• Better operational efficiency
• Data-driven decision making
• Improved customer experience
• Cost savings
• Added competitive advantage

What Questions Should Business Leaders Ask Before Heading Toward AI?

Being swept up in the hype and losing focus on core issues is the last thing business leaders would want to run into. While it’s important to stay informed about emerging technologies and future trends, it’s just as important to not lose sight of evaluating AI solutions. 

It’s natural for everyone, including customers, to be extremely excited about AI and all the things it is capable of doing. However, to remain grounded is where the key lies. Business leaders must evaluate this technology to get a deeper understanding of areas where it can fit the best. 

To aid the process, business leaders can – in fact, they absolutely should prioritize asking some questions. Here they are.

Will This New Technology Help In Enhancing Customers’ Experience?

Utilizing AI technology offers significant benefits in terms of automation, especially in generating a prompt response in case of a customer query. However, let’s face it, even implementing AI for even a minor task like that requires a substantial investment from various stakeholders.

Thus to ensure sustained support and funding for relevant AI-backed solutions, subject-matter experts must reveal clear customer-facing benefits to the stakeholders – benefits that are both tangible and scalable. By focusing on customer-related challenges during the brainstorming phase, businesses can effectively leverage AI to create value and improve customer experiences.

Without a customer-centric approach, this project might have remained confined to internal data science research, lacking the real-world impact and customer value it ultimately achieved.

Is It Possible To Measure The AI System Accurately And Continuously?

Continuous measurement of an AI system can be achieved through real-time monitoring and feedback loops. By deploying the AI system in a live environment, its performance can be constantly assessed and monitored. Feedback from users, system logs, and performance metrics can be collected and analyzed to identify any issues or areas for improvement. This iterative process allows for continuous refinement and optimization of the AI system.

Furthermore, external audits and third-party evaluations can provide independent assessments of an AI system’s performance and fairness. These audits can help ensure that the system’s behavior aligns with the intended objectives and ethical standards.

Is The Implemented AI System Free Of Bias?

Ensuring that an implemented AI system is free of bias is a complex and ongoing challenge – don’t worry, it’s not that big of a challenge. According to Harvard Business Review, it’s easier to program bias out of a machine than out of a mind. 

During the development phase, bias unintentionally piggybacks into the system through biased training data, biased algorithm design, or biased human interactions. Albeit, eliminating it could be difficult, a few efforts can mitigate its impact to a drastic level.

To address bias, it is crucial to have diverse and representative training data that includes a wide range of demographics, backgrounds, and perspectives. This helps reduce the risk of underrepresented groups being unfairly treated or excluded by the AI system.

Additionally, regular audits and evaluations can assist in identifying and addressing biases in the system’s outputs and decision-making processes. These audits can involve analyzing the system’s performance across various demographic groups and monitoring for disparate impacts or unfair outcomes.

Some Rules of Thumb To Consider By Before Adopting AI

Choosing to implement AI is something no business owner should ever rush. There are a few rules that must be brought into consideration because – write this down somewhere and keep it safe – rules provide a framework for responsible and ethical AI deployment. 

AI systems have the potential to impact various aspects of business operations. From customer interactions to facilitating intelligent decision-making, resource allocation, and more – truly the aspects where no business can afford to compromise.

By abiding by a handful of rules of thumb, business leaders can ensure that their organization is using AI such that it fully aligns with legal and ethical standards, respects user privacy, promotes fairness, and avoids harmful consequences. 

Moreover, rules help mitigate risks associated with bias, discrimination, and unintended negative impacts while fostering trust among customers, employees, and stakeholders. By considering the following rules upfront, business leaders can promote responsible AI adoption while keeping their reputation well-intact. 

Prioritize Problem OVER Algos – Always!

Business customers are not primarily after the technology itself. Well, sometimes it may seem like they’re only going for the ‘tech’, but it could be mainly due to the hype. This is where treading carefully matters because, after all the hype, the customers would ultimately switch their focus to determining whether or not the solution is catering to their problems.

All in all, the true value of AI lies in its ability to facilitate superior problem-solving and offer customized solutions that resonate with the needs & objectives of your business and delivers customer satisfaction. At the end of the day, make sure to ask yourself whether your product or service is focused on solving the problem it’s supposed to solve. 

Place Data Strategy As Your Top Priority

Training machine-learning models often requires large amounts of high-quality data, so it’s extremely important to lay out your data strategy from day one — including how things like data sourcing, volume, diversity, privacy, and security will be handled. 

Data can be acquired in a number of ways including crawling public data, finding data-rich partners, gathering it from customers, or generating it internally. But, be mindful. Each has its own pros and cons and their application may be best suitable at different stages. 

Don’t Overlook Your Product’s UX Over AI

Success is not solely determined by the superiority of your AI; it depends on delivering an exceptional end-to-end product. A customer-centric approach deeply ingrained in the team’s mindset is crucial. Recognize that you are creating more than just an ML product. Keep in mind that collaboration and coordination are essential across various functions, involving frontend and backend software engineers, as well as UX designers.

By prioritizing the needs of customers’ end users, businesses can ensure that the entire product experience is optimized. This holistic perspective requires seamless collaboration that ultimately makes the way for an end-to-end solution that not only incorporates powerful AI but also excels in usability and user satisfaction.

Careful With The AI-First Marketing Approach

With the widespread curiosity surrounding AI, going for an AI-forward positioning can be helpful to capture initial interest. However, when it comes to actual purchasing decisions, customers are not primarily concerned with whether a product contains AI or not. In fact, certain startups have even removed AI from their marketing and sales messages. 

Instead of solely focusing on AI as a key selling point, it is essential to emphasize the overall value proposition and how the product would address customers’ specific needs. By weaving AI seamlessly into the product presentation, businesses can explain the intricacies of their product while building an environment of trust. The emphasis should be on delivering tangible benefits and solutions rather than solely relying on the AI aspect for marketing purposes.

Stick With The Minimum Viable Algorithm Approach

Let’s not undermine the power of a minimally viable product (MVP) that most businesses release into the market. This approach allows for the product to meet with prompt iteration based on real-world feedback. The same should happen for products running solely on AI.

It’s high time that businesses decide to opt for the Minimum Viable Algorithm (MVA) approach. Albeit, this approach relies on a huge bit of convincing. As stakeholders and decision-makers are looped in for all the benefits and unique value propositions of such products. However, in the end, the results will be worthwhile. At first, not a lot of customers would figure out the difference. What they’ll notice is how the product has undergone improvement from the time it was first released. 

What Challenges Should Business Leaders Be Ready For? 

Now that we’ve familiarized ourselves with the rules that business leaders should abide by before jumping into AI, let’s address another equally important thing, i.e., the challenges. Instead of wasting time, let’s get right into it.

The Challenges

Cost

Cost is probably the biggest make or break pertaining to AI for business leaders to be specific. Yes, regardless of all the promises such solutions pose, the implementation, upkeep, and possible upgradation are where all the money goes. 

As a business owner, one should always be ready for unsolicited cost spikes. There may be instances where additional resources would be required, such as dedicated personnel, hardware, software, etc. to maintain the existing AI systems. Moreover, to stay well in sync with the ever-altering algos and complex models, resources may also require additional training. 

Failure to Understand the Basics

Businesses need to develop a deep understanding of AI and its capabilities to fully leverage its potential to their benefit. This lack of knowledge – albeit seemingly minuscule – may lead to consequences from which it may be difficult to step out. 

Thus, to stay well-equipped with the basics of AI, organizations should allocate a separate budget for education and training initiatives. Employees should get all the apt training about the advantages, limitations, ethical considerations, and societal implications of AI. Additionally, business leaders should collaborate with AI experts to continually comprehend the technology and its potential impact on their operations.

Merging The Technology with Legacy Systems

Integrating AI technology with legacy systems poses a notable hurdle for organizations. Legacy systems, built on outdated technologies, often lack compatibility with new methods. Consequently, organizations face obstacles in fully harnessing AI’s potential, resulting in neverending data silos and inefficient processes.

To overcome this challenge, organizations should commit to modernizing their legacy systems and integrating them with AI technology. This entails substantial investments in hardware, software, and personnel. However, the benefits of enhanced efficiency, along with heightened productivity, and improved decision-making are expected to outweigh the associated costs.

Data Vulnerability

Organizations must provide clear explanations regarding the use of customers’ personal data to incur minimal instances of data vulnerability. To address concerns pertaining to similar bottlenecks, businesses need to adopt a proactive stance on data privacy. This entails establishing robust data management processes to safeguard personal data and prevent its misuse. Measures like encryption, access controls, and regular monitoring of data usage & access should be in place to ensure compliance with privacy policies.

AI For Business Leaders

What Does The Future Hold?

The future of business lies in embracing AI technology, which enables companies to enhance competitiveness and thrive in a dynamic marketplace. Embracing AI offers numerous opportunities, with experts foreseeing its expanded role in everyday tasks.

Various industries are on their way to achieving transformative changes through AI. For instance, restaurants can leverage AI to personalize the atmosphere, selecting music and adjusting decor based on the preferences of the guests. With this being one example, let’s take a look at what other ways AI can make the future all the more exciting for business leaders. 

Process Automation

Business process automation is a key practice that focuses on optimizing back-office operations, digital tasks, and financial processes using Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Intelligent AI automation enables machines to handle repetitive tasks, freeing up human resources to concentrate on tasks requiring human intervention. 

Combining Technology & Innovation

The integration of advanced AI-based operations empowers businesses to gain a competitive edge through technological advancements. For instance, in the automotive industry, AI-enabled cars can learn from experiences, and adapt guidance systems based on driving, weather, and road conditions, surpassing traditional vehicles. 

Nurturing Business Growth

AI-powered insights enable businesses to predict customer preferences and deliver personalized experiences. Additionally, AI aids in revenue growth by identifying and maximizing sales opportunities. With intelligent advice, support, and analysis, businesses can cultivate expertise and achieve greater productivity. 

Personalized Customer Experiences

AI unlocks some valuable data insights into customers’ behavior and preferences. Businesses can utilize such insights to formulate their marketing strategies accordingly. Moreover, businesses can deliver personalized experiences at scale, while creating fully-tailored products & services based on customer data and AI algorithms.

Enhanced Risk Management & Mitigation

AI leverages advanced algorithms to analyze large volumes of data with remarkable effortlessness. Additionally, it also assists in identifying patterns, anomalies, and potential risks in real time. This enables businesses to identify & address risks, make informed decisions, and implement effective risk mitigation strategies.

AI for Business Leaders

Key Takeaways

AI possesses a remarkable potential to revolutionize every business it touches. With its ability to analyze vast amounts of data, AI empowers organizations to make informed decisions, optimize processes, and unlock new opportunities.

When business leaders consider AI as an indispensable component, they not only get to maximize the benefits of machine learning and natural language processing, but also gain deeper insights into customer behavior, market trends, and operational inefficiencies for an added competitive advantage. 

So, what did we learn so far? AI for business leaders paves the way for impeccable automation of recurring routine tasks. To wrap everything up, these are a few benefits that unfurl with AI adoption. Keep in mind, these are just the tip of the iceberg…

• Advanced fraud detection
• Increased efficiency
• Enhanced productivity
• Improved customer experience
• Intelligent decision making
• Brilliant predictive capabilities
• Scalability 

And several more!

To Conclude It All

Business leaders, regardless of the industry they belong to, must not underestimate the significance of AI adoption. In fact, going down the route of AI is a ticket for companies pursuing digital transformation. 

To proactively understand and address the potential challenges posed by AI, businesses can choose Appiskey. With its technology-first approach to consultation for a myriad of solutions, Appiskey has helped several organizations unlock their potential to achieve digital innovation. SMEs leverage AI capabilities to analyze data, automate processes, and uncover actionable insights to drive transformative change.

Long story short, by keeping up with AI business leaders can seize opportunities for innovation while navigating the evolving landscape and positioning their ventures for long-term success.