Gilbert is the Chief Marketing Officer at OpenBots, an Entrepreneur, and a member of the Forbes Business Development Council.
getty
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become essential for businesses to streamline operations and improve overall efficiency. AI-powered tools can help companies automate time-consuming tasks, gain insights from vast data and make informed decisions.
As the CMO of a business automation platform, I've witnessed the evolution of intelligent automation and AI firsthand. The interest in digital channels increased even more when the iPhone launched in 2007. A little more than a decade later, we are now using digital tools and systems deeper into business operations. This is where AI and intelligent automation play a significant role in business development.
What is interesting about AI is that all these models are scripts or pieces of code humans have been training for years. With this new era of AI, there is much more that businesses can do to benefit their internal operations and final customers.
In this article, I'll discuss five ways business leaders can implement AI in their business development strategies.
Intelligent Document Processing
Intelligent document processing (IDP) is the automation of document-based workflows using AI technologies. We see a lot of our clients use these tools for things like invoice processing, data entry and contract management, which allows them to save time and resources.
Businesses can also use IDP to gain insights from large volumes of documents. With natural language processing (NLP), companies can analyze the content of documents to identify patterns, trends and anomalies, which can help with making better data-driven decisions.
Customer Service Chatbots
Customer service chatbots—AI-powered tools that can help businesses improve their customer service experience—interact with customers using natural language, answering their questions and resolving their issues in real time.
One of the benefits of chatbots is that they can provide 24/7 customer support, which can help businesses improve their customer service experience and reduce response times. By automating repetitive tasks such as answering FAQs, chatbots can also help businesses reduce the workload on their customer service teams by freeing up agents to focus on more complex tasks.
Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics use AI-powered tools to analyze data and predict future events. As a result, businesses can make more informed decisions based on data-driven insights. This can help businesses identify potential risks and opportunities—for example, identifying customers who are likely to churn, which allows companies to take proactive measures to retain these customers.
Predictive analytics can also help businesses optimize their operations. By analyzing data from various sources, companies can identify trends and patterns that can help them improve their processes and workflows.
Sales Forecasting
Sales forecasting uses AI tools to help predict future sales trends. This can help businesses better plan their operations and allocate resources more effectively.
One of the benefits of sales forecasting is that it can help businesses to identify potential sales opportunities. Companies can identify areas to increase sales and improve revenue by analyzing sales data and market trends. Sales forecasting can also help businesses optimize their inventory management. By predicting future sales trends, companies can ensure they have the right products in stock to meet demand.
Fraud Detection
Fraud detection uses AI to help identify fraudulent activities. This can help businesses identify potential fraud in real time and protect themselves from financial losses and reputational damage.
Monitoring thousands of transactions simultaneously can become problematic if you don't have the proper structure. These models of AI are customizable to a business as long as you find the right product or service company in the market.
Additional Considerations
There are many potential downfalls to consider when implementing intelligent automation and AI. The security aspect of AI has been the primary concern among the business community. Not knowing what type of platform or service you are dealing with can potentially harm your business credibility and be very dangerous—not in the sense of AI taking over the world like in The Terminator or I, Robot, but placing the company's trust in systems that may need more security to handle large volumes of data.
To prevent security issues when implementing AI, intelligent automation and any new emerging systems think of this like the first time you browsed the internet. You knew everything was public, so you limited yourself to websites you thought were "secure." AI is another level of technology; when implementing AI in your business, make sure to choose a platform or a service company with the necessary security certifications to keep all your data safe and secure.
Conclusion
AI is already helping thousands of businesses and customers with daily transactions. There are several other ways to implement AI in any business. I recommend starting small and fast so you can understand the logistics behind the technology without higher risks and make sure the company you are dealing with has trusted security standards and certifications in place.
Forbes Business Development Council is an invitation-only community for sales and biz dev executives. Do I qualify?
