How Non-Tech Companies Can Benefit From AI

By Mandy Schmitz

When you hear the word "AI," images that most likely come to mind are robots and Iron Man movies.

In a way, you're not wrong, as AI does play a huge role in robotics, and well, Iron Man's suit is obviously AI-powered. But robotics and fictional movies aside, did you know that AI also has huge implications in business? And I'm not just talking about Tesla or the Silicon Valley firms. AI can also help even non-tech businesses optimize their operations.

The concept of artificial intelligence (AI) started in the late 1950s. With companies and individuals striving to create machines that could think and act like humans, artificial intelligence came into existence. And in the succeeding decades, it gained a global foothold.

Although we still have a long way to go to perfect this technology, many industry leaders are already using AI-powered machines to optimize their operations. However, the use of AI is still primarily limited to tech-related business. Most small and medium-sized businesses in non-tech-related industries remain skeptical of the technology.

As a seasoned project manager who has helped many companies in their digital transformation, I understand where they’re coming from. Making a major change in a business operation is difficult, and many people have a deep-rooted resistance to change.

But what many business owners fail to realize is that AI is already around us. From search engines to digital assistants like Siri and Alexa, everything has an AI element. We are basically already living in an AI world. And whether you like it or not, artificial intelligence will soon be a staple in the world of commerce.

So if you are in a non-tech-related industry, it’s high time for you to incorporate AI into your operations. In fact, there are already several non-tech businesses benefiting from AI.

What exactly is AI?

As the name suggests, artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence by machines. AI proponents believe that by imitating the human brain’s process of analyzing and synthesizing data, machines can deliver outputs similar to that of an actual human.

For example, a chatbot is a tool that has gained artificial knowledge by analyzing patterns in human conversation. By incorporating those patterns into the tool’s algorithm, creators can program it to respond in a certain way to each generated query.

With technological advancements such as machine learning and natural language processing, AI is gradually becoming an integral part of the business world.

Can AI replace human intelligence?

It’s hard to come up with a definitive answer for this right now. Human intelligence has had millions of years to evolve, while AI was only introduced a little over 70 years ago. But with how technology is progressing today, I'd say anything is possible in the next couple of years.

AI's impact on businesses

Since its inception, artificial intelligence has changed the way we do business (and the way we do things in general). Several businesses in the developed world are already using artificial intelligence to cut the time and costs of repetitive tasks. Many market giants now also use AI to manage retail data and boost customer support. Even small startups are using AI software to analyze consumer data and establish their buying patterns.

In various ways, AI has helped businesses optimize their operations and increase competitiveness. It's provided crucial support for their human resources by simplifying what otherwise would be very complicated tasks.

By using the power of AI, these companies have managed to:

• Cut their human resources cost
• Run projects and operations more efficiently
• Remove human error from business processes
• Market products more effectively
• Increase customer satisfaction by providing uninterrupted customer support

In short, AI can completely change the way a business operates and give it an edge over the competition.

AI opportunities for non-tech businesses

AI is not only for tech companies. Non-tech companies can benefit from AI by using it to automate functions that heavily depend on humans. Some of the common AI opportunities for small businesses include:

1. Consumer behavior analysis

Using AI to analyze consumer data can help you gain more insight into your customers’ behavior. It tells you what products they want and how they want them. It also helps you predict their buying decisions, which can help you develop products and services that are more suited to your customers’ needs. These insights can also help you narrow down your target audience and create more targeted ads.

Banks and other financial firms can also benefit from AI's consumer behavior predicting capabilities. They can use AI to better understand how account holders invest, spend, and make financial decisions in general. This can help them customize the advice they provide.

2. Conversational analytics

Another example is language processing. By extracting data from human speech and conversations, computers can now understand what people are trying to say. Conversational analytics is the driving force behind chatbots and other language-processing apps like Siri and Alexa.

For non-tech businesses, chatbots help companies reply to queries more quickly, thus enhancing the customer support experience and increasing customer satisfaction.

3. Data analysis

Data analysis is one of the most common uses of AI, and businesses can take advantage of it to optimize their operations.

For instance, the health sector can use AI to analyze accumulated patient data to automate their diagnostic process. Financial firms can also use artificial intelligence to analyze credit scores and predict the outcome of offering loans to certain customers.

More articles from AllBusiness.com:

• How Artificial Intelligence Will Affect the Human Workforce in the Near Future
• 13 Business Technology Mistakes Many Startups Make
• The Machine Learning Revolution: How Artificial Intelligence Could Transform Your Business
• Build a 5-Star Customer Experience With Artificial Intelligence

4. Process automation

Process automation is one area where non-tech businesses can really benefit from AI. Manufacturers, for example, can use AI to automate the manufacturing process and reduce costly human errors, while retailers can use artificial intelligence to adjust product prices in real time through predictive model applications.

5. Content writing

Yes, AI can help you come up with content, too. In fact, many content marketing firms are now relying on AI-powered content tools to produce quality blogs, social media captions, and ad copy in less time. It’s also a good example of AI and humans working together as these tools rely on an operator's input (i.e., a writer or marketer) to produce great content.

There are so many ways non-tech companies can benefit from AI. To give you real-life examples, we’ve tracked down a few non-tech businesses that are already using AI effectively.

Non-tech companies that are using AI

Levi Strauss & Co.

Clothing manufacturer Levi Strauss has a virtual stylist available on its website. A chatbot is trained to ask questions about a customer's preferences for clothes, a task traditionally done by store staff, and comes up with recommendations.

John Deere

Equipment manufacturer John Deere is using AI to automate its plowing process. Automated farm vehicles are trained to plow fields using GPS technology. An addition, through a different AI-based technology, customers can see real-time data from other farmers, allowing them to make better decisions based on each other’s experiences.

Volvo

Automotive manufacturer Volvo is now using predictive tools in its Early Warning System. The system analyzes over one million events per week and warns the user if any part of the vehicle needs any repair. The company has also developed a cloud-based system in which users connect in real time to report poor road conditions.

Sephora

Beauty products company Sephora has improved its customer service by implementing an AI-based system known as Foundation Shade Finder. The software suggests cosmetics to customers based on their skin type, color complexion, and other features.

Adopting AI doesn't mean getting rid of your employees

In most sci-fi movies, we usually see robots trying to take over the world. While that may be a possibility one day, humans and machines actually work better together.

If you think about it, humans have the kind of intuitive and critical intelligence that machines haven't achieved. On the other hand, machines have the kind of efficiency that’s just not possible for humans. Things that come naturally to humans, like making jokes or reading between the lines, are difficult for machines. Calculating large volumes of data—a task that can take humans ages—can be done by a machine in just a few seconds.

In short, humans and AI complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Through collaborative intelligence, together they can make your processes more efficient and effective. This is the reason why adopting AI in your operations doesn’t necessarily mean getting rid of your employees.

A study published by Harvard Business Review affirms that companies are more productive when AI and humans work together. In the study, companies that used AI to displace their employees only had short-term gains; companies that used AI to augment their human resources achieved the most significant performance improvements in the long run.

Are you ready for AI?

AI has groundbreaking implications for almost every type of business. If you think your business is not yet ready for AI, just think of the companies that are already using AI. At one time their decision-makers probably thought the same thing, yet AI has transformed their businesses and given them an edge over their competitors.

Yes, change is hard. But remember that change is the only constant thing in this world. While you’re here debating whether to adopt AI or not, your competitors are probably already taking steps to make their businesses AI-ready. So do you want to be left scrambling after them? Or do you want to get ahead of them? The ball is in your court now.

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