Artificial Intelligence (AI) – which is intelligence demonstrated by computers, as opposed to human or animal intelligence – is an emerging trend in the world today which is enhancing the way we live and work.
There are several types of AI in use today. Google search is a prevalent example. Google search employs a complex set of algorithms to quickly search the world wide web for relevant answers to our search questions. And, as many of us likely have experienced, Google Search can also interpret what it thinks we were trying to search for by correcting our spelling mistakes in our search, along with suggesting a better way to search for what we are looking for. Virtual assistants, such as Alexa and Siri, are other examples where computers are interpreting what we are saying and either providing information and/or performing tasks on our behalf. Telsa’s full self-driving (FSD) option in its cars is another form of AI, where the Telsa onboard computer is literally making real time interpretations of what its cameras see – lanes of the road, other cars, construction zones, etc. – to drive the vehicle safely to the destination you told it to go.
In the workplace, thoughtfully applying AI can help streamline processes, increase operational efficiency, as well as improve leadership’s ability to make better strategic and tactical decisions. And in today’s fast-paced market, many workplace professionals are looking to AI-powered solutions to help solve some of their biggest challenges.
Here are five ways AI can improve operational efficiency in your organization:
- Customer Assistance: AI-powered chatbots can conduct initial issue screenings, and can quite often quickly identify and solve the issue saving the customer, time and headache.
- Onboarding and Training: AI-powered tools can provide personalized onboarding experiences for your new hires, offering interactive training modules, access to knowledge bases, and virtual mentors. This accelerates the learning process and helps new employees integrate into the organization more smoothly.
- Workflow Automation: AI can automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, such as building and scheduling KPI reports, generating contract and/or correspondence paperwork, and alerting key stakeholders when performance in a specific area goes out of tolerance. Thoughtfully employing AI in this way can reduce manual effort, increase consistency, and speed up the overall efficiency within the business process(es) that AI is supporting.
- Large Scale Data Analysis: AI-powered algorithms can quickly scan and analyze unstructured data – documents, social media, etc. – to identify relevant information, themes and trends in vast stores of information that human equivalents could not do as fast or as effectively.
- Predictive Analytics: AI can analyze historical business information to identify patterns and trends. This enables organizations to make data-driven predictions about future business needs as well as areas of risk to look out for.
While AI technology itself is still evolving, there is enough capability available in the market today that organizations should be strongly evaluating how AI can help run its business more effectively.