Introduction
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer the stuff only movie plots are made of, today it has become a key component of computer science research & development which is providing very real solutions for changing the way companies do business.
Facebook, Netflix, Google, Tesla Motors and Apple are only some of the big companies out there who have embraced AI with great success. But what does AI mean for those companies who may not be in the position to transform their entire business or invest in AI research of their own, but would like to see how AI can make their business more efficient?
Artificial Intelligence Trends Ahead
When looking at AI technology trends for 2018, the following emerge as the most popular ways in which companies are using AI to drive efficiencies:
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Customer Service
Virtual agents or chatbots are fast becoming a common occurrence within the customer service industry. Agents or bots can be programmed to assist customers with basic issues or common questions without the customer even realising that they’re not chatting to a real person on the other end. This frees up your customer service agents to deal with the more unique & complex issues that require a personal touch.
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Business Intelligence
Making sense of large amounts of data in order to drive better decision making and predict consumer trends is crucial to the success of any business today. Machine learning technologies have come a long way in being able to accurately analyse, sort and present data to management teams at a click of a button.
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System Security
Protecting a company and its data against cyber-attacks is undoubtedly one of the highest priorities of any IT department, but as these attacks become more sophisticated and frequent in nature, human detection & intervention becomes impossible. AI tools are being used to automatically detect, mitigate and even prevent threats in real-time, giving IT departments all over the world a lot more peace of mind.
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Fraud detection
Banks, investment firms and even retailers (both online and physical) are using AI tools to help identify suspicious or fraudulent transactions and behaviours. It all starts by feeding the AI tool with a large sample of data that contains both valid and fraudulent transactions. The tool then learns to identify future fraudulent transactions by looking for certain characteristics and patterns it has classified as suspicious. You can just imagine how much the ability to quickly and accurately detect fraud will save a company year-after-year.
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Process automation
From manufacturing and logistics, to human resources and marketing, being able to automate the “mundane” or “predictable” tasks is the key to streamlining any process. AI tools are being used to take care of the so-called boring stuff, which allows employees to focus on the more important things like strategy and continuous improvement.
Embarking on your own artificial intelligence journey and need some outside assistance to assess either the viability or the best AI solution for your needs? Call us on 021 447 5696 or get in touch by using the contact form on our contact page or visit our LinkedIn page.
