Artificial intelligence may still need to play a significant role in your business, but AI and machine learning rapidly transform our modern business environment. According to a survey by McKinsey, 56% of respondents said they had implemented AI technology in at least one function, up from 50% the year before.
Still, it can be challenging to determine if implementing artificial intelligence in your business is a smart investment or an unnecessary expense. Here are three questions to ask yourself before diving headfirst into the AI world.
How can Artificial Intelligence improve my business?
The first question to ask yourself when considering AI is what problems could be solved by technology. For example, an e-commerce company could use AI to market and recommend specific products to consumers based on their data. In contrast, a financial services company could use AI to predict changes in the market better and get their customers out of the market. Risky investment clients before it is too late.
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According to the McKinsey survey, businesses’ most commonly adopted use for AI in 2021 was in service operations, such as chatbots and virtual assistants. Other widely adopted technology uses include risk calculation, AI-based product improvement, and customer service analytics. Ask yourself if there is an easily identifiable benefit to automating part of your business or if you have routine tasks that could be easily automated.
Do I have the relevant data?
Once you’ve determined how AI technology could improve your business, it’s time to look hard at your data. According to IBM, around 80% of the work on an AI project revolves around data collection and preparation, with only the remaining 20% spent on analysis and testing.
Any type of artificial intelligence is only as good as the data it learns from, so make sure you have access to quality data and lots of it. According to a February 2022 Dataversity article, companies can use the following six factors to determine the quality of their data:
- Completeness.
- Accuracy.
- Consistency.
- Chance.
- Validity.
- Uniqueness.
How much will it cost to implement Artificial Intelligence?
Once you’ve determined the problem you want to solve with AI technology and confirmed that you have access to enough quality data, you’ll need to hire some artificial intelligence talent to help create the algorithms that will run your AI program.
Convincing AI talent to join your company may be easier said than done. To compete, consider hiring AI consultants who can be hired on a project basis or research what AI software applications can be purchased. You also need to make sure you have the budget to implement what could be a long and expensive process.
The possibilities of using AI in your business may seem endless, but with some critical thinking, you can determine your best path forward with this exciting technology.
