A little while ago, I booked an Airbnb. I was very surprised by the experience. The owner used an AI chatbot that smoothly handled my booking request. This whole process was easy, a decade ago this simple task would have required an employee.
My Airbnb experience and many other practical examples of AI speak to the benefits of integrating AI in business. This flawless interaction showed AI’s capabilities in customer service and streamlining operations, but AI’s exploits are not limited to just customer service.
In this guide, we will explore different ways brands can use AI to drive growth, improve operational efficiency, and enhance customer experience, from automating customer inquiries to optimizing supply chains.
To better understand how AI can help benefit your business we will take an example and implement the methods you can use to benefit from AI as a business owner. The example we’ll be using throughout the guide will be of an e-commerce shoe store.
Without further ado, let’s move on and discuss the benefits of AI in business.
1- Enhanced Customer Service
AI can ease the burden on this department of your business, It can improve customer service by providing faster and more personalized chat support.
Chatbots and virtual assistants can handle inquiries 24/7 without human help, Adding AI chatbots in your business not only improves response time but allows your human resources to focus on more complex tasks.
Example Scenario
An E-commerce store could introduce an AI-powered chatbot on its website and mobile application.
This chatbot is capable of handling common customer inquiries, such as product availability, order status, and return policies. It operates 24/7 and can deal with multiple inquiries at the same time.
Benefits:
- Immediate Response:
Once the AI chatbot is placed, the customers won’t need to wait for an agent to be available but go to your business’s website and interact with the AI chatbot, Customers will receive instant answers, enhancing their experience. - Reduced workload:
Since the AI chatbot is in charge of handling the routine side of Customer support, you can now use your resource(s) for other more meticulous tasks that require human help.
The placement of an AI chatbot will reduce workload as it will perform basic tasks swiftly. - 24/7 Support:
Unlike your human resource, the AI chatbot does not clock in and clock out, with the AI now you can provide 24/7 support to your customers.
Recommended Tools
If this has made up your mind and you want to add similar tech to your business, here’s a list of tools that could come in handy.
- Tidio (4.7 on G2)
Tidio is a top-ranked customer service chatbot platform having a simple bot builder and live chat functionality.
A key feature it comes with is “Lyro”, Tidio’s virtual AI assistant, so businesses can without effort handle common inquiries in natural language. - Gorgias (4.6 on G2):
Unlike Tidio, Gorgias is niche-specific and its target audience is e-commerce platforms, due to this, the process is quite simple with major e-commerce platforms. - Intercom (4.5 on G2)
Intercom mostly deals with large businesses, so it is more suited for corporate structures. This is also the reason that intercom can be hard to understand and there is a learning curve.
2- Data-Driven Decision Making :
Creating and managing a business is hard, there are so many decisions one has to make and all of them have to work in their favor. Once you start building an audience you have to correct your product/service to their needs. All of this requires analyzing data.
AI is adept at analyzing large data sets, by using machine learning algorithms businesses can identify trends, and patterns, helping in more informed decision-making.
Example Scenario
The E-commerce shoe store can integrate AI analytics tools that are built to analyze customer behaviors and purchasing patterns. This includes tracking which products are normally purchased, customer demographics, and seasonal trends. This process of knowing your customer base eases your decision-making and allows you to cater your product to the audience’s interests.
Benefits:
- Personalized Marketing Strategies:
In the process of learning the trends and psychology of your customer base, a business can produce marketing content catering to their interests. This can elevate your business as now you have created content your audience wants to see thus growing your business. - Real-time adjustments:
As the whole process can be monitored in real time, you have the ability to adjust things on the go, making sure they are always in line with customer interests.
Recommended tools
Here’s a list of tools that you can rely on if you are to implement this strategy and benefit from AI as a business.
- Google Analytics (4.5/5 on G2)
Google Analytics isn’t an AI tool itself but it does come with AI and machine learning capabilities. Google Analytics 4 uses machine learning to provide predictive insights such as estimated potential revenue from a user segment.
While, the main tasks Google Analytics performs are data collection, the addition of AI and ML features allows the users to utilize it to gather data and analyze it to make data-driven decisions. - Tableau (4.5/5 on G2)
Unlike Google Analytics, Tableau’s main function is to analyze data and give suggestions a business can take to increase sales.
Tableau’s top feature is its drag-and-drop interface, which enables users to create complex visualizations without professional coding knowledge. - KNIME (4.4/5 on G2)
KNIME is a complex tool and the audience it sells to is usually professional data analysts, new users may not have a good time using it as some factors of it require expertise in the field. KNIME’s key strength is the range of features it comes with, the user can integrate multiple data science tools and libraries.
3- Improve Operational Efficiency
Artificial intelligence can help automate routine tasks, Simplify processes, and it helps reduce human error. This process then makes overall operation efficient and saves costs.
Simple yet important tasks such as invoice processing, inventory management, and data entry can easily be avoided.
Example Scenario:
AI-based inventory management systems can help a business forecast demand accurately, ensuring optimal stock levels and reducing excess inventory.
Another approach is to use personalized recommendation engines that increase the shopping experience by suggesting products. Together, these services can bring up your sales as these will help you retain a customer on your website for as long as possible.
Benefits:
- Inventory Management:
AI can be used to analyze sales data and forecast demand, you can use this feature to maintain stock based on data gathered by the AI, This will streamline processes. - Personalized recommendations:
AI can do things in real-time, imagine your website having the ability to suggest products based on customers’ all-time behavior on the website. This will give customers more products and spend more time on your platform which may result in them purchasing a product. - Fraud Detection:
AI systems can 24/7 monitor transactions, and pick out unusual patterns, reducing the risk of fraud and enhancing security for both the business and customers.
Recommended Tools
- UiPath (4.6/5 on G2)
Uipath can be used to perform repetitive tasks across multiple applications with ease, the interface is quite user-friendly enabling newer users to benefit from this tool. Uipath is scalable, it works for both small and big businesses. - Zapier (4.5/5 on G2)
Zapier is a top tool that connects over 5000 applications to automate processes without coding skills. Users can easily create “Zaps” through its interface, using triggers and actions to streamline tasks. Zapier supports enabling complex automation involving multiple apps and offers real-time updates to keep processes timely and efficient. - Clear Metal (3.5/5 on G2)
Clear Metal is an expert in supply chain optimization using AI, it improves inventory control. This allows the user to make better decisions with the information it gives.
In conclusion, Artificial intelligence serves as a great medium for increasing profits and reducing human error. It does not mean, you can expel your human resources right away as it is necessary to have a human monitor and handle complex tasks. Complete reliance on AI is not endorsed but it should be utilized as much as possible.
