The AI marketing maelstrom has left no one untouched. No matter the market or industry, new AI-enabled tools and platforms are continuously touted as game changers for organizations looking to get a leg up on the competition. However, this bluster often misses the mark. A new technology’s ability to deliver outcomes is all that matters, and talk is cheap. If actions speak louder than words, then the ever-growing number of nascent AI companies lauding their products have left much unsaid.

This is the reality. Implementing just about anything related to AI comes with a unique set of challenges. That molehill can become a mountain if generative AI then gets involved when it shouldn’t be. Sure, these developing technologies hold immense promise, but they aren’t one-size-fits-all solutions. So, let’s clear some of this smoke and talk about actual use cases for AI across several industries. While the scope of possibilities regarding AI may seem limitless, let’s ground this tech in real-world examples.

Financial Services

• Financial Review Generation - The traditional reporting and analysis process for revenue and expense reports can be dogged and inefficient. Parsing through everything in a timely manner so that intelligent decisions can be made is often a tall task. Energy and effort that could be better spent elsewhere instead is wasted sifting through mountains of data trying to glean answers. However, by automating the identification of anomalies and variations in the data, executive summaries can be rapidly produced to provide a digestible overview of an organization’s financial health. Now, it’s easier than ever for a variety of team members to get understandable insights delivered directly to them in a timely manner. Meaningful analysis can occur, and subsequent actions can be taken to address issues and take advantage of previously unnoticed opportunities.

Staffing And Recruiting

• Automated Candidate Matching - Finding the right candidate for the right role has never been easy, and the impact of getting that right or wrong can’t be understated. No matter the brilliance of the idea, if there isn’t a capable team of talented individuals ready to handle the rubber hitting the road, a project will quickly lose steam. Because of this, there’s been constant work to refine and streamline processes that identify top talent. In the past, these processes were inefficient and prone to human error. Now, by using AI to analyze relevant information and match qualified candidates, it’s never been easier to take what was once a coin flip and turn it into a foregone conclusion.  This intelligent usage of AI enables recruiters to focus on high-priority aspects while improving the quality of the candidates selected. Enhanced recruitment outcomes and better-suited candidates become the norm instead of a shot in the dark that lands.

Energy And Utilities

• Dynamic Chatbot - I’m sure we’ve all seen the automated responses that come with seeking support from an organization’s website. The lifeless, stilted conversation revolves around cookie-cutter questions that may not at all address the issue a customer needs resolving. For some end-users, the chatbot serves as a stopgap solution that prevents them from getting the answers they need and the closure they seek. A better option is to have a truly interactive assistant that uses context and nuance from the user’s inputs to create meaningful impact through detail-oriented conversation. A customer’s journey through the support system should be accessible and efficient. Relying on a mundane chatbot with minimal capabilities prohibits that desired experience. This simple differentiator, a truly adaptable chatbot utilizing cutting-edge AI capabilities, can make or break a customer’s journey and their overall desire to interact with your platform again.

Choose The Right Option For Your Business

All of the noise in the market may make it difficult to determine what’s real and what isn’t. For organizations seeking to make the most out of AI and its capabilities, the temptation to spray and pray, hoping for impact, must be tempered with an expert perspective. It’s not easy to take the analytical path when it seems like the competition is moving at the speed of sound, but latching on to a product without doing due diligence is a one-way street to disaster. Instead, determine what opportunities lie within your organization for AI usage. Automation, AI, and generative AI all hold untold amounts of promise, but true differentiation lies in the proper utilization of these technologies.

The other side of this coin is that if an organization does choose a vendor and becomes dependent on its ability to provide meaningful impact with AI, there’s no guarantee an arbitrary increase in pricing won’t rear its ugly head in the future. This is why having a customizable, scalable AI solution is so important. No business wants to be held hostage by a greedy vendor, and given the players rapidly joining the AI space, this nightmare situation is already becoming a reality. Rest assured, there are ways to unearth opportunities within your business for AI usage. A discerning eye and the right team can create an impact. It’s just a matter of finding the right combination.

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What's The Next Step?

The most important thing to do when looking at utilizing AI within your business is correctly diagnosing pain points. Don't make the determination to use AI if it's not necessary. A calculated approach will lead to a more accurate picture of your organization's needs, and what those needs require. Talk to your teams, talk to your leads, and invest properly in the right solution. Using AI just to say it's being used won't yield the results you want. However, if properly utilized to address your problem statements, that's when differentiation will occur.