AI is in the news a lot these days. What was once the province of science-fiction movies is now a daily reality in the business world. However, you may think that it is restricted to Silicon Valley or financial giants. In reality, AI has a lot to offer small and medium businesses, and you may not want to miss out.

What do we talk about when we talk about AI?

In the scientific world, AI is a hugely complex question. It reaches into the world of physics, quantum computing and philosophy. Don’t worry though, when it comes to how you can use AI, it’s a much simpler proposition.

AI hinges on the concept of ‘machine learning’ – the ability of a computer to access, use, and draw conclusions from a huge amount of information. Given enough time and data, an AI system is able to refine how it handles that information, and deliver better results. 

In SME terms, this doesn’t mean submitting to some robot overlord or spending a fortune on a pulsing electronic brain. Rather, there is a raft of affordable software already available, that will provide a fantastic ROI in helping you gain an edge in the marketplace.

How can AI help me?

In the broadest sense, AI increases efficiency and reduces cost. AI tools can handle information thousands of times faster than the human brain, delivering results that were previously impossible. Or, more mundanely but just as importantly, AI can free your people from time-consuming manual tasks.

Here are a few examples of how an SME can implement AI.

1 – Improve sales

AI can be used within your CRM to gather and analyse customer data. With this information in place you can ‘learn’ what individual customers are looking for, better understand how they engage with your company, and set up personalised marketing strategies. This includes making timely approaches and reminders, based on previous order dates, and promoting relevant advertising based on what the customer has shown an interest in.  

This level of AI understand can then be put to even better use when engaging with your customers directly, which brings us to AI comms, or the ‘Chatbot’.

2 – Chatbots

A huge number of businesses have begun offering chatbot services as an effective communication stool. It’s a customer service department that can be available 24/7. Some AI chatbots have become so sophisticated that it can be hard to differentiate them from a human representative. 

For a small business who does not yet have the scale for a dedicated customer service team, a chatbot could be a cost-effective way to fill this gap. Alternatively, larger retail or services companies who receive a huge number of calls may find that AI helps them deal with the bulk.  

An added benefit of chatbots is data they are able to gather. By mining information from calls, the AI is able to ‘learn’ how to better resolve queries in the future.

3 – Hiring 

Unexpectedly, AI has crept into the world of Human Resources in recent years. If you have hundreds of candidates for a role, AI software is able to scan applications, picking out keywords and relevant data to inform a faster shortlisting process. 

Though this automated process may be strict it can actually lead to increased numbers of quality applicants. Whereas a human hiring manager may not get chance to consider every application form, AI software will look at every single one – ensuring that those who match your set criteria are not missed.

Chatbots can also come in handy here. There are versions that can be tailored to ask some basic qualifying questions of job candidates – freeing up more time for the hiring manager to get into the nitty gritty.

Machine learning is the future, it seems. Not just for the tech giants, but for everyone.

A survey by Capital Economics reveals that by early 2022, 15% of all UK business had adopted some form of AI technology. As we head into 2023, this number is only going to rise. 

Keep an eye on this trend, it may be worth thinking about incorporating your own AI sooner, not later.