Tyler Weitman, Founder, President and Head of AI at Speak up.
Getty
AI is slowly taking over the world. Drones are delivering food, vacuums are cleaning homes on autopilot, virtual assistants are making calls and art is being assembled by bots. AI is being increasingly used in product development, marketing, customer service and more. I believe that in the next decade, AI will completely change how we do business.
Here are six types of AI that work at the highest level, based on my experience as the head of AI at my company. When implemented in the right way, they can give incredible results to your business.
1. Modern products
Modern products are almost replacing old-school home appliances. From televisions and game consoles to thermostats and light bulbs, these integrated devices make people’s lives easier and more accessible. Increasingly, these tools can use large language models and accurate human speech synthesis, even at low cost. If you are in the same business, consider using smart AI solutions to make your smart products attractive choices in the market.
Roomba maker iRobot introduced “iRobot Genius Home Intelligence” in 2020. With this AI integrated platform, Roomba allows users to be more precise about their wants and needs. The vacuum now comes with a room-mapping tool for precise spot cleaning. Not only that, it also features built-in cameras and machine vision to detect furniture.
After this update, Roomba sold in higher numbers. It has recently caught the attention of industry giants such as Amazon, which is planning to acquire a Roomba product line. The trade-off is the fear consumers face about their data usage, and good encryption has become imperative. If you’re in the smart devices business, consider investing heavily in your security and data privacy policies to build trust with your customers.
2. Chatbots
A chatbot is a computer program that mimics the real-life conversational behavior of humans. It communicates with a person through chat or voice by translating the words and giving the appropriate response.
AI-powered chatbots combine rule-based bots (which answer certain questions in a predetermined way) and intelligence bots (which learn the users’ language over time). In fact, they can remember customer preferences and understand conversation scenarios through natural language and machine learning.
IBM predicted that chatbots could help businesses reduce customer service costs by 30 percent. They do this by speeding up response times and answering 80% of common customer questions. It may still be a while until speech-to-text and text-to-speech models have the speed and accuracy to completely replace telephone representatives.
3. Facial recognition technology
AI can read and capture human faces based on predetermined facial expressions. These include the distance between the eyes and the distance from the chin to the forehead. Each person has a unique facial signature, which facial recognition software uses to compare with other faces in the database.
Face recognition is now used in many industries, mainly for security reasons. For example, it is useful for airport inspections, law enforcement agencies, social media platforms and more. This feature is valuable for both large and small companies; By ensuring the integrity of sensitive information, you can restrict people from accessing your data.
4. Smart assistants
Alexa, Cortana, Google Assistant and Siri are popular smart assistants in the market today. However, Statista predicts nearly 8 billion digital voice assistants worldwide by 2024. Businesses are adopting smart assistants while enhancing the user experience.
Smart assistants offer a variety of services to enable users to control their smart home devices (thermostats, smoke detectors, etc.), access calendars, and search for information online with voice commands. Smart assistants can do most things on your smartphone yourself.
Virtual assistants use natural language, facial recognition and object recognition to learn the user’s habits and preferences. After that, assistants suggest related products and services to users, which leads to more conversions for the business. In fact, Alexa has 100,000+ skills, making it the most widely used smart assistant around the world. In the coming decades, the usefulness and “human nature” of these virtual assistants is expected to improve significantly, which could lead to an increase in their use.
5. Personalized product recommendations
Personalized product recommendations are based on the user’s preferences and the products they are interested in. For example, when customers visit a website, AI analyzes their behavior based on frequently viewed, searched for, or purchased items. It then makes recommendations about the product the customer is currently viewing or considering purchasing. After all, customers want personalization, so brands need to take their needs into account and deliver experiences that meet or exceed their expectations.
Amazon’s personalized product recommendations feature “Customers who viewed this item also viewed…” and “Buy frequently together. These recommendations are based on customers’ purchase or search history. Going forward, I believe personalization is critical for businesses to remain relevant. Businesses must invest in compliance with new regulatory policies regarding the collection and use of consumer data and implement these engines to remain competitive.
6. Predictive maintenance of machinery
AI can help industries protect their machines before they break down. In predictive maintenance, AI uses maintenance records, weather data, and machine sensor data to evaluate and predict the right time for maintenance. Normally, machines in factories need regular inspection for maintenance. The accuracy of AI predictions on machine health based on historical maintenance logs reduces the cost of maintaining machine operations on an assembly line.
AI can help your business thrive in the digital age.
Opinions vary by country, and on average people are evenly split on whether they prefer AI products to be involved in their personal lives. However, I believe the future of businesses lies in AI solutions. When consumers demand data privacy, they demand functionality and ease of use, which means that the use of AI will increase not only in the corporate world, but also for consumers.
AI-powered smart assistants and products are making customers’ lives easier and more convenient. With facial recognition, predictive maintenance and customer service chatbots, businesses can improve workflow, increase productivity and stay relevant in an increasingly competitive market.
The Forbes Business Council is the leading growth and communications organization for business owners and leaders. Am I eligible?
