AI or Artificial Intelligence was once seen as something of a science fiction-based prediction for our future lives, a little bit like flying cars or meals in pill form, but now it has become very much a reality.

While AI has been successfully used for many years in performing basic tasks, recent advancements have made it possible for us to be more reliant on this technology for business purposes. There are a number of significant advantages to using AI in your business.

Cost

Certainly, the initial set up cost when using AI might seem like a significant outlay but focus on the long-term plan. Ultimately you will have a system that can make decisions or predictions for you in a fraction of the time and the reduction in man hours spent on decision making will save you a lot of money.

AI is designed for predicting purposes and if you use it for this it will prove beneficial and means that you can put your efforts into other aspects of running your business while this pretty much takes care of itself.

The amount of time and money you save will far outweigh the set-up costs and it will leave you wondering why you didn’t jump onboard with AI much sooner.

Data Analysis

AI can be used to analyse and interpret data. It will do this in a logical way and can possibly notice things that the human eye does not. It is an incredibly useful tool for helping you to see which parts of a strategy are successful or not so successful. Again, the analysis can be done in a fraction of the time and you can implement changes sooner as a result.

It can perform effective analysis quickly and will check its findings to make sure they are correct. The work that AI can perform, analytics wise, will save you money and time once again.

Accuracy

The best thing about AI is it makes decisions purely based on statistics and logics. Human decision making can be flawed due to personal opinions or beliefs influencing them. This is never the case with AI and yet again, it will make decisions in a much smaller amount of time than it would take at a meeting.

AI will make decisions that are sometimes perhaps too complex for the human mind, based on relevant and up-to-date statistics. It will run calculations multiple times to ensure accuracy every single time. It continues to learn and adapt and will always be aware of any changes to the market.

Effectiveness

Removing the human error aspect from any situation will obviously be a big help and AI will help you remain streets head of competitors who aren’t using it. Imagine making a decision that turned out to be miscalculated and not noticed for days? The damage could be significant, both financially and in terms of your brand or business’ reputation. With AI it’s not an issue. The decision will be analysed several times to determine it is correct and it will statistically always provide you with the best decision. It’s not infallible, but it’s pretty close.

Choosing an AI System

There are a number of systems to choose from and you may find that the most expensive, all singing all dancing versions are beyond what you actually need. That’s not to suggest that there’s any form of bargain basement AI – it’s just that some offer far more advanced capabilities than others.

You can try before you buy with most systems which will give you the chance to see how it operates. There is a good chance that you will find this so enticing that you will make the switch to AI immediately and that’s great, it will help you grow your business further.

When using AI, it is always the human who has the ultimate power. If your AI system makes a decision you don’t agree with, you can overrule it. AI will make a decision which is statistically best, but that doesn’t mean that it is always the absolute correct way to go. As with most things, there is a learning curve with AI, but once you get to grips with it you’ll know it was the best decision you ever made for your business.

Some people are sceptical to the use of AI and worry that the machines will take over. For now, man is very much in control and there is no sign that we will become slaves of robots are anything quite as far-fetched as that.

Other people worry about the loss of jobs that could result from the use of AI. Sadly, for some this is a very real prospect, but as a business owner you can see this as a cost-cutting exercise. While it would be nice if everyone had a job, there is no gain for you in employing people you simply don’t need.