How to prepare your business for the impact of Artificial Intelligence

Are you concerned that intelligent technology will have an influence on your job situation in the future? Arguing that intelligent technology will not affect the future of the workplace and how business as we know it today is conducted, is counterproductive because most likely: it will. On the contrary: focusing on how we can work together with intelligent technology in order to get more work done and become more productive, is the key. The bottom line is that intelligent technology and robots are less likely to replace entire jobs, and more likely to replace processes and parts of specific job tasks.

The use of intelligent technology can allow employees to gain targeted knowledge and work even smarter. Read further to discover 5 ways to prepare your business for the impact of artificial intelligence (AI).

Do your research

AI might not be relevant to all companies right now, but automation, robots and machines are a part of many companies’ future. For smaller companies it might be too early to create a precise plan but it is for sure a good idea to stay updated in Artificial intelligence and how it is being introduced and applied in related industries. As artificial intelligence becomes more and more common in business, it would be a good idea to create an overall plan based on other best practice examples.

Goals – Be realistic

Every company working with AI should have an outline to achieving their goals that is based on the success and progress of artificial intelligence in their business area or industry. AI can be helpful both to personalized customer experience when handling large scale data and increase productivity through automation. In addition, businesses need to be realistic about their capabilities to avoid getting in over their heads in pursuing complex AI goals at the expense of short term improvement.

Human Intelligence before Artificial Intelligence

In order for the usage of artificial intelligence to become a business success, companies should only apply artificial intelligence when they can identify specific processes or procedures which they want to improve. Many businesses still need to step up their game in terms of data conception and general business intelligence. Therefore, they should start the process by focusing on business intelligence and only bring in Artificial Intelligence when they understand where and what improvements are needed in the business.

Valuable insights from Cognitive Systems

As a result of the overwhelming growth of structured and unstructured data during the past few years, humans alone can no longer manage and extract insights from rapidly growing sources of relevant data. That is why, it is critical for businesses to utilize AI to extract insights from data in order to create a competitive advantage. According to IBM CEO Ginny Rometty, we are approaching “the era of cognitive business”. Which means that systems aim to help humans with navigating huge amounts of data and extract insights from the data.

Prepare employees

Changing procedures and implementing new strategies can be a challenge for many companies. This means that it is extremely important to prepare employees to which task will be automated as a result of artificial intelligence as well as how employees’ jobs will change. For example, new insights about a customer via an AI application would mean that the employee now has a different workflow and may need a new set of tools. It is also important to inform the employees about the benefits of the change and the end goal to make them feel included and open to the change. For a sales rep, this could mean communicating how the ability to design and manage the customer data base will be greatly enhanced. But most importantly, companies must prepare employees for their new roles and expectations through training and support.

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