AI IN BUSINESS: HOW TO UTILISE MACHINE LEARNING

THE ADVANTAGES OF USING AI AS A SMALL BUSINESS

Quick Quote

Destination

Collection Postcode

Delivery Postcode

Weight (kg):

When it comes to AI in business, most will imagine enormous computers run by a team of intelligent boffins at companies like Google or Microsoft – creating visions like the supercomputers of old. Nowadays, however, that’s not the case – as artificial intelligence in business becomes more accessible and easier to use.

There are plenty of advantages to using AI, especially for small businesses. From artificial intelligence handling delivery to providing help and support to your customers, it seems like the future is now.

WHAT IS AI?

Artificial intelligence, often shortened to AI, is not a singular technology – it’s an umbrella term for a wide range of technologies. As we refer to ranges of computer-based tools as software, AI can span across several tools too.

AI may even do the same job as some of the software that your business uses; however, the machine learning element of artificial intelligence is what sets it apart. Machine learning allows AI to learn and improve on its own, over time, so it is continually learning and improving the outcome.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN BUSINESS

AI is now being rolled out as a service to the general public and businesses alike, and while at face value there may be no clear advantages of using AI to assist your small business, there are now a number of great artificially intelligent products on the market to aid business operations. There may already be some tools you already use that utilise artificial intelligence and machine learning.

An example of its use in a larger business is Amazon’s recommendations for additional purchases when you’re heading to the checkout. Their AI has learned, across millions of purchases, the most common items purchased together and then suggests them as a recommendation – whether you do, or do not buy, allows the AI to learn further and adjust those recommendations for others in the future.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR A SMALL BUSINESS

There is unlimited potential when it comes to artificial intelligence for small businesses – and in some cases, it may already be in use.

Improving customer service is one example, with AI chatbots being widely used to assist with conversing to customers. These are a great option for small businesses, with consumers often unaware they’re speaking to artificial intelligence. You may have heard of Zendesk, one of the leaders in this space.

What about improving your accounting processes? Xero uses AI to automate basic accounting tasks and forecasting, improving efficiency.

If you run your small business by yourself, then it’s likely you’re wearing many hats. If marketing isn’t necessarily your specialism, then one of the advantages of using AI is that you can use it to improve - from assisting with ideas for your blog or social media channels, to completely automating your email marketing.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN DELIVERY

While delivery companies can utilise artificial intelligence to optimise delivery schedules and routes, predict delivery times and more, small businesses can improve their delivery process using AI too.

An example of this may be using the newly popularised ChatGPT AI to write the correct address format for international delivery, or even improving your packaging by asking a visual AI like MidJourney to produce a design for your cardboard.

In the future, small businesses could use artificial intelligence in business to predict things like failed deliveries or ideal sending times to further increase efficiency.