Businesses are being told that AI (artificial intelligence) is the wave of the future, and a wave necessary to ride unless you want risk being left behind and washed ashore. While there is some truth to that, the AI wave is still a long way off, especially when it comes to affordable, cost-effective technology for small businesses. There are, however, a growing number of comparatively inexpensive, ready-to-go AI applications that can be easily tailored to help enhance and streamline the way small companies do business.
Marketing and advertising tools
The big tech companies have invested millions into AI research and the creation of AI applications. They pay premium salaries to scientists and other specialists to produce applications they can use to enhance and streamline the way their companies do business. Although small businesses cannot afford these expenses, it is not needed, as many applications these companies have created are available online or off-the-shelf. Facebook and Google, for example, have made their own AI advertising platforms available to clients to both reach a larger audience and better target potential customers. By collecting and analyzing data, they can greatly expand the reach and improve the efficiency of a company's marketing and marketing research campaigns. These AI applications can also help gather and analyze data to help determine a better market fit.
Customer relationship management systems
Customer relationship management (CRM) is another AI field where big companies have invested to help better deal with and satisfy their clients. Similar systems are now available for smaller companies. Salesforce, for example, is a cloud-based AI system that helps smaller companies better serve their customers. There are many other AI tools that small businesses can purchase that will help sort customer requests and questions, point them to information that can help answer their inquiries or send them to the right person in the company who can help them. These systems help small business not only better engage with their customers, but also allow them to engage with more customers, and do so more quickly. These AI systems also lead to better customer satisfaction, which translates to higher rates of customer retention.
AI security and fraud detection
Applications relating to data security and fraud detection are where AI really shines, especially for smaller businesses that can’t afford to set up and staff a security department. AI applications can monitor a company's system to look for anomalies or other unusual activity that can detect and even block data theft or other malicious activity. Such AI protection is especially valuable to any company that accepts payments online. Companies such as Darktrace and Stripe offer services which use AI applications to detect fraudulent activity and other emerging threats. Few small businesses can afford to create defense systems that can rival these and other AI protection networks.
This article was written by Mark G. McLaughlin for Small Business Pulse