The Application of AI in Business Intelligence Today

For companies, resilience and the ability to safeguard their business is a must.

With the current digital landscape, the need for smarter business solutions is crucial. Security threats are increasing, safety standards in certain industries are becoming more stringent, and customer expectations are changing and becoming more selective. 

All of this is to say that companies now need to be operating at the top of their game if they want to keep up, remain compliant, and safeguard the future of their business. Luckily, the advent of artificial intelligence is making this possible. 

In this article, we’ll explore the growth of AI in business, including how it is being used, what challenges it brings with it, and the benefits of AI in business. We’ll also dive into how the application of AI in business intelligence can specifically help companies build safer and more resilient businesses.

The Growth of AI in Business

Businesses today have greater access to data than ever before, and while this is ultimately a good thing, it also means there are greater risks.

Any time there are emerging technologies, there are always two sides to the coin: the benefits and the challenges. And the emergence of AI in business is no different.

That said, numerous industries have already embraced AI in their efforts to build smarter businesses with more secure foundations. In 2020, the global AI market was valued at $62 billion, and today, in 2023, the value has more than tripled, now sitting at $196.63 billion. By 2030, the growth rate is expected to be around 37.3 percent with the forecasted value at $1,811.75 billion. 

These numbers clearly show that AI has quickly risen as one of the top technologies of this decade. It is no longer an experimental technology that is only being touched by select companies, it has become a game changer that nearly every industry is utilizing to improve operations.

Examples of AI in Business

Some use cases and examples of situations and industries where AI is already making an impact include:

• Customer service

• Supply chain operations

• Fraud prevention

• Smart personal assistants

• Social media

• Healthcare

• E-commerce

• Smart home devices

• Autonomous vehicles

In truth, these are just a few of the many examples of AI in business being utilized to enhance what is possible today.

There are countless ways that businesses can use this technology to improve certain operations, from human resources and onboarding to the delivery of products to customers. Even the construction industry can benefit from AI, which helps make Almost every single process can be enhanced by AI. 

Challenges of AI in Business

Of course, this rapid adoption of AI technologies also comes with challenges and risks. According to the Harvard Business Review (HBR), several factors can stall or derail AI initiatives.

Some of the challenges of AI in business include:

• Difficulty integrating AI with existing processes and systems.

• The technologies are too expensive.

• Management and staff don’t have the skills and training to fully understand how AI technologies work.

• Finding people who are experienced in AI is difficult.

• The technologies are still too immature and unpredictable.

• AI technologies have been oversold in the marketplace.

It is important to note, however, that these issues are already over five years old. While some of these obstacles are still somewhat relevant, many changes have already been made to address these problems. 

The release of ChatGPT in 2022, for example, had a significant impact on AI’s accessibility. ChatGPT essentially made AI much easier to use, understand, and afford, which has helped to address some of the challenges listed above.

Still, there will undoubtedly be a learning curve that remains as people learn to navigate AI technologies and how best to utilize them.

Benefits of AI in Business

In addition to the challenges that come with implementing AI technologies, the HBR also listed the benefits of AI in business, which many believe greatly outweigh the cons. They surveyed 250 executives, who identified the following as the primary benefits of adopting AI tech:

• Enhances the features, functions, and performance of products

• Optimizes internal business operations

• By automating tasks, it frees up workers to be more creative and productive

• Improves decision-making

• Helps with the creation of new products

• Optimizes external processes, such as sales and marketing

• Helps businesses pursue new markets

• Helps to capture and apply scarce knowledge where needed

The more familiar people and companies become with cognitive tools that are powered by AI, the more they will be able to reap the benefits and even discover new benefits of AI in business. As a whole, AI has the power to vastly improve business operations when thoroughly understood and utilized adequately. 

Application of AI in Business Intelligence

While safeguarding a business certainly has to do with cybersecurity measures, it is also about building a more resilient business as a whole that ensures long-term stability and profit.

As AI is flexible and can be used in many different ways, it has numerous applications in which it can be used in this respect — to build safer, more secure, and resilient businesses. Here are some applications of AI in business intelligence.

1. Bolstering Cybersecurity Measures

AI can play a crucial role when it comes to cybersecurity. As the world, in general, becomes more advanced, so too do the threats businesses face. Thankfully, AI can help companies significantly improve their security measures to better protect against potential threats. 

Because of AI’s ability to analyze large quantities of data along with its advanced pattern recognition capabilities, it can more efficiently detect and block threats. Additionally, AI-powered systems can monitor user behavior within a company and make real-time decisions about whether access should be granted or request authentication if anything anomalous is suspected. 

Overall, AI-powered cybersecurity tools can help organizations manage digital identities, recognize suspicious activity, assist cybersecurity analytics efforts, and improve authentication options.

2. Improving Workplace Safety

AI can significantly improve organizational safety protocols. Specifically, AI robots, which are already in use across numerous industries, can handle more dangerous tasks, improving safety for human employees. 

Robots can also help monitor hazardous work environments and send out alerts when something needs to be investigated. For example, AI can improve job site safety in the construction industry by analyzing trip and fall incidents and issuing alerts to managers if employees aren’t wearing protective gear.

Bots can use predictive analytics to detect warning signs that indicate machinery is due for maintenance, which can help prevent accidents. 

3. Optimizing Risk Management

One of the key components of mitigating risk in business is establishing a risk management strategy. As AI can analyze and interpret such large amounts of data, this enables companies to predict and prevent risks with more efficiency. 

AI detects patterns in data, which could alert management or executives to an issue before it becomes a problem. For example, AI could identify a potential profit loss if operations continue in a certain manner, which enables the company to take necessary measures to prevent that from happening well before it causes any issues. 

4. Boosting Customer Satisfaction

One of the best ways to ensure the future of a business is to focus on building better relationships with customers.

When you deliver better customer experiences, you boost retention rates and customer loyalty. And the more loyal your customers are, the more likely you are to continue making the sales needed to stay in business long-term. 

AI is quite literally revolutionizing customer service. AI-powered chatbots, for example, can now handle more basic customer requests and queries, which frees up live customer representatives to devote more of their time and attention to more complex customer issues. This ensures everyone gets the attention they need and it also cuts down on the time customers have to wait to speak to someone and have their issue resolved. 

AI can also sort through big data, providing companies with more valuable customer insights, and enabling them to provide better, more personalized experiences. Artificial Intelligence is also helping to improve web accessibility, which ensures everyone, no matter their limitations, can access a company’s website and get what they need. 

Summary

AI has the power to vastly improve the overall resilience of a company. It can make organizations more resilient to potential security threats, it can help improve risk management, boost workplace safety, and ensure long-term customer loyalty.

All of these are crucial when it comes to safeguarding a company and its ability to remain in business well into the future.