AI is transforming workflow. Are you keeping up?

Did you know by 2020 it's estimated that 85 percent of customer interactions will be managed without a human? In fact, one study found 72 percent of business leaders feel AI will be a "business advantage" in the future. Innovative businesses are looking beyond using AI to streamline repetitive tasks. They are creating ways for AI to transform the way they do business. Are you keeping up with this trend? Access your "AI savviness." Here are four key areas where AI is already transforming business workflow.

AI + existing staff = Gaining the competitive edge

Did you know the average response time for an Internet lead is 44 hours? Sales teams are simply not keeping up with the massive amounts of leads being generated through marketing activity.

AI Assistants and Chatbots are making response time almost zero. AI technologies take the automated email response to the next level, engagement. For example, an AI Sales Assistant is able to read and respond via email to your leads, every lead. It can immediately follow-up, qualify the lead and pass it on. Chatbots simulate human conversation and qualify leads, often in the form of a live chat. They assess the needs of the visitor, answer common questions and only pass the lead on if it is qualified and worth your sales team's time.

Let AI look for that needle in the haystack for you. Relieve the pressure on your sales staff and encourage your marketing department to keep raking in the leads.

Automation raises the bar on customer service

Imagine being able to resolve customer issues before they even arise. AI automation can deliver a level of responsiveness that simply isn't possible from humans. AI applications can monitor your website and mobile app activity for distress indicators. They identify customers that are experiencing problems and offer real-time assistance, so you can offer 24-hour customer service that’s not constrained by time zones or holidays.

Research shows Millennials prefer self-service options and avoid situations that require human interaction4. As this generation continues to take over the market in the coming years, it's critical that businesses prepare now to accommodate their digital interactions. Lower customer abandonment rates, reduce customer complaints, use your customer's preferred method of communication and free up your staff to focus on more challenging tasks.

Recruit and retain top talent

It's no secret that finding skilled workers is a challenge, so why not include AI technology in your recruitment and retention strategies. Here's how.

Streamline your screening process: Let AI handle repetitive tasks like creating job descriptions, screening CVs and contacting candidates. AI can filter your employee leads, giving your recruiters more time to engage with qualified candidates.

Use data to retain talent: "Knowledge is power" is an expression that was coined long before big data, but its meaning is more powerful than ever. Use AI to track employee data in order to make informed, impartial decisions about raises, promotions or reorganisations.

Track employee engagement: Flag potential issues or drops in productivity. Address retention problems before they really become a problem. AI empowers managers to be true advocates for their employees with the data to back them up.

Develop top talent. AI adds a new dimension to personalised training. Imagine being able to analyse employee behaviour, matching them with the ideal learning method. That's what AI can do. Video-based and social learning makes training a dynamic process, not a separate, onerous activity.

Get into your customers’ minds

Have you ever wished you could gain insight into your customers’ feelings? Developers are now using natural language processing (NLP) to make sense of all that contextual data we've been collecting for years. NLP not only processes transactional data, it provides sentiment analysis, revealing how your customers feel. For example, sentiment analysis tools can search the Internet for any mentions of your brand, separating the data into positive, neutral or negative. They can also filter thousands of emails and phone conversations to give you valuable insight into the reasons for complaints, product placement, messaging and numerous other areas of improvement. You can use this data to make informed decisions about products, marketing or customer experience improvements.

AI conjures up visions of machines replacing humans. However, view AI as replacing low value tasks, not people. AI enhances your existing staff, increases productivity and gives you a competitive edge. At Canon, we believe business should be easy. These technologies are just a sampling of what's available to make your life just a little bit easier.

Sources

https://www.gartner.com/imagesrv/summits/docs/na/customer-360/C360_2011_brochure_FINAL.pdf
http://www.cmo.com/features/articles/2017/4/24/pwc-artificial-intelligence-will-be-the-business-advantage-of-the-future-tlp.html#gs.1P2b6nQ 
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/236916
http://help.desk.com/millennials-report-providing-customer-service-for-todays-consumers