The strategic importance of electricity in the early 20th century, when electrification changed sectors like manufacturing and established new ones like mass communications, has been likened to the usefulness of artificial intelligence (AI) for enterprises in the twenty-first century. "AI is strategic because the scale, scope, complexity, and dynamism of business today are so extreme that humans can no longer manage it without artificial intelligence," said Chris Brahm, a senior advising partner at Bain & Company.
The capacity of AI to automate and enhance tasks now performed by humans will have the largest immediate effect on both small and large organizations.
We anticipate that AI will outweigh and complement existing workplace automation technologies in terms of labor benefits. Furthermore, by evaluating enormous amounts of data, AI will not only automate job processes but also determine the most effective approach to do a task and modify workflows as needed.
In several domains, AI is already enhancing human labor:
Contact center employees may handle consumer inquiries and complaints more skillfully with the use of augmented intelligence skills, which also help physicians detect medical conditions.
Security uses AI to prioritize cybersecurity threats that require human intervention and to automatically respond to them.
Project managers use AI-powered software to organize and prioritize tasks, predict expenses, and distribute resources.
IT teams use AIOps to automate the detection and fixing of common IT problems.
Banks are using AI to improve and speed up loan processing while maintaining compliance.
The range of tasks that AI can automate and enhance has significantly increased with the development of generative AI. Businesses and consumers have swiftly embraced GenAI technology, using programs like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot to write code, create art, run searches, write essays, and hold conversations.
As discussed in the next sections on the advantages and threats of AI, workers are quite concerned about the possibility that AI solutions for enterprises may replace many of the tasks that are now performed by humans, even while it is generating new positions like AI product managers, AI engineers, and AI ethical officers.
What advantages can AI provide businesses?
Nearly everyone embraces corporate AI because of its potential to generate innovation, growth, and other business benefits. For instance, 93% of 600 top IT decision-makers at significant firms that participated in a 2024 "AI in the Enterprise Survey" commissioned by digital transformation firm UST said that AI is crucial to success.
Research company Frost & Sullivan conducted a poll in late 2023 for the "Global State of AI, 2024" report, revealing that 89% of companies across various industry verticals believe AI and machine learning could assist them in achieving their business objectives. Other polls report similar levels of excitement for AI among IT and business executives.
The main motivations for investing in AI are raising revenue and enhancing operational effectiveness. Here are a few more often mentioned advantages of AI for companies:
Enhanced experiences for customers
One of the main business justifications for investing in AI technologies is their capacity to expedite and hyperpersonalize customer support. Companies in a variety of sectors use recommendation engines to provide real-time, tailored recommendations for goods, services, or information. Companies use natural language processing (NLP) and voice recognition technologies to simulate genuine speech, convert speech to text, and speed up call routing.
Improved observation
Organizations may use AI to monitor company activities almost instantly because of its real-time data processing capabilities. For instance, quality control procedures on factory floors use machine learning models and image recognition software to track output and identify issues.
Increased business speed
AI makes it possible for business cycles to be shorter by automating both internal and external procedures. Reducing the time required to transition from one stage to the next, like product design to commercialization, results in a faster return on investment.
Decreased human error and improved quality
Organizations can increase compliance and decrease mistakes by applying AI to operations previously completed manually or with conventional automation tools, such as extract, convert, and load software. AI and machine learning techniques provide robotic process automation software the capability to constantly enhance process performance. One area where machine learning has significantly decreased expenses, time, and mistakes is financial reconciliation.
Evolved handling of talent
Businesses are using enterprise AI software to identify the best applicants, remove bias in corporate communications, and accelerate the recruitment process. Chatbots may now provide workers and job seekers individualized assistance thanks to developments in conversational AI and new language modeling methods. HR departments internally use AI solutions to measure employee satisfaction, identify top performers, pinpoint compensation disparities, and create more engaging work environments.
Innovation and growth of business models
Digital natives such as Uber, Airbnb, Amazon, and others utilized AI to aid in the implementation of their new business models. As they improve their data and AI strategies, conventional businesses in banking, insurance, retail, and other sectors have also had the opportunity to rethink and grow their business models.
Conclusion
To sum up, AI is changing business in a way that is similar to how electricity transformed processes in the early 1900s. It has a huge effect on businesses of all kinds because it can simplify and improve chores. AI drives growth and innovation by making customer service better, processes faster, and mistakes less likely.
But adding AI comes with challenges, like making it scalable, keeping it safe, and finding qualified AI experts. Despite these challenges, companies can fully utilize AI by planning ahead and investing in it. In today's fast-paced business world, using AI is necessary to stay competitive and achieve long-term success.