Three Ways Your Business Can Effectively Use AI Immediately

Hype and hyperbole tend to accompany innovative new technologies. The trick is to separate fluff from substance. When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), a topic that’s earned far more than a fair share of recent headlines, there are several ways businesses can immediately benefit from implementing AI technology. 

You need not wait. AI solutions are already enhancing and improving operations. Many businesses’ experiences place any remaining debate to rest. 

How, specifically, can your firm take advantage of AI? Here are three ways your business can immediately and effectively employ AI technologies, whether the solutions fulfill analytical, generative or automation capabilities. 

1. Improve Cybersecurity Protections

Perhaps the first surprise for many businesses is learning AI, and its corresponding cousin machine learning (ML), have already been working together for years to effectively assist cybersecurity operations. Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) technologies, Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) platforms, Managed Detection and Response (MDR) solutions, Endpoint Protection and Response (EDR) tools, Extended Detection and Response (XDR) systems, Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) products, Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) technologies and a variety of security services that operate on network perimeter-protecting firewalls began incorporating AI and ML technologies a few years ago. These products are much more effective than their traditional counterparts preventing, identifying, reporting and mitigating malware infections. 

Here are just a few AI- and ML-enabled cybersecurity solutions organizations can implement to take advantage of corresponding cybersecurity enhancements, innovations and improvements: 

• Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response 
• Alert Logic Managed Detection and Response 
• Check Point Endpoint Security 
• Cisco Extended Detection and Response 
• CrowdStrike Extended Detection and Response 
• Darktrace Endpoint Protection Platform 
• Fortinet Managed Detection and Response 
• Microsoft Defender for Business Endpoint Security 
• Rapid7 Security Information and Event Management 
• Red Canary Managed Detection and Response
• SentinelOne Managed Detection and Response 
• Sophos Endpoint Protection Platform 
• Splunk Security Orchestration, Automation and Response 
• Trellis Extended Detection and Response 
• Trend Micro Endpoint Security 

Note, most cybersecurity vendors offer multiple solutions. The above list simply provides examples of various AI- and ML-powered cybersecurity options available to businesses. 

For example, Arctic Wolf offers Managed Detection and Response, Cloud Detection and Response and Managed Security Awareness options. Another example is Sophos, which offers endpoint security, network protections and Managed Detection and Response products. 

2. Assist Business Intelligence and Decision Making

Whether your organization operates using an Objectives and Key Results (OKR) framework, an Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) model or another management process, most every system requires tracking specific metrics. Scorecards, dashboards and corresponding key performance indicators (KPIs) have subsequently become important business intelligence (BI) elements. 

Whereas businesses often used to manually collect, analyze and process such data, and many sometimes struggled to make sense of what could prove large amounts of data, AI solutions now assist firms in better managing and analyzing such information. AI models are frequently surprisingly capable additions to BI efforts, as they excel surfacing trends, accurately identifying cause-and-effect relationships and producing precise forecasts more quickly than can human counterparts. 

Microsoft is among providers offering a variety of options for improving business intelligence efforts. The company’s Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform taps AI innovations to help organizations adjust processes and workflows and improve efficiencies while also lowering expenses. The software behemoth’s Power BI app enables incorporating AI technologies to assist better understanding data and trends and applying the resulting knowledge in effective ways. 

Incorporating AI within data processing routines helps eliminate confusion as to what the information being collected and studied is actually saying. Further, AI insights assist producing more accurate conclusions, which in turn, aids improving the quality of an organization’s decision-making. 

3. Enhance Customer Support

Addressing customer needs, and eliminating common roadblocks to customer satisfaction, is another area in which AI is making measurable progress. Organizations are already employing generative AI solutions—Bard and ChatGPT are but two examples—to enhance client relationships. These and similar AI tools assist automating common tasks, answering common queries, summarizing complex communications exchanges (including messaging transcripts and emails) and accelerating an initial response for customers seeking assistance. 

Generative AI solutions can also personalize customer interactions. As a result, customers are less likely to feel as if they are receiving canned, unoriginal responses. And they’re correct. AI-powered customer service solutions can trace purchase histories, study product and service specifications, review previous account communications and generate appropriate responses for a mind-numbing range of topics at impressive volumes. 

Because AI chatbots perform well using normal everyday language, customers can also ask questions and post inquiries using natural language, and the AI chatbots can reply in kind. The fact these tools can also quickly return automated responses, including common solutions and recommendations, for a variety of inquiries makes them effective in quickly addressing customer needs with minimal costs. 

As long as customers understand they are interacting with an automated bot and receive the opportunity to reach out to a live person, should circumstances require, businesses can minimize additional frustration customers experience troubleshooting a problem. 

Other AI Options to Consider

These are but three examples of ways organizations are effectively employing AI solutions within their operations today. If your business has already undertaken these initiatives and seeks to explore new opportunities, or if your firm is committed to pursuing AI and ML solutions, many opportunities exist. Companies can also use these innovative technologies, now, to: 

• Improve marketing and advertising initiatives 
• Diagnose medical conditions 
• Produce presentation and meeting transcripts 
• Enhance operations workflows 
• Automate repetitive processes 
• Generate programming code 
• Create product and service descriptions 
• Translate copy to other languages 
• Author website text 
• Personalize customer experiences 

Still have questions regarding ways your organization might effectively use AI solutions? Contact Louisville Geek at 502-897-7577 or email [email protected]. Our business consultants and technicians are happy to assist.