Introduction to AI: how your business can make the most of the AI revolution

13 August 2024

Aug 13 2024

By Align Me | Artificial Intelligence (AI) | No Comments

In the dynamic landscape of modern business, staying competitive means leveraging cutting-edge technologies. One such technology that has been making waves across industries is artificial intelligence (AI). From streamlining operations to enhancing customer experiences, AI offers many opportunities for businesses to innovate and thrive.

That paragraph that you just read? It was written by AI. By giving one of the leading AI applications a few simple prompts, it came up with an introductory paragraph to a blog post about the benefits of using AI.

This is an example of just how much AI has impacted productivity and convenience. And it’s just the beginning of what artificial intelligence can do: 87% of those asked by MIT Sloane Management believe that AI will give them a competitive edge, which goes to show that AI isn’t some flash in the pan. It’s here to stay, and its implications are extraordinary. In fact, the CEO of Google, Sundar Pachai, said in 2023 that “AI is one of the most important things humanity is working on. It is more profound than electricity or fire.”

So, what does this revolutionary new advancement in tech mean for your business? And how can it help you work more efficiently and give you a competitive advantage? Read on to find out.

Getting started with AI

While there are many viable options out there, it’s hard to go past Microsoft’s offering, dubbed Microsoft Copilot. If you’re already in the Microsoft ecosystem and using products like Outlook and Office 365, the natural next step is to integrate their native AI. Because it integrates seamlessly with your current Microsoft software, it instantly learns all of your data (i.e. within SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams and Outlook), which it can leverage to generate incredible insights to operate with superior efficiency.

It’s important to put guardrails around it though, and your IT provider should work with you to ensure your information remains secure as you enhance efficiencies within your business.

And if you’re serious about using AI to enhance your productivity, it’s worth the small investment per user investment for the premium tier. If you’re unsure about the whole phenomenon and want to find out more, please contact us.

The benefits AI can have on your business

When used properly, AI makes your work life so much simpler. And the more you use it, the better it understands your company and what your objectives are. Here are some of the many ways to use AI to help you make your business better.

• Smarter decisions: When you use AI to analyse your business’s data, you can make more accurate decisions. Rather than having to slog through all the data yourself, get AI to analyse it and give you a summary of the answers.
• Improving the customer experience: If your business relies on customers or clients, AI can play a big role in attracting and retaining them. According to studies, 61% of businesses will use it to improve the quality of the emails they send, while 46% will use it for more personalised advertising. Put simply, AI will make communicating with your customers much easier.
• Simplifying operations and freeing up employees: Repetitive and mundane tasks can detract from the more enjoyable parts of a job. By using AI to automate these tasks, you’re suddenly freeing up time for your employees to focus on the parts of the job that they love – no wonder 70% of workers surveyed said that they wouldn’t give it up.
• Fostering innovation: Ask AI to analyse market trends, customer preferences, and internal processes, allowing you to identify new opportunities. This can help your business stay ahead of the curve and continuously evolve – whether you’re in logistics, marketing, plumbing or anything in between!

All this brings up a curious question: Is AI going to replace human workers and leave swathes of people unemployed? The answer isn’t as dire as the Naysayers claim. When they were asked how AI was going to change the way their organisation operated, business leaders said they were twice as likely to use AI as a tool to boost productivity rather than something that would replace employees. In fact, those that know how to work effectively with AI will advance in business, while those that ignore it will get left behind. Get to know it, gain a basic understanding on how it can help you get ahead master your prompt writing skills and you will be unstoppable.

As anyone using AI will attest to, this makes sense: while it’s a great piece of ingenuity and innovation, it’s not something you could use instead of humans (although in some cases this is already happening). It’s not advanced enough to do things entirely on its own yet, but it can be a powerful complement that will elevate your team. In addition to the more everyday stuff – such as drafting documents, emails and presentations, and helping you with online searches – here are some ways you can leverage Microsoft’s own AI solution: Co-Pilot.

• Draft and edit documents, emails and presentations: If you’re having trouble finding the right tone or wording for an email or document, just plug in a few details and let AI do the writing and copyediting for you.
• Organise and summarise meetings: Need to organise a meeting around packed schedules? Let your AI find times where everyone’s free. And once the meeting’s over, Copilot can transcribe your meets and give you a summary of discussion points. You can even ask it questions about the meeting – for example, “what are my actions from this meeting?”
• Simplify complex information: Don’t have time to read through a client’s annual report or entire website? Get Copilot to summarise it.
• Excel made simple: Having trouble with Excel? Or just want to make things easier? Copilot can help you write complex code within the program, in addition to helping you troubleshoot any issues with formulas.
• Onboard new employees: If you have somebody joining your organisation, AI can be used to help onboard them. It will assist them in finding information quickly and easily, and teach them how your business operates.

Ready to leap into AI?

There’s simply no denying the statistics. While AI isn’t going to replace human workers anytime soon, it is an invaluable tool that is helping all kinds of organisations thrive. If you’re ready to see what sort of benefits AI can bring to your business, Bigfish is uniquely placed to help. We have extensive experience with helping businesses utilise platforms like Microsoft Copilot, and we can develop a secure AI solution that works for your organisation.

To find out more, get in touch with us here.