As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly common in the business world, some business owners may be wondering how they can leverage it to improve their operations.
Staying up to date with the latest technology is critical for those interested in expanding their business. However, small businesses and startups may think that implementing AI is only for large companies.
The good news is that AI is more than just the robots we see in science fiction movies. AI is already integrated into many software suites, including some you may use daily. Using these existing tools can help businesses of any size achieve their goals, improve internal processes, and even reduce costs.
Let’s explore some of the specific ways AI can help businesses cut costs and boost profits.
6 WAYS AI CAN REDUCE COSTS
By 2025, the global AI market is expected to reach $126 billion, a figure that’s incomprehensible to the average person. It’s no secret that AI will soon make its way into various industries, from manufacturing to retail.
Research shows that companies in producing industries, such as health care or consumer goods, see a conversion cost reduction of up to 20% when they use AI to improve core business processes. While AI may seem intimidating at first, the benefits are well worth the investment.
Continue reading to learn more about ways AI can cut costs and improve your return on investment (ROI).
1) Chatbots offer customer service around the clock
Customer service departments in all industries can benefit from the use of AI-based chatbots. More companies are offering 24/7 customer service by using chatbots. Chatbots are capable of helping customers with a range of issues – something as simple as ordering a pizza or something more complex, like completing a B2B sale.
Chatbots work by utilizing natural language processing (NLP) to understand a customer’s input. They can ask customers what they’re looking for on a website and provide them with more information regarding products and services your business offers.
When customer service representatives (CSRs) spend less time handling customer inquiries, they can redirect their efforts to more important business tasks, saving your company time and money.
2) Email marketing saves marketers time and resources
It’s commonly known that email marketing effectively reaches potential customers and fosters better relationships with existing customers. Rather than create individual emails and send them out accordingly, automating email marketing campaigns with AI can help reduce costs.
AI-based email marketing is capable of bringing your business to the next level. AI can help fine-tune your emails by optimizing subject lines, personalizing emails, and determining optimal timing. In other words, AI-based email marketing can make executing your marketing strategy more straightforward.
3) Automate recruiting and hiring
HR professionals have been using AI for years to improve their hiring. AI-based tech can scan CVs for keywords, a fairly common practice in many HR departments across various industries. Being able to find the right candidate can be made easier with AI and help reduce costs.
Gartner reports that by 2022, 47% of companies will leverage AI to improve employee experience, improve cost savings, and make data-driven decisions.
4) Elevates cybersecurity measures
As businesses make the digital transition, it’ll be vital to implement effective cybersecurity management strategies. Cybersecurity combined with AI can help your business stay ahead of potential threats and attacks to your internal network.
AI reviews common patterns and behavior on a business’s software or app. And when something out of the ordinary happens, AI will react to it quickly and eliminate the threat. Using AI for cybersecurity purposes helps save businesses money by reducing the need for IT specialists.
5) Improve communication efficiency
When employees spend most of their time responding to emails or instant messages, it can be considered time wasted. Instead, their time can be spent engaging in deep work, thus improving productivity. Tools like Emailtree or Cortana by Microsoft allow employees to automate their emails and write emails more quickly.
Predictive text suggestions are becoming more common, and many smartphone users are already using them to send text messages to friends and family. Overall, effective communication means employees spend time on the essential things during their workday. We all know wasting time is wasting money, so consider using automated emails in your workflow.
6) Build better customer relationships
AI can help inform employees about what customers want, making it easier to foster good relationships with their customers. The customer experience (CX) is a top priority for businesses, and using AI to improve it will boost sales and help your business save money.
AI can be used to track leads more efficiently and push customers through the sales funnel. When businesses reap the benefits of AI, they can see more leads come through without breaking the bank.
While these six ways of reducing costs are effective, there are plenty of other benefits to AI that businesses should consider when improving their internal operations. Because AI is growing in both popularity and the number of use cases, it’ll be interesting to see other ways businesses can save money by implementing AI.
SAVING MONEY WITH AI
Whether improving CX or automating marketing strategies, using AI will help businesses achieve their goals and reduce costs, something every company strives to do. We’re in the early stages of AI adoption, but as time goes on, it’ll be a staple in various industries.
