In PwC’s Global Artificial Intelligence Study, the findings show that AI is already driving a surge in productivity that is set to revolutionise the world, the workforce, and our daily lives. In fact, they’re forecasting that it offers a potential US$15.7 trillion contribution to the global economy by just 2030! So, let’s look a bit more in-depth about what it’s all about.
What AI really does
As we’ve mentioned before, AI is not a replacement for people. It’s a replacement and enhancement for tasks that are repetitive, boring, or too time-consuming for your people to do. It’s used for everything from onboarding new clients and eliminating paperwork to collecting massive amounts of data for analysis, forecasts, and predictions.
Choosing not to adopt AI is a little like insisting that you still use snail mail rather than email, that you hand out pamphlets rather than having a social media page or create software in binary 1s and 0s rather than Python of JavaScript.
How to drive productivity and ultimately higher profits with AI
According to the report, while all industries are set to be changed by AI, the ones who are facing the most dramatic transformations are healthcare, automotive, financial services, logistics, retail, energy, and manufacturing.
In terms of productivity and profits, the main source of this will be labour improvements. Essentially, this is driven by two complementary components of AI:
- Data collection and analytics – There’s no question that computers are significantly more powerful at collecting data. It’s why we all use Google to get answers rather than calling our mums. AI data collection and analytics not only pulls information from customer behaviour, trends, and more, but it also makes sense of it by pulling it into targeted reports for forecasts, insights, and more.
- Automation –Processes and procedures are also a lot smarter with AI, taking the boring paperwork right out of the equation. From analysing hiring applications to pulling information off reports and customer queries, it can now do everything from automating financial processes and client onboarding to product suggestions, tailored marketing, cybersecurity, and equipment analysis/maintenance.
With that in mind, where do you start?
AI is contained in a wide range of products and services that should be selected based on what you specifically want to achieve in your business.
- Look at the pressures you are facing
- How you can respond to them
- How AI can change this response
- Look for bottlenecks in your processes
- Analyse areas of waste
- And see what your competitors are doing
Another way to start is with Otto!
As a small business ourselves, Otto is a Melbourne-based IT services provider that understands what you’re up against – from inflation and supply chain turmoil to geopolitical influences and skills shortages. But we’re not here to push yet another product onto your budget. Instead, we’ll show you how AI supports the stability, profitability, and productivity of your business – and we’ll develop a custom solution for your budget. Let’s chat.
Jordan is the Chief Commercial Officer at Otto. Jordan is here to help clients remove roadblocks and achieve the business goals they’ve set out. Jordan’s biggest focus is Customer Experience, Business Relationship Management, Risk Management and Strategy.
