The magnificent seven technology stocks drove the markets and in particular the NASDAQ to unexpected record heights in 2023, largely on the notion that artificial intelligence is here to stay. You’re not going to find many people arguing the belief of the staying power of AI, but perhaps only its usefulness and its ability to be controlled, so to speak, by those that have created it. Seemingly out of nowhere AI has gone from a futuristic theoretical concept to what now is the crux of technological thinking. According to International Data Corp., spending on generative AI in 2023 will be almost $20 billion, forecasted to reach $150 billion by 2027.
Many think that 2024 could be the year where AI comes into its own, going from a novel business concept, to one in which one can no longer imagine a life without it. With that said, unless you are able to handle the high costs of implementation, there is still a long way to go to seeing AI on Main Street. Take a look at some additional facts that will bolster the idea that AI is here to stay.
- Thirty-seven percent of organizations have implemented AI in some form. The percentage of enterprises employing AI grew 270% over the past four years, according to Gartner.
- By 2025, 95% of customer interactions will be powered by AI, according to Servion Global Solutions.
- Data from Statista reveals that the global AI software market is expected to grow approximately 54% year-on-year and is expected to reach a forecast size of $22.6 billion.
From a corporate perspective, some companies will enjoy an increased ROI from AI, but many will not succeed in transforming it into value. Let’s take a look at some broad categories of likely application growth in the upcoming year.
E-Commerce
Whether you are aware of it or not, artificial intelligence is following you through your personal internet experience attempting, among other things, to create a better search and shoppi
ng experience for the user. It helps in improving a company’s relationship with its customers and their loyalty towards its brand. The days of picking up your phone and calling for information, help or customer service have almost exclusively been replaced by AI driven chats. Natural Language Processing and real-time interaction are giving customers a human-free support system that meets the vast majority of their needs. In fact, customer support at Amazon will soon be handled almost fully by chatbots.
From an E-Commerce perspective, the two areas of most concern are fraud and fake customer reviews. By considering the usage patterns, AI can help reduce the possibility of credit card fraud taking place, as well as help to identify and handle fake reviews.
Education
Although the education sector is the one most influenced by humans, Artificial Intelligence has slowly begun to seep its roots into the education sector as well. As you would imagine AI will be most effective in automating administrative tasks. Duties like facilitating and automating personalized messages to students, back-office tasks like grading paperwork, arranging and facilitating parent and guardian interactions, routine issue feedback facilitating, and managing enrollment will all aid educators and free them up to spend more quality time teaching.
Customization and personalization will be advanced through AI in an attempt to teach students in a style in which they prefer to learn. Things like habits, lesson plans, reminders, study guides, flash notes can easily be generated on an individual basis.
Data Analysis
It seems the most obvious, but generative AI will turn more data into more value more quickly than ever in the upcoming years. It can scan, read, summarize, translate, analyze and troubleshoot even highly unstructured data that’s trapped in presentations, strategy papers, customer logs and the countless other documents that define your organization. Imagine scanning a newly released SEC file of a company’s earnings, and obtaining back the almost instantaneous effects on the company’s stock price. However, this “unclean” data is still somewhat rudimentary and can be difficult to accurately ascertain. As such, 44% of business leaders said that their companies are planning to implement data modernization efforts in 2024 to take better advantage of GenAI, according to the consulting firm PWC.
Ultimately, preparing for an AI-first world isn’t just about technological imperativeness, it’s a cultural shift. People leverage the strength of Artificial Intelligence because the work they need to carry out is rising on a daily basis. So automating everyday tasks is a smart idea. Keep an eye out for the areas mentioned and others as AI is a part of our everyday lives for the foreseeable future.
