Integrating artificial intelligence functions into a business’s day-to-day operations can greatly increase team productivity and efficiency, but it can also cause confusion or grief, if not done smoothly. So what are the most important things for business leaders to remember when considering adding AI functions to team’s procedures? Here is what members of the Young Entrepreneur Council have to say:
1. Create Business Value
It is imperative to take the time necessary to strategically plan for AI functionality introduction into your business procedures and processes. Select the right pilot project, relentlessly communicate with your team, and allow for the proper amount of time for end-user feedback and adoption. Most importantly, keep AI-focused initiatives on where they will create the most business value. – Susan Rebner, Cyleron, Inc.
2. Address Fears That AI Will Replace Jobs
One of the biggest fears of AI is that one can be replaced with it. A better way to present AI to your team is that it is not about displacing people but rather working with people: It is a tool that will empower them, help them do their jobs better and reduce mundane tasks. – Andrew Kucheriavy, Intechnic
3. Consider Process Changes
When you add AI to your business, there’s a good chance that various processes are going to change. You should think carefully about the impact artificial intelligence may have on how you’re currently doing things, and decide what you’ll do if something needs to change. Thinking ahead will save you time and effort when the AI goes live. – Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner
4. Create a List of Goals
Implementing AI into your business strategy isn’t all sunshine and rainbows — it means making a lot of necessary changes to adapt to new technology within your brand. It’s important to remember what you want AI to solve within your business before you make the official leap into adding it to your strategy because it’s difficult to go back. Create a list of goals you want to achieve with AI first. – Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights
5. Train Your Employees
AI systems aren’t a drop-in replacement for human workers, but they can speed up tasks, automate routine work and amplify productivity. AI works best in a symbiotic relationship with people, augmenting their capabilities, which means employees have to be trained to work effectively with AI systems. If you’re thinking of adding AI functions to your team, be prepared to help the team to adapt. – Corey Northcutt, Northcutt Enterprise SEO
6. Learn to Adapt
When you’re adding AI to your processes, you have to anticipate changes — both good and bad — that may come from your decision. Learning to adapt to various situations such as AI not working correctly, or a miscommunication between employees in new positions, will help you smooth the edges and implement AI into your business strategy. – David Henzel, LTVPlus
7. Don’t Start Too Big
Adding AI can be a daunting venture, especially if you try to do so on a grand scale. Instead, apply it to a small portion of your company’s data to see what the value and results actually are, and then perform an analysis as far as how and when to scale. Slow and steady, generally speaking, wins the race when it comes to first-timers implementing AI. – Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance
8. Clean Up Your Data
Since internal corporate data is typically spread throughout different legacy systems, they could end up in the wrong hands and in multiple data slots. If they have different priorities, this could mean trouble for your brand. Integrate different data sets together and sort out inconsistencies so you don’t have to worry about what happens to your data when adding AI functions. – Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster
9. Bring in Experts
AI can be difficult for some people to learn and comprehend, so make sure to bring in some experts to train your team. You, as a business owner, may understand the benefits of adding AI functions to your team’s procedures, but that doesn’t mean you can effectively teach your entire team about it. Experts will know exactly how to teach your team in a way they understand it. – Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
10. Have Reasonable Expectations
The term “artificial intelligence” is somewhat misleading because it causes people to assume this technology is much more advanced and capable than it really is. Just remember that AI can only accomplish so much and isn’t actually some kind of virtual brain from a science fiction story. Do the research and have reasonable expectations as to the practical applications of this technology. – Bryce Welker, Beat The CPA
11. Understand What AI Is Good At
AI functionality can significantly improve your team’s procedures, especially if they are repetitive ones. But be sure to fully understand what the AI functionality will be doing and exactly how it will be changing things within the process. If some tasks within a team’s procedure require someone to think creatively, then maybe AI isn’t the right answer. Just be sure to do your homework. – Dave Nevogt, Hubstaff