A recent report detailed the many reasons why 95% of AI pilot programs had failed for enterprise businesses. Small to medium businesses that had high hopes for cutting budgets with the help of AI had those hopes dashed when they realized how many large companies saw a 0% return on investment.
Does that mean AI is dead before it even really got started?
Of course not. But it does mean that small and medium businesses may want to be more careful about AI adoption. Choosing winning ways to implement AI rather than throwing everything they have at AI programs is the way to get the biggest benefit from this new technology.
There are three key ways businesses already use AI that have been proven time and again. If you’re hoping to implement AI for your business, consider starting here.
Define AI Success Before You Begin
Before you start throwing AI tools at everything within your organization, take some time to determine what success would look like for your brand. By determining the desired outcome before you begin your AI journey, you can avoid “shiny object syndrome” and just focus on the tools that will further your goals.
Buy Trusted AI Tools; Don’t Build
With a goal in mind, you can begin seeking the AI tools that will help you achieve success. Many enterprise-level organizations make the mistake of attempting to build an AI solution that caters to their exact needs. This is why so many companies have seen zero return on their investment.
Instead, seek out tools that are already tried and trusted. You’ll be able to quickly implement these tools without worrying about bugs and delays. Sure, they may not have all the bells and whistles you need, but if they can save you some time and manpower, you’ll already be ahead of those still laboring to devise the perfect AI solution on their own.
Focus on Repetitive Tasks
One area where established AI tools have proven success rates is in rote tasks. This could include invoicing, reporting, scheduling, marketing personalization and automation, employee or client onboarding, and more. Really, whatever repetitive tasks you deal with on a regular basis, those could possibly be turned over to an AI program.
The benefit of choosing AI tools for these tasks is that you experience an immediate return on your investment. With your time—or another employee’s time—cleared up, what else could you get done instead?
With these three ways to use AI firmly in mind, you can begin to implement programs that actually help you rather than draining your budget or killing all your time. To further help you save time, money, and sanity, we’ve created a list of the must-haves, nice-to-haves, and those AI programs where you might want to watch your step. You can download that here or click the banner below.
