The Rise of Automation: 5 Ways AI Transforms Small Businesses

Our lives are intricately intertwined with artificial intelligence. From the phones in our hands to the machines doctors use in surgery, AI has become near indispensable. In the world of small businesses, AI and automation play a big role in running day-to-day business.

Though the idea of AI can be traced as far back as ancient Greece, automation is something that occurred closer to our timeline. It began with the industrial revolution and Charles Babbage’s prototype machine called The Analytical Engine and Ada Lovelace‘s program that was supposed to run on Babbage’s Analytical Engine. Sadly, Babbage died before his machine was completed.

Today, AI and automation are constant in the business world. Developers have been incorporating AI functionality to software applications used across different fields. Whether you run a large conglomerate or a small business, you will notice that you find yourself using more platforms and programs that automate certain steps or at least help in accomplishing those steps more quickly. Here, we list 5 more ways how AI aids small businesses.

5 Ways AI Transforms Small Businesses

AI makes things easier. We all use AI in our daily activities: when we run search engines, access social media, even when we buy things online. It has become such a part of our lives that we don’t even notice it anymore. AI is the same in small businesses and startups. Small businesses use AI to improve certain aspects of their processes and operations, effectively changing how things run.

1. Automating repetitive tasks in accounting

The use of artificial intelligence in accounting allows repetitive tasks to be completed more quickly, giving accountants more time to work on strategic and advisory tasks. Accounting websites have experts who use deep machine learning to address their client’s bookkeeping needs. This frees up a lot of man-hours and manpower that businesses can channel into other fruitful endeavors.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is an example of AI that you can put in place, which allows your workers to do repetitive and time-consuming tasks more efficiently and quickly. Much like most AI programs, RPA aims to reduce both cost and labor for businesses while increasing efficiency and the quality of your outputs.

2. Streamlining payroll and insurance processing

Something as integral as wages for your workers can pose quite a headache when payday comes around. Manual computation of hourly wages and worker’s comp insurance can be riddled with inaccuracies due to human error. These errors could spell legal trouble for your business in the end. With the advent of payroll websites and services that use AI, much of the human error factor is removed.

Today, there are apps and platforms that allow time-tracking, worker’s comp insurance, and payroll in real-time. They ensure that you are paying your workers the right amount, giving your workers the coverage they need and that you are covered from any nasty surprises and audits.

Because these apps run on artificial intelligence, you can count on them cutting your processing time by at least half while also cutting down the cost. Both of which are vital in running a small business.

3. Catering to customer needs

Artificial intelligence in small businesses has changed the way we cater to our customers. With everything happening in the world today, much of the business transactions done have migrated online. We now have more online shops to choose from, more grocery stores that offer online shopping and payment, and more food places to order online. During the pandemic, apps that offer COVID testing, where their nurses or therapists come to you instead of the other way around, come in handy.

All these things are made possible because of artificial intelligence. AI systems match customer data with the services that they are most interested in, changing the way businesses address their customers needs. This allows AI systems to predict customer behavior and present them with products they are most likely to avail, and at no time is it more apparent than today.

4. Improving customer support

The internet never sleeps, and with traffic in the interwebs getting heavier at all times of the day, having 24/7 support seems like a very good idea. However, as a small business, resources and manpower can only stretch so much at times. Hence, the usage of chatbots. Chatbots are run by AI systems and are programmed to address customer queries and needs based on data within the system. So even when your workers are off their shift and your operating hours have reached their close, your customers are still being catered to.

5. Improving marketing results

The interwebs are flushed with ads and marketing campaigns. These are ways for businesses to drum up more customers and interest in their services. AI makes it so that your ads will reach your target audience and point you in the right direction when it comes to looking for new clients. AI collates data from customers and puts them into categories that help businesses target their ads to people who will most likely buy from them. This brings in more customers and revenue and makes marketing more efficient than it used to be.

AI in the Future

The way that AI has been integrated into businesses and with it growing and helping improve lives, we can expect that AI will continue to make our lives and livelihood easier. Cybersecurity can become even more stringent. Security apps will be even more prevalent and effective in preventing sensitive data loss. We might be seeing more bots catering to customer needs, better-targeted ad campaigns, even more AI and robotics involvement in the field of medicine.

The impact of AI in our lives is undeniable. With artificial intelligence getting enmeshed in every aspect of our lives, the future looks to be filled with AI.