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Advances in generative AI mean that disruptions that once took decades can now occur in a matter of months. This promises immense economic opportunity: PwC estimates that, by 2030, AI could pump $15.7 trillion into the global economy.
Many think that these gains will come from tech giants like Apple and Microsoft, but that is simply not the case. I believe that more than half of the potential value created by AI across various industries could come from completely new businesses and applications that don’t exist today.
However, a common threat hindering entrepreneurial innovation is the reduction of the AI revolution to a mere IT problem. Entrepreneurs who want to play the long game should view AI not as a matter of technology, but as a fundamental shift in how they innovate and do business.
Related: How to Leverage Artificial Intelligence to Power Your Business
Artificial intelligence should be part of your business model
If it’s not, you’re already failing and still have some catching up to do. I’m not saying this out of shock, but because I can see the writing on the wall. In a competitive world where the slightest advantage in speed or innovation can mean the difference between surviving and thriving, it’s hard to imagine that your competitors aren’t already thinking about or leveraging AI.
In fact, any organization, regardless of industry, could and should incorporate AI into their operations. No matter what function you consider, from operations and HR to IT and customer service, generative AI can and will transform the way we work.
If you’re not convinced you need to act now, look at what happened in the early days of the Internet. As I evangelized the World Wide Web, I saw many business owners and executives view the Internet as a new form of communication relevant only to their IT department. As a result, they were reluctant to quickly invest in online technologies and they failed or became obsolete.
Today I’m seeing a similar thing happen with generative AI. Those who think it doesn’t apply to them or who see it as just another buzzword are simply not seeing the big picture. And they are destined to pay a very high price.
Related: The Secret to How Businesses Can Fully Harness the Power of AI
How to incorporate artificial intelligence into your business
It’s one thing to recognize and embrace the power of generative AI to transform business operations. It’s another to harness this power responsibly and constructively. While this technology can revolutionize any aspect of your business, there is definitely a wrong way and a right way to implement it.
Become an AI expert and practice what you preach:
For any AI initiative to take root, you need an organizational culture that is both receptive to its potential and aware of its pitfalls. I always urge leaders to go beyond surface-level automation tasks and think more deeply about the ways AI can shape future processes.
I see too many leaders who preach AI but don’t really know how to use this technology themselves. Before incorporating AI into your products and services, you must first apply this technology to your operations. You can do this by developing your know-how on what makes an AI service provider legitimate and what some of the potential pitfalls are that can put your data and operations at risk.
This knowledge must then extend to your workforce. While many of these tools are free and accessible to all, your employees need to know how to evaluate and implement them into their workflows without inadvertently jeopardizing your business.
Focus and execute in small measurable goals:
You need to understand what you need AI to do for your business. Automate repetitive tasks, improve customer service via chatbots, or analyze sales data to predict future trends? By identifying specific, measurable goals, you can avoid the trap of implementing AI just for the sake of it and instead focus on solving real-world problems that directly impact your bottom line.
Then, implement AI in small, manageable areas of your business where it can have an immediate impact. For example, if your goal is to improve customer service, start by integrating a simple AI chatbot that can handle basic requests. This allows you to evaluate both the effectiveness of AI in your operations and the ability of your team to adapt.
Finally, establish clear metrics for success before the AI solution is implemented and regularly analyze its performance against these benchmarks. This could result in increased customer satisfaction scores, decreased response times, or decreased operational costs.
Get the most out of your data:
Part of creating an environment that enables the successful adoption of AI is raising awareness of how data is generated, stored and used. When a process is updated or replaced by a new one, how is the data optimized and incorporated into the rest of your ecosystem?
While most businesses sit on mountains of data, many aren’t taking full advantage of it. AI gives you low-cost opportunities to change that. But first you need to ensure that the data is of good enough quality to be used in decision making. If your data is poor or insufficient, your first port of call should be to address this issue. By ensuring your data is accurate and actionable, you unlock the potential of AI to transform underutilized data into actionable insights, driving efficiency and competitive advantage.
Act responsibly and put guardrails in place:
63% of organizations with annual revenue of $50 million or more rate AI adoption as a high or very high priority, but 91% of them do not feel ready to implement it responsibly. That’s because embedding AI into your business processes and technical infrastructure makes you vulnerable to unexpected threats.
Regardless of the size of your organization, if you haven’t already done so, now is the time to implement robust governance mechanisms that support and ensure ethical and responsible use of AI technologies.
There are many areas you need to consider here. How will you be transparent with your customers about your use of AI? What are your privacy policies? How do you protect your confidential data and that of your customers? Implementing any AI initiative before answering these questions exposes you to unnecessary risk.
Related: The Barriers and Opportunities for Generative AI in Corporate Workplaces
Just because AI is ubiquitous, doesn’t mean you have to rush it. Implementing technology without thinking about strategy, business processes and governance can be much more expensive than not using AI at all.
Then, harness the potential of AI with clear, measurable milestones. Start small and start today. Be smart about the direction you want your business to go and how you can leverage and innovate with AI. What are some of the problems, challenges and opportunities we have yet to see in this landscape that you can start working on today? This forward-thinking mentality is what will distinguish the exceptional from the rest and this is what will give you the greatest long-term advantage.