All the way back in 2017, Accenture was already trumpeting Artificial Intelligence’s potential to increase corporate profitability by 38% by 2035; but it is safe to say that AI is changing our lives more than we even predicted - even if we don’t always notice it.

Its imperceptible ability to make our lives more convenient makes AI one of the most transformational technologies of this digital age, revolutionizing how businesses compete and grow. 

The new habits bred by the pandemic means that digital transformation is only accelerating. PWC found that 52% of companies have accelerated their AI adoption plans because of the COVID crisis. And, with the global artificial intelligence market predicted to reach $641.3 billion by 2028, AI is going to play a big role in the digital future.

With that being said, businesses have a greater need to act on this opportunity and develop new strategies around AI, primed to elevate user journeys, optimize sales and provide smart personalized cross-sells and up-sells. 

By 2023, organizations using artificial intelligence for processes such as Digital Commerce will achieve at least a 25% improvement in customer satisfaction, revenue or cost reduction.

With AI increasing efficiency and customer experience, it’s no wonder that 86% of companies say that AI is now a “mainstream technology” at their company.

What is AI?

AI is intelligence demonstrated by machines. It’s machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing and predictive analytics. A collection of technologies that excel at extracting insights and patterns from large data sets, AI uses these insights to make predictions about behaviors, helping businesses get more value out of the data they have.

The development of AI is revolutionizing the way we interact with the world. Artificial intelligence is becoming a staple for businesses to transform their customer experience.

Make the most of your data 

Today, your ability to meet customer expectations, whether it’s through tailored real-time interactions or 24/7 assistance, relies heavily on data. And so does AI. 

If your data is inaccessible or disorganized, you’ll never unlock the real power of artificial intelligence. 

One of AI’s greatest assets is its learning ability. Business leaders understand the power of AI in their business, allowing them to build a data foundation and create insights engines that produce optimal solutions and agile business processes. 

To reap the rewards of AI, your data (both customer and commercial) needs to be pooled into a fully integrated platform. That way, AI can access all your relevant, real-time data and empower your business to make smarter decisions.

AI unearths the right data to predict next-best actions – be it sales, marketing or service interactions for each customer. AI and big data can also help you automate 80% of all physical work, 70% of data processing work, and 64% of data collection tasks.

By analyzing your own sales data, you can also predict the needs of users and use it to optimize your product availability. 

The results? 61% of employees say AI helps to improve their productivity.

Deliver highly personalized customer experiences 

The moment you think you have customer behavior nailed down, it changes, making personalizing every customer’s experience an ongoing battle.

But, with 84% of customers saying being treated like an individual is key to winning their business, personalization has to be a priority.

Instead of relying on broad segmentation for basic personalization, AI helps you target customers at a more granular level. 

AI provides real-time customer insights. It has the bandwidth to analyze every data point to create a complete view of every customer – from click through rates to order history and purchasing behavior. It can anticipate and evolve with your customers. 

AI automatically finds key characteristics, patterns and relationships to build profiles on your customers so you can build your marketing and upselling strategy around your buyers. With this information it targets individual customers with customized product recommendations. 

AI could be the breakthrough in tech that changes your customer experience forever.  

Enterprises have a head-start

Regardless of industry, there is a greater need to capitalize on this opportunity and introduce AI to processes, creating new business capabilities that lead to profitability and growth. 

But the enterprise use of AI grew 270% over the past 4 years.

Businesses across industries are using AI to make customer experiences more convenient. From evaluating propensity to buy and pricing optimization, to chatbots and personalization. 

And despite all the talk of nimble and disruptive start-ups, an abundance of data means enterprises actually have a head start on artificial intelligence. 

Enterprises have the wealth of proprietary data to train and develop machine learning algorithms that most start-ups simply don’t have. And, with 84% of businesses saying AI will enable them to obtain or sustain a competitive advantage, you don’t want to be left looking enviously at your competitors’ AI-powered experiences.

Use AI to meet today and tomorrow’s expectations 

We’re only seeing the start of what artificial intelligence can do for your business.

According to the World Economic Forum's "The Future of Jobs Report 2020", AI is expected to replace 85 million jobs worldwide by 2025. Though that sounds scary, the report goes on to say that it will also create 97 million new jobs in that same timeframe.

From sales and marketing to customer service and Digital Commerce – artificial intelligence could play a role in every part of your business. 

Whether you want to use data more effectively in business decisions, or offer the low-click, personalized customer experiences that are fast becoming the norm, an AI-enabled platform should sit high on your priority list.