Do we know enough to live in an evolving AI world?

It comes as no surprise that AI is becoming a trend again. Again, you say? That’s right! It has not always been the ‘in style’ technology. The year 2000, (I had the Busted song jump into my head too) saw the IT bubble burst and AI was known for its search technologies, shortly taken over by Google and made trendy again. AI is a fickle friend that when an element goes wrong, the good aspects are made into a new technology or product and AI as it should be is fundamentally forgotten.

When professionals start to look at AI, it ends up becoming a digital transformation throughout the whole company. That is what it is all about, playing catch up with all the competitors around you.

“It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!”

Too much data in your business?

For many companies out there, gaining insight into the data required and having enough is never the problem. In fact, it is having too much to handle that causes a predicament and teams are playing catch up just to organise what they have currently.

It is important to try and do smart things with your data, as it needs to be in a good state before considering AI as a possibility. But, why can’t AI clear up my data for me you ask? Well, without data guardianship, you will not have any data to do anything with. AI can interpret and adapt what you have, not create it from scratch. That is why human and AI collaboration is so incredibly vital.

AI is being introduced into our lives daily, in the form of Alexa for example. On a human level, Alexa understands the human language and interprets it. People and businesses generally do not know what the data means or what it can be used for. Applied artificial intelligence can provide huge successes for a business if implemented correctly.

You will not go anywhere when staying in your comfort zone, whether it be new clients, team members or investors - people want to be associated with something that will succeed not fail. We are consistently driven by the insights and knowledge we are trying to find.

In the industry, there are the 5 C’s to AI strategy:

• Customers
• Competition
• Costs
• Create
• Capitalise

What are the consequences of a digital skills gap in professionals?

Finding a professional that holds the skills for data testing, behaviour psychology, coding, automation, conversion rate optimisation and AI … is a difficult task!

Oh, and don’t forget the working practical experience along with degree knowledge. As we mentioned in part one and part two of our AI focus, universities are now introducing courses and qualifications that will give new professionals the knowledge to go straight into an AI industry.

It is essential for us to form professionals that are different to normal marketeers, so they can harness the traditional processes but also optimise the AI and coding intelligence. A study shows that 80% of executives thought AI was classed as a competitive advantage to learn. Only a few weeks ago, the study proved that professionals 18 months into their AI careers are now investing more time and effort into learning more. The evidence to show the return investment in AI technology is staking up!

DID YOU KNOW: Within an AI structure, it is the marketing team that utilises it the most and could do with learning this information!

When a selection of companies was asked the question; Does your company have the resources to teach you about AI and use it? Do you research yourself? The responses show that the process of getting AI intelligence into our professionals is not moving quick enough:

• 13% said they know very little about AI, if at all
• 17% have taken online studies to learn more but realise how complex it is
• 4% said their company can offer them a thing or two with regards to knowledge
• 78% said there are no applications available for them to learn about AI

Bridging the gap between AI to the online and offline world

The rate at which people are staring at their phones has increased. Who here can sit on a train, look up and see anyone not on their phone. I personally see perhaps one person on a laptop standing out from those on their phones.

We need to design rules that are based on real world behaviour, behaviour that is happening here and now – not fifty years ago.

Retailers now have the capability to map the physical world around them to show where their business is, how many have visited and where they sit in relation to their competitors.

We are not given a reason to look anymore, as everything we could need to know to survive and explore is on our phones! For those companies out there, who do not invest in this research, a word to the wise – your competitors know exactly where you are and who is going to your stores!

Do not get me wrong - due to GDPR in Europe it is restrictive unless you participate for this information to be accessed, but times are changing and soon enough all your competitors need to know will be everywhere for them to find.

‘Near’ is a company who are at the forefront of this technology with their advanced data – AllSpark 3.0. Sounding like a cross between the Transformers source of power in the movie, and an advanced robot, the AllSpark 3.0 gives companies access to advanced data capabilities along with assisting the marketing teams to know where to spend the budget. Not including information that can help you pinpoint what locations are best for setting up new stores and how close your competitors are to your customer base.

The AllSpark turns all data into actionable intelligence and helps you to get to know your customers beyond the stores. It transfers online data into the physical world and reduced decision-making time. For large companies that may want to know where it is best to open their next ten stores, the AllSpark can decrease the decision-making process by up to 37%. (This has been tried and tested with a US retailer)

If you are ready to know the fifteen to twenty-year view of the world then these products will be revolutionary in being used. "Don’t be left behind in a world that waits for no-one."