Implementing AI in companies
Today, many companies are investing heavily in Artificial Intelligence and Big Data and believe that these technologies will help them with their digital transformation. By using data analysis and Artificial Intelligence capabilities, such as automatic learning or decision-making based on these data, companies in all sectors can optimize and automate their processes to increase profitability.
According to a recent study by IDC, Artificial Intelligence represented $12 billion in market investment in 2017. By 2021, that figure is expected to rise to $57.6 billion. The company has predicted that 40% of digital transformation projects will be based on Artificial Intelligence by 2019. In addition, 75% of business tools will use this technology by 2021.
But which sectors are implementing this technology? Which sectors are leaders in AI use? Which sectors are beginning to use AI and which ones are failing behind? How is AI being used in each industry?
Artificial Intelligence use in different business sectors
Banking and finance
According to the same IDC study, the banking and finance sector is currently at the forefront of investment in Artificial Intelligence. However, it is expected to be replaced by the retail sector throughout the year, which is investing heavily in this technology.
Banking and finance companies will spend around $3.3 billion this year on fraud investigation projects, credit risk calculations and threat prevention systems.
According to Accenture, “automation, bots, automatic learning and adaptive intelligence are becoming part of the financial team at a high speed.”
Processes such as digitization, auditing, traceability of policy compliance and automation of frequent customer queries are some areas of application.
Retail
The retail sector appears to be the leading investor in Artificial Intelligence. According to IDC, retail companies are planning to invest $3.4 billion by the end of the year, surpassing investment by the banking and finance industry.
This investment in Artificial Intelligence by the retail industry will be carried out in different areas, such as customer service, expert advice on purchases and operations related to multiple channels.
Manufacturing
The manufacturing sector trails the retail sector in investment, spending $2 billion on intelligent solutions annually.
Companies in the manufacturing sector are increasingly convinced that innovation in Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things are the key to being competitive in a hyperconnected world. With data analytics and Artificial Intelligence, we can talk about Industry 4.0, in which Artifical Intelligence provides robotization, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and nanotechnology.
Healthcare
In the IDC ranking, the healthcare sector is fourth in spending. It invested $1.7 billion in Artificial Intelligence this year.
Some of the solutions based on Artificial Intelligence that are currently being used in the healthcare sector are: telediagnosis, intelligent emergency triage, individualized follow-up of each patient at a genetic level, virtual nurses and surgery performed by robots, among others.
Energy
According to a study by Infosys, 29% of energy companies worldwide say they have implemented solutions based on Artificial Intelligence and are satisfied with the results obtained. Only 4% of companies in the sector say they have no plans to incorporate AI into their processes.
The solutions implemented by these companies are tend to be focused on some key areas. For instance, smart grids in the supply chain are capable of forecasting energy supply and demand, making intelligent analysis in real time or detecting errors and fraud. Other solutions include predictive maintenance and energy efficiency.
Logistics and transport
Artificial Intelligence is making important advances in the transport sector. These include self-driving cars, radars to detect obstacles and pedestrians, intelligent search for free parking spaces and route optimization.
These developments have a direct impact on logistics. For example, self-driving cars can be used 24 hours a day without depending on the driver´s work hours. Together with the other solutions mentioned above, the logistics sector can save time, kilometers and fuel. This translates to lower costs and higher profitability.
While some of these technologies are still in development, Intel and Strategy Analytics expect these solutions to move around $7 billion into the market by 2050.
Insurance
In the insurance sector, Artificial Intelligence is mainly used in the areas of customer service, production and innovation. For example, using Chatbots to resolve questions that customers have 24 hours a day, identifying possible new products and trends through customer data, automating tasks and detecting fraud.
According to Gartner, although only 5% of insurance companies are currently using this technology, that figure will increase significantly over the next 10 years, especially in customer service and fraud detection.
Education
According to a study carried out by Stanford University, education will be the sector that will undergo the most change between now and 2030. The main factor in this transformation will be the ability to personalize education for each student and adapt teaching to their needs and capabilities.
The study underscores that the applications of this technology in the educational field will be mainly in virtual reality, educational robotics, intelligent tutoring systems and learning analytics.
Tourism
Many AI-based solutions are already being used in the tourism sector and others are being developed. The use of Chatbots to provide information and assistance to travellers is the most common AI solution currently in use. In fact, according to a Travelzoo report, 80% of travel assistants will be robots by 2020.
In addition, other tools are being developed that will make travelling a totally personalized and agile experience. For example: robots for hotel reception; virtual check-in and check-out; traveler identification systems through facial recognition to access rooms and certain services; virtual tourist guides; and predictive services for personalized offers and trips.
The key to this digital transformation lies in harnessing the potential offered by machines and using their processing capacity to efficiently and accurately analyze large amounts of data. These technologies can also help facilitate the implementation of increasingly intelligent systems to detect patterns, automate processes and speed up decision-making.
