Putting Artificial Intelligence to Work

IN RECENT YEARS, artificial intelligence (AI) has left the machine room and entered the world of mainstream business. Today’s AI algorithms already support remarkably-accurate machine sight, hearing and speech, and can access global repositories of information. Thanks to deep learning and other advanced techniques, a staggering level of growth in data, and continuing advances in raw processing power, AI performance continues to improve, leading to an explosion in AI-enabled business applications.

As always, this new era will have winners and losers. But our research suggests that if current patterns continue, the separation between the two could be especially dramatic and unforgiving. In this article we will offer practical guidance for introducing and spreading AI within large organizations.

Artificial Intelligence in Action

Despite the increase in AI-enabled business applications, significant adoption of AI in business remains low. According to our survey, only one in 20 companies has extensively incorporated AI. Nevertheless, every industry includes companies that are ahead of the pack. The following uses demonstrate how pervasive AI already is — and how effective it can be in creating value.

MARKETING AND SALES. AI gives companies the opportunity to offer customers personalized service, advertising and interactions. The stakes are huge: Brands that integrate advanced digital technologies and proprietary data to create personalized experiences can increase revenue by six to 10 per cent — two to three times the rate among brands that don’t. In retail, healthcare and financial services alone, $800 billion in revenue will shift toward the top 15 per cent of personalization companies during the next five years.

Many best practices of successful personalization have emerged in fast-moving retail environments. One global retailer, for example, used a loyalty app’s smartphone data — including location, time