How Artificial Intelligence is Preparing Small Businesses for the Future of Consumerism

The sudden popularity of ChatGPT has brought mainstream awareness to the world of artificial intelligence (AI). In the years to come, artificial intelligence is set to be one of the most powerful technological breakthroughs for business management of the 21st Century. As we continually transition from brick-and-mortar entities to wholly online endeavors, AI has been positioned to deliver unparalleled data insights, greater optimization, and better security online.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, many businesses have sought to tackle digital transformation to better embrace online audiences. While this has proved challenging for some, others have opted to embrace the potential of AI to gain an advantage over their rivals in ways that weren’t possible when operations were largely physical.

As a branch of machine learning, artificial intelligence can work in tandem with vital processes for digital businesses, which can include autonomy, analytics, algorithmic recommendations, data mining, and improvement through learning.

For small businesses, this can help to secure growth without the necessity of gambling by taking on more personnel. Let’s take a deeper look at the processes that artificial intelligence can help to optimize for small businesses as a new age in consumerism beckons:

Forming a Relationship with Big Data

According to IDC researchers, unstructured big data is set to account for 80% to 90% of all data by 2025. While this presents challenges for businesses to interpret, there are also many solutions offered up through the power of artificial intelligence.

These swathes of big data can consist of email, documents, rich media files, web pages, social media, and plenty more sources of information. While this can be difficult for businesses to study, the quality of insights can be excellent when it comes to more efficient decision-making and a better understanding of the customer experience.

Otherwise known as ‘dark’ unstructured data, artificial intelligence can be excellent in working alongside machine learning to help gain better actionable insights into business optimization.

New AI solutions will even empower organizations to identify and sort relevant information and content without the need for significant levels of human guidance or intervention–better aiding small businesses to gain more powerful insights that can be acted upon.

Furthermore, machine learning can use this information to deliver more reactive IT and product support, help HR departments with operational insights, and offer more financial and sales assistance to businesses.

Delivering Data Alchemy

What’s more, is that Gartner data suggests that 60% of the data used in AI and analytics projects will be synthetically generated by 2024. This means that businesses will have the power to test new ideas and features online without having to rely on raw data from risky prototyping.

Platforms like Azure and Microsoft Intelligent Data Platform set about combining the raw information generated by databases, containers, and artificial intelligence in order to integrate fresh data insights that are straightforward to interpret and action.

These processes can help to essentially create the big datasets that are valuable to online businesses through exploring and understanding a series of raw channels.

As we prepare for the age of Web 3.0, and a brand new way for consumers to interact with brands online, our dependence on these AI data alchemy solutions will become stronger, and the value of their insights can provide a cutting edge over rivals within the same field.

Future Proofing Products

The value that AI holds across a range of sectors is clear, as indicated by Rajeev Tiwari, co-founder of Stemrobo Technologies.

In an interview with Analytics Insight, Tiwari was quick to highlight the potential of artificial intelligence insights in the world of EdTech, and how they can be used to optimize products based on how they’re being used.

“AI assists us in the game-playing of potential outcomes of each action and streamlining the decision-making process. We utilize AI to collect data on how kids learn a language and frequent errors among users who share the same mother tongue, as well as to uncover trends in how knowledge is remembered,” Tiwari explains.

“Artificial Intelligence (AI) can also track student performance, desired goals, learning history, and other data to deliver a highly customized learning experience with the right content, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction.”

Crucially, Tiwari acknowledges that AI is at its best as a ‘supplementary tool’, as opposed to a replacement for humans in the EdTech sector, and this sentiment is echoed throughout many industries.

These insights can shape product design at a time when the potential of businesses online is expanding at a great pace. The age of the metaverse is providing businesses with new opportunities to market themselves to customers in innovative ways.

For example, renowned fashion house Versace launched its own metaverse store in 2022, providing users with the opportunity to buy virtual clothing, footwear, jewelry, and perfumes as NFTs. The virtual store also featured its own avatar eyewear collection for users to buy which closely resembled the brand’s own iconic range of real-world spectacles.

Because of the volume of data produced by customers online when purchasing a product, these popularity levels and engagements in the metaverse can generate masses of ‘dark’ unstructured data that can be utilized by AI, contextualized in line with the marketing campaigns of the time, and laid out for business leaders to interpret accordingly.

The Next Generation of Security

Artificial intelligence doesn’t just help businesses to gain valuable insights into marketing strategies and sales performance, it can also safeguard small businesses from cyber attacks.

With more than 50% of SMEs set to experience a ransomware attack at some point in their lifetime, this can lead to masses of data stored on platforms like QuickBooks or Salesforce being lost or rendered inaccessible.

However, security firms like FatBrain have been utilizing AI for free services like RansomProof, which works by continually backing up essential data without the need for consultants or prior technical expertise.

All the data backed up on FatBrain’s servers are automatically encrypted and distributed across multiple servers operating on the highest industry standards.

For businesses undergoing digital transformation, it’s incontrovertible that artificial intelligence can be a major tool in ensuring that optimized processes and safety is assured at all times.

As many businesses of all sizes look forward to the next generation of consumerism, it’s likely that AI will be front and center throughout the future frontiers brought about by Web 3.0.