Technology is booming everywhere you look, and the evolving subject of AI is impossible to ignore. Yes, AI can definitely help your team work smarter, instead of harder, but overuse can cause frustration for your employees and customers. Here are a few things to think about when you’re evaluating how and where to incorporate AI in your business:
AI Security still has a lot of gray area
Data leaks have significantly increased over the past year with one study finding that over 30% of business owners admitted they had experienced some data leakage when testing and implementing AI tools. Ensuring that safe information is entered into AI tools is one element to consider, but it’s also important to have a strong understanding of where that data lives long term and who else has access to it. This is true even for AI tools that claim to be “secure” or where you have paid accounts or subscriptions. If you have access to Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Personal Health Information (PHI), you’ll need to be particularly cautious about what tools your employees are using and what data they are plugging into those tools. And keep in mind that employees may be using AI tools you’re not aware of, so communication on what is allowed is critical as you build awareness around best practices and “rules” for AI usage at your company.
Quick Auto-Responses Don’t Always Serve You Well
We have all come to expect responses from people instantly – instant gratification and instant reaction has become a normal expectation. It can be tempting to utilize AI to automate a large part of your client and customer interaction, but this is only helpful to a point. In a world that is increasingly (and ironically) more connected technologically, but less connected personally – you don’t want your clients to lose sight of why they love you. It’s not because you responded instantly to their request for help though a chat bot, it’s because they can reach out to you in an urgent time of need and count on you to solve a problem for them. Relationships and results build businesses, so don’t forget how important it is for your team to continue to get to know your clients, have a direct line to them, and foster a connection that reminds your clients of the value you provide.
Incorporating AI Effectively is All About Bridging Gaps
It’s true that AI is taking jobs and will continue to take jobs. Now is the time to get ahead of the curve. It’s estimated that thousands of jobs have been lost to AI in the past couple of years alone, but AI is also creating jobs in new areas. As a business leader, your people are still your biggest asset – but how you think about their work is your biggest opportunity. Talk to your top performing employees to get a sense of what they feel are the biggest challenges and opportunities, but also where they feel are the biggest gaps in your current technology and processes. Creating an in-house team with a focus on identifying areas where AI could make the biggest positive impact on everyone’s work and productivity is a great way to get practical insight on areas where AI could add real value to your work and streamline processes. And it’s also a great way to gain employee support for new tools.
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