A businessperson at a desk using an AI chatbot.
A businessperson at a desk using an AI chatbot.

How AI Is Used in Business

by Walsh University Online

Data analysis has always been vital to business administration. Improvements in computing and data storage now enable organizations to track and analyze more types of data than ever. However, the more information an organization has to work with, the harder it can be to filter out irrelevant data and identify meaningful trends.

For that reason, businesses in every sector are integrating artificial intelligence (AI) technology into everything from marketing to information security. While professionals studying for business administration careers don’t necessarily need to be AI experts, understanding how AI is used in business can help them steer their organizations through the rapidly changing technological landscape.

What Is AI?

AI is a broad set of technologies that enable computers to simulate human intelligence. With AI, a computer can process new information, recognize trends in that information and make decisions based on its findings. To learn how to execute these functions, AI-enabled programs must typically be trained on vast data sets.

Generative AI vs. Predictive AI

Broadly, AI systems gather information from datasets and produce outputs using prediction methods. However, the type of AI may determine the size of the dataset and the type of output, which may be useful in specific contexts. Generative AI pulls from large, broad datasets to create new content. Predictive AI, on the other hand, targets smaller, more specific datasets and analyzes existing content to make predictions about future outcomes. Businesses can leverage both generative and predictive AI tools to maximize productivity, identify potential risks and streamline information systems.

How AI Is Used in Marketing

According to a 2023 survey conducted by consulting firm McKinsey & Co., 34% of businesses use AI for sales and marketing. This makes marketing one of the most prevalent examples of AI use in business.

Marketing professionals often use AI to do the following:

  • Gather large amounts of consumer data from social media sites, surveys and other unstructured data sources.
  • Use predictive AI to forecast future consumer trends by training a program with past data, which can inform everything from ad campaigns to production quotas.
  • Measure competitor performance based on online presence. An AI program might monitor social media posts to determine how satisfied a competitor’s customers are, how much market share the competitor holds and other key performance indicators (KPIs).
  • Use generative AI to create marketing content, such as social media posts, blogs, advertisements, and videos. *The image for this blog was created with generative AI using Adobe Firefly.

While a team of marketing experts can perform these duties themselves, employing AI can help them gather data quickly and identify market needs in real-time.

How AI Is Used in Customer Service

In today’s e-commerce economy, meeting customer needs can be difficult. Even small businesses have customers all over the world who need different types of support at different times. To overcome these issues, many business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) companies use AI chatbots.

Chatbots are generative AI programs that process natural language patterns and engage in lifelike conversations. When employed on a company’s website or application, AI chatbots can do the following:

  • Provide 24/7 customer support.
  • Provide support in multiple languages.
  • Help clients schedule appointments.
  • Walk customers through common troubleshooting procedures.
  • Assess customer issues and route them to human support specialists when needed.

By automating basic customer service tasks, companies can reduce customer wait times and allow support personnel to spend more time on complex issues. Because of these advantages, health care providers commonly employ AI chatbots.

All sectors of the economy are adopting AI chatbots. According to a Forbes survey of about 600 business owners, 73% of businesses use or plan to use AI chatbots in the very near future.

How AI Is Used in Cybersecurity

In 2023, IBM reported that the average cost of a single data breach was about $4.45 million. Even if a company can absorb the financial blow, data breaches put an organization’s customers and employees at risk of falling victim to fraud. To prevent breaches and other types of cyberattacks, companies often employ AI-powered cybersecurity software.

In cybersecurity, predictive AI software can be used to do the following:

  • Conduct threat assessments and identify vulnerabilities. This can include conducting mock attacks and security audits.
  • Identify suspicious activity patterns, such as repeat withdrawals and the creation of fake accounts.
  • Immediately freeze operations when suspicious activity occurs.

Because cyberattack measures evolve as rapidly as cybersecurity measures, AI security systems must still be closely monitored. For example, hackers often use a tactic called data poisoning in which they use fake data to train security systems to ignore suspicious activity.

How AI Is Used in IT Operations

Implementing AI in business often requires a robust, interconnected information technology (IT) network overseen by experienced engineers. However, when a network comprises hundreds of users and a mix of on-site and cloud storage servers, implementing any kind of new technology can be a challenge. Artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps) platforms can help IT professionals bring all of these moving parts together.

While there are many types of AIOps platforms, IT professionals often use them to do the following:

  • Map out an organization’s network.
  • Pinpoint problems in complex networks.
  • Monitor metrics and performance data across an entire network.
  • Prioritize alerts, and reduce the amount of irrelevant warnings.
  • Automatically schedule and perform routine maintenance.
  • Assist users with low-level IT issues, allowing IT professionals to spend more time on high-level tasks.

AIOps platforms can also help IT professionals identify data silos. Data silos are stores of data that are accessible to only one department or group. They’re often one of the biggest obstacles to overcome when implementing company-wide data analysis technology.

How AI Is Used in Business Operation Management

Many examples of how AI is used in business concern analyzing data from outside one’s own organization. However, AI can be just as useful in gathering information about internal processes as well.

Departmental managers and quality assurance professionals can use predictive AI programs to do the following:

  • Identify bottlenecks in supply chains and production lines.
  • Report unbiased data about employee, departmental and organizational performance.
  • Perform comparative analyses of organizational performance at different points in time.
  • Perform predictive analyses to make projections about how investments, new initiatives and general economic conditions might affect performance.

Using AI to streamline internal processes can have major benefits. According to the 2023 McKinsey & Co. survey, 50% of companies that used AI to streamline human resources (HR) functions saw a decrease in operating costs. The same was true for 46% of companies that used AI for supply chain management and 34% of companies that used it for other various internal functions.

Learn How to Leverage Data and AI to Advance Your Career

As transformative as AI can be, there may be numerous barriers to using it effectively. Employees must be properly trained, networks must be reconfigured and secured and, above all else, data must be gathered and used ethically.

“We live in a society that is data rich, but information poor,” Dr. Philip Kim, associate professor of business at Walsh University, said. “The challenge for businesses is not access to more data, but what actionable steps can we make with the data we already have? These AI tools we're introducing can help future business leaders make better and wiser decisions.”

Walsh University offers an Online MBA with a Data Analytics track and a Marketing track that can teach you to lead your organization over these obstacles and more. We also offer an Accelerated track, which allows you to earn your MBA in as little as 10 months. 

With six intakes per year, these programs are a great option for working students and those wishing to advance their current careers.

In the Data Analytics track, classes such as Analytics for Business Intelligence, students learn how to make and communicate decisions using complex statistical and analytical methods. Through classes on database architecture, information systems and other technical subjects, students develop vital computer science skills through hands-on learning exercises. By approaching these topics through a managerial lens, the Online MBA prepares students to apply their analytical know-how to high-level leadership roles.

To find out more, contact the Walsh University Online admissions team today.

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