BY HANNAH POLK

For the Regina & District Chamber of Commerce

In the past few months, it seems like artificial intelligence (AI) has taken over the online world almost out of nowhere.

After ChatGPT, the all-knowing chatbot, was released in November 2022 it wasn’t long before social medias such as TikTok and Snapchat, and online mega-corporations such as Google, were releasing their own tools that incorporate AI.

Many schools are attempting to ban the use of ChatGPT, stating it discourages students to learn for themselves, but some bloggers and business owners are raving about the lighter workload AI can provide.

While there are some ethical debates surrounding AI use in instances where a person is taking credit for the work a robot did, there are also legitimate uses of AI your business could be taking advantage of.

Crunching numbers

The best thing about AI is the ability for it to take over mundane and repetitive tasks that would normally take someone hours to complete.

Things like simple data analysis or scanning the web for information, an AI can do in seconds.

This could translate to use in your business in cases where there are a lot of numbers involved or data needs to be sorted.

For example you could give an AI program a spreadsheet with hundreds of rows of information, then ask it to provide you with a written summary of the data trends.

That’s a full day’s work compacted into a few minutes, and time you can now spend working on other projects.

Consistent customer service

In a blogpost, the University of Pennsylvania points out that chatbots have already been used on the homepages of company websites for many years.

They can greet customers and provide a space for frequently asked questions.

“Chatbots allow companies to streamline their customer service processes and free up employees’ time for issues that require more personalized attention,” they wrote.

Analyzing customer habits

It can sometimes be difficult to understand the insights and metrics that social media or websites provide you when looking at audience engagement with your brand.

AI could help you get a feel for what the customer is thinking when they see your content.

“This might include using AI to scan through social media posts, reviews, and ratings that mention the brand,” wrote the University of Pennsylvania.

Known as sentiment analysis or emotion AI, it gives the business owner a sense of how consumers feel about the brand in a comprehensible way.

Overall, AI can be a legitimate option for your business and maybe in ways you hadn’t even thought of.

As long as you aren’t taking credit for any work an AI has completed for you, it can be a huge time-saver.