One of the most pivotal innovations that artificial intelligence offers small businesses is the ability to change the rules of engagement — a more level playing field. And its adoption in this size category has been stunning: According to Unbounce's recent Break Free: The State of AI Marketing for Small Business report, approximately 30% of small and medium-sized businesses are leveraging some form of artificial intelligence.
One overriding challenge, however, is that implementing the right tools is only half the battle: To be successful in applying this new technology, it's critical to equip employees with the guidelines and skills to make it both effective and profitable.
Some pathways for achieving that:
1. Set clear team expectations
As with any new technology, AI presents both advantages and potential risks, so it's critical to ensure that proper guardrails are in place to protect you, your company and its customers. This includes a clear and accessible policy, which should outline how AI can and should be used within an organization, which platforms are approved for its use and who is authorized to leverage it. This policy can and will evolve: Feel free to start simple and expand it as you implement more AI tools into existing processes.2. Training, training, training
While younger generations may be more intuitive when it comes to technology, this isn't the case for all employees. Before rolling out AI tools, it's important to provide a general overview of what it is and how it works. This training should include common terminology, understanding the differences among types (such as machine learning, deep learning and robotics), data cybersecurity, ethics and the challenges associated with AI biases.In addition, a team needs to understand this tech's current limitations. Too many people are jumping in blindly without grasping flaws or shortcomings that the human user needs to accommodate or otherwise address. For example, many platforms lack contextual understanding or the ability to incorporate human emotion, which can cause them to misinterpret input.
Continue reading: https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/6-ways-small-businesses-can-use-ai-more/455569