When it comes to the business sphere, AI is making headway faster than ever before. Some reports predict that AI will grow into a $118.6 billion industry by 2025. AI in business is also becoming all the more important as the COVID pandemic continues.

For business professionals across all spheres, a realistic understanding of artificial intelligence and the promise of robotics, machine learning, and natural language processing is increasingly important. Here, Justin Palte, CMO at MasterStart, shares their views on the future of AI in business, and what businesses need to know. 

AI is an umbrella term for technology that extends beyond superficial calculations into deeper levels of analysis that were, until recently, only accomplished by humans. In 2018, roughly two-thirds of executives said that AI was important to their companies, and more than eight out of 10 predicted this would be the case today. About three-quarters expected major or significant benefits from the technology in terms of lower costs; increased revenues; and the ability to introduce new products or services, or to enter new businesses. 

Combining the latest powerful software with top-of-the-range hardware, AI tools are being used to transform many areas of everyday life, ranging from cancer research to navigation, and the technology has seen impressive utility as a business solution.

• What benefits can AI offer businesses? It is useful for companies to look at AI through the lens of business capabilities rather than technologies. “Broadly speaking, AI can support three important business needs: automating business processes, gaining insight through data analysis, and engaging with customers and employees,” writes the Harvard Business Review.
• You need to clearly define what you need from AI to make it work for you and your business. Clearly defining your use case and recognising what AI can (and can’t) do for your company will help you pin down how you could apply AI to your business. 
• AI in business processes offers solutions that can keep your company competitive. What's most important for business leaders to know is that AI is no longer some kind of mythical technology, but increasingly a key to competing effectively in today's marketplace. It has become all the more crucial for any sized business to investigate seriously what AI can offer them.
• Machine learning - If you’re going to learn about only one part of AI today, machine learning is probably the most important one. Machine learning is the application of AI that involves feeding data to algorithms. These are then used by machines or systems to learn how to execute a task and identify patterns. There has been rapid progress in machine learning in the last few years, and it is now the basis for some of the most impressive AI applications out there. Prominent examples of machine learning include Google Translate, facial recognition, and virtual assistants like the Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa. Cognitive insights provided by machine learning differ from those available from traditional analytics in three ways: They are usually much more data-intensive and detailed, the models typically are trained on some part of the data set, and the models get better over time.
• What are some of the current limitations of AI? AI projects are only as good and successful as the data they use. Vast amounts of quality data are required for AI to be suitably trained to execute tasks and perform as desired by a given business. Datasets may not be big or detailed enough. And while AI can outperform humans in certain tasks, they can’t be run without human intervention. Finding experts with the right skills to take on AI projects is a challenge for many businesses. 

As AI technology evolves, it increasingly plays a critical role in business, regardless of which industry a business finds itself in. And while AI still has its limitations, implementing AI in business processes is crucial for companies' continued competitiveness in the marketplace.