Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Flipboard 0 “Cortana?” “I’m listening…” “Define artificial intelligence.” “According to merriam-webster.com, the simple definition of artificial intelligence: ‘an area of computer science that deals with giving machines the ability to seem like they have human intelligence; the power of a machine to copy intelligent behavior.’” Ready or not, artificial intelligence is here; and it’s here to stay. Businesses and organizations that have taken an early lead in the adoption and use of artificial intelligence (be it natural language processing, machine learning, deep learning, or cognitive computing) are simply scratching the surface of its potential to not only improve sales, service, marketing and operations, but to discover and deliver new digital business models. In the 2017 Economist Intelligence Unit report, Artificial Intelligence in the Real World, 75% of more than 200 business executives surveyed said AI will be actively implemented in their companies within the next three years. And while many are wary of its potential to reduce human employment, 27% say introducing artificial intelligence to business will improve decision making; 26% believe it will improve customer service; 29% say it will improve operating efficiency; and 17% said it will increase sales revenue. Overall, 79% of the 200 executives surveyed around the globe believe artificial Intelligence will make their job easier and more efficient. To Disrupt, or Be Disrupted In leading digital transformation initiatives, artificial intelligence is playing a key role. A 2016 Narrative Science survey reports that 58% of enterprise business executives are already using predictive analytics within their organizations. Sixty-one percent (61%) of those who have an innovation strategy say they are using AI to identify opportunities in data that would otherwise be missed. Only 22% of respondents without a strategy could say the same. In the EIU survey referenced previously, organizations realize the potential for disruption. Almost half, 44%, worry delaying artificial intelligence implementation will make their business vulnerable to new, disruptive start-ups. Predictive Intelligence If the above statistics don’t spur further thought and faster action, these predictions may: By 2018, 75% of developer teams will include AI functionality in one or more applications or services – IDC FutureScapes 2017 By 2019, 40% of digital transformation initiatives – and 100% of IoT initiatives – will be supported by AI capabilities. – IDC FutureScapes 2017 By 2020, 30% of all companies will employ AI to augment at least one of their primary sales processes. – Gartner Predicts 2017: CRM Sales By 2020, insights-driven businesses will steal $1.2 trillion per annum from their less-informed peers. – Forrester Predictions 2017: Artificial Intelligence will Drive the Insights Revolution By 2020, the artificial intelligence market will surpass $40 billion. – Constellation Research By 2025, the artificial intelligence market will surpass $100 billion. – Constellation Research Ready or not, artificial intelligence is here, and here to stay – and organizations will need to learn to use it to be here to stay, as well. Twitter Tweet Facebook Share Email This article was written for Business 2 Community by Tricia Morris.Learn how to publish your content on B2C Author: Tricia Morris Follow @TriciaEMorris Tricia Morris is a customer experience thought leader championing both employee empowerment and transformational innovation to develop new business models, accelerate growth and engage customers at increasing expectation levels. Tricia currently serves as the director of product marketing at 8x8. Tricia has been recognized as an ICMI Top 50 Thought Leader, among the 20… View full profile ›More by this author:Digital Leaders’ Conversations No Longer Focusing on “Work from Home”8 Reasons to Move Your Contact Center to the Cloud7 Statistics that Show What Communication Silos are Costing Companies