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It’s hard to miss the wave of hype around generative AI.
Many firms are investing in generative artificial intelligence – in line with a Sequia Capital estimates – because they fear being left behind. At the same time, many are paralyzed by fear that the hallucinations of generative AI could damage their reputations. So what should founders, business leaders and investors know and do about the AI boom to make the most and ensure their space investments prove profitable?
There are two important industries – retail and healthcare – that are implementing generative AI applications that look like creating significant value and interesting potential that might provide insights for others to implement.
As an associate professor of management practice at Babson College with experience that features working at an artificial intelligence startup while at MIT and authoring three books on the dot-com boom, I have a deep understanding of technology waves and their economic impacts. For my latest book, I used to be inspired to explore this latest technological wave and significant shift in the artificial intelligence landscape, Brain Rush: How to Invest and Compete in the Real World of Online Business.
It goes without saying that everybody should try using an AI chatbot like ChatGPT to allay their concerns and learn how it may possibly help them and where it’s not working well. But will the advantages of generative AI-based services make customers willing to purchase them at a higher price? Of course, it’s too early to know.
Based on the investments that retail and healthcare firms are making in generative applications of AI, here are the initial insights emerging for founders, business leaders and investors in other industries to start out capitalizing on the AI boom.
Create latest growth curves
Retailers are seeking to leverage generative AI to draw and keep consumers shopping. 2024 Google Cloud Report found that fifty% of surveyed retailers were starting customer support automation initiatives, “with 25% of respondents currently piloting such programs and 22% already implementing them.”
As retailers check out other generative uses of AI, here are two that have the best potential to draw and retain consumers:
- Hyperpersonalization. Artificial intelligence could enable retailers to create digital leaflets informing consumers about the best weekly deals based on their past purchases. A test of such digital flyers conducted for a retailer showed greater consumer engagement – notably a 14% higher loyalty program sign-up rate, a 100% increase in click-through rate, and a “2% to 5% increase in total store sales,” in line with (*2*)Oliver Wyman Forum.
- Improved customer support. Consumers prefer an AI-generated customer support agent because it is available 24 hours a day and reduces call wait times, Oliver Wyman noted. According to them, generative AI could increase productivity in the retail and consumer packaged goods industry by “up to 2% of annual revenues – an additional $400-660 billion.” Brain fever.
A hyper-personalized digital flyer guarantees to generate ROI because it may possibly speed up growth. However, time will tell whether retailers will noticeably increase their revenues relative to the costs of providing digital leaflets.
Increase productivity
Healthcare providers are under pressure to do more with fewer resources while improving the quality of patient care. Providers are using generative AI to streamline administrative tasks comparable to answering patient questions and scheduling appointments, automating the transcription of patient-provider conversations, simplifying patient consent forms, and helping physicians diagnose patients.
Two such applications stand out for their value creation potential:
- Better information faster and cheaper. During the pandemic, patients have been attempting to get information about Covid-19. Health care providers have had difficulty finding and attracting enough staff to fulfill patient demand for such information. To solve this problem, healthcare providers tried to shift work from call center staff to patient self-service. Contra Costa Health Care, a California-based health care provider, used an AI-powered health care assistant to route 80% of customer calls to AI, saving the $20 per call that Contra Costa would have needed to pay a third-party contractor. It was noted that this allowed Contra Costa employees to reply other calls more quickly, improving the patient experience Brain fever.
- More attentive and personalized service. When doctors meet with patients, they often type the conversation into a computer. For each patient and doctor, typing on a keyboard is somewhat distracting. There is a risk that the doctor may miss emotional signals from the patient’s facial features while writing, which can lead the doctor to ask vital follow-up questions. Moreover, by asking questions and listening to patients’ answers, doctors may not type all the pieces they hear into the computer. To address these issues, the University of Kansas Health System provided physicians with an AI-powered generative tool. Artificial intelligence reduced the time greater than 2,000 doctors and other medical staff spent reviewing notes. According to the AI, the artificial intelligence created summaries of medical conversations based on audio recordings during patient visits, thereby reducing the greater than two hours that doctors typically spend per day reviewing notes. Brain fever.
While there is much more to learn about early AI investments, these two industries are leading by example in trying to seek out applications for generative AI that creates customer value and can show promise in generating returns.