The growing capabilities of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and the rewards they bring to businesses can no longer be ignored. The seismic changes to the way we operated during 2020 have forced industries to quickly reestablish as “digital-first,” accelerating advancements in AI technology and seeing a much greater uptake of the technology.

Industry experts are predicting a wealth of advancements in the coming year, here are just a few of the innovations people can expect to see emerging.

Telehealth

The global pandemic has accelerated the use of AI within the Healthcare sector and is set to continue this increase during 2021 and beyond. In fact, Artificial intelligence in the global healthcare market is expected to reach $35,323.5 million by 2027. The capabilities of this technology will save time and labor costs, along with improving patient care and outcomes. Visiting the doctor will start to look quite different with advances in telehealth and physician access, and personalized medicine.

Cybersecurity

There are many areas in which AI could support cybersecurity, including identifying and responding to new types of malware and tracking users’ daily activities, over time, to develop more of an understanding of behavioral patterns.

As the methods employed by cybercriminals become ever more sophisticated, so do advancements in AI to combat them. By analyzing patterns and behaviors, AI can identify threats before they happen, processing data and making predictions far faster than a human can. More businesses can take advantage of this and not be at risk.

Automation

When customer queries and requests exceed the capabilities of the humans within the business, AI-powered automation becomes imperative. Think about the increasingly sophisticated chatbots, for example. By harnessing this technology to perform tasks that can be automated, it frees the real people up to perform more nuanced tasks.

And it’s not just customer service where automation can prove beneficial. A voice to text transcription can speed up the once lengthy process of transcribing speech. If this wasn’t all, handing over lengthy supply chains to AI can also improve productivity and user experience for both staff and consumers.

Customer care

Along with chatbots, AI is improving customer experience in other ways too. AI is capable of handling multiple call center queries simultaneously, reducing wait times, and freeing up human call handlers to deal with more complicated requests.

They also have the capability to collect and review data to determine the best solutions, not to mention the fact they are available around the clock.

On the face of it, putting AI at the heart of customer care may seem counter-intuitive. However, the combination of humans and machines often leads to much higher levels of customer satisfaction.

Generating sales leads

Data analytics means machines can be far more efficient at predicting customer behavior with chatbots, even recognizing what a good lead looks like. The AI can then ask the right questions and offer the best solutions to increase sales at scale.

Using time effectively

We are living through what many are referring to as the “Forth Industrial Revolution,” and AI is at the heart of that transformation. While the use of machines to do the jobs of humans can be viewed negatively, the technology is allowing employees to use their time more effectively, as AI technology takes on the repetitive processes with accuracy and speed.

Like it or loath it, AI is here to stay, and everyone with be interacting with a whole lot more of it during 2021.