The Democratization of AI: Bringing Generative AI to Main Street
There’s nothing more valuable to a local business than time. And how they spend that time can be the difference between thriving or facing challenges.
When small and medium-sized (SMBs) evaluate what can make them more effective and efficient, Generative AI may not be the first tool they think to pull out of their toolkit, but it should be at the top of their list. Data from McKinsey highlights that roughly 75% of the value that generative AI could deliver falls into four key areas, two of which are customer operations and marketing and sales. Used effectively, it can help transform a business, providing everything from improved customer experiences to better marketing, to a competitive edge.
Use a Generative AI-based website chat to support customers and drive quality leads
An online chat function that doesn’t need to sleep can keep working for SMBs well after normal business hours. Studies show that more than half (66%) of consumers expect responses from customer service in five minutes or less, which is nearly impossible to do consistently – or even inconsistently – with only human resources. If it’s past business hours, you’re with a client, or you’re out in the field, an unanswered chat can mean lost revenue. AI-powered chats; however, can greatly increase efficiency for an SMB offering immediate and knowledgeable support about the business, at any time.
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Chat technologies are emerging to support small and local businesses with AI models trained on details of the company—from its unique selling propositions to specifics of its industry.
Improve search engine rankings and eclipse competitors
Think about SEO, and how important rankings are for ensuring potential customers can find a business online. It’s a competition with thousands of businesses jockeying for the same few top spots in every market. Everyone is looking for an edge that will enable them to overtake competitors.
Generative AI represents the biggest leap forward for SEO capabilities in at least a decade, analyzing current trends and generating optimized content to align with the latest algorithms. I’ve seen AI-enabled SEO solutions deliver a 2x increase in organic traffic compared to SEO without AI. Businesses can also deploy it to create meta tags, descriptions, and other on-page elements that help achieve higher rankings, faster.
Enable subject matter experts to benefit from the technology they helped train
We’re seeing the democratization of AI, which means SMBs get access to the same technologies benefiting larger corporations and enterprises, especially in the case of generative AI. The knowledge from subject matter experts across different fields is a large part of what’s feeding this technology. From plumbers engaging in threads on Reddit to public filings from attorneys, AI algorithms access this experiential knowledge to pull the data and insights someone might be searching for. Experts are often not even aware of how their shared knowledge contributes to generative AI, but with emerging solutions that leverage this technology, they’re now able to benefit from what they’ve been contributing for some time.
The democratization of AI is altering the playing field for local businesses, transforming how they cater to their customers, employees, and partners. Generative AI presents new strategic advantages previously untapped – those who embrace it are setting themselves up for more freedom, creativity, and long-term success.
Now that it’s come to Main Street, it’s time to figure out how to harness it for your benefit.
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