Today, most people recognize the importance of becoming a data-driven enterprise, capable of instantly sensing and responding to business events when needed. Data analytics tools and platforms have paved the way for capturing events and taking action, but as the supply chain issues that have erupted over the past year have shown us, there is still a long way to go. Now, artificial intelligence promises to fill this gap.
In his new book, *Everyone Wants to Rule the World*, R. Ray Wang argues that the next wave of enterprise intelligence will be powered by “AI intelligence services,” which aim to “automate the process of turning signal intelligence into decision-making or action.” He writes that AI intelligence services will now differentiate today’s success stories from those of laggards. For example, AI intelligence services can “quickly sift through available data” to determine how quickly to pay expenses—making decisions based on factors such as how much cash the company currently has, currency exchange rates, customer status, and specific contract terms, whether payment is made in 30 days or 90 days.
Real-time data-driven results are required
Artificial intelligence services “can deliver different results,” Wang added. “They can automate simple processes, such as tracking inventory, or they can automate complex processes, such as tracking inventory and automatically ordering new stock when the system detects that a customer is showing special or unusual interest in a particular item.” He outlined seven outcomes that data-driven businesses adopting AI-powered services can expect:
Perception
“The AI service describes what’s happening right now,” Wang said. “It provides a basic description of the environment that’s being programmed. For example, a retail system might tell you that there are 30 pairs of blue pants in the back room, 5 pairs in the changing room, 2 pairs at the cashier’s, and one pair that the customer hasn’t left the store yet.”
notify
AI-powered services “tell you what you want to know. They provide notifications through alerts, reminders, and other signals that help provide additional information through manual input and learning. For example, as retail systems improve, notifications can be created to remind employees when high-demand inventory remains in the fitting room. Staff now know to put clothes back on the shelves so the store doesn't miss the opportunity to sell them. AI-powered services can observe how and when store staff react to notifications to understand what actions to recommend in the future.”
suggestion
Data-driven AI-powered intelligent service recommendations. "They provide suggestions based on past behavior and refine them over time using weighted attributes, decision management, and machine learning. In retail, the system might suggest that employees check the changing room if they find a popular item (like size 6 skinny jeans) in the locker room. Based on the item's past sales data, the time of year, the day of the week, and even the shift, the system suggests putting the item back on the shelf in 20 minutes or less."
automation
AI-powered intelligent services repeat exactly what you want. "As the system learns over time, it fine-tunes and automates notifications and action suggestions. In a retail case, when only two pairs of the same size are displayed, staff are automatically notified of how many pairs of skinny jeans are in the fitting room and how much time they have to keep them on the monitor."
predict
AI-powered services inform decision-makers what to expect. "The predictions are built on deep learning to predict and test behavior. For example, based on over 1,000 interactions, a retail store manager will receive a prediction when the store opens that day that they will sell out of size 6 skinny jeans by 2 p.m. Then the manager will automatically receive a prompt asking if she would like to order more stock to arrive before noon. If the store manager always says yes, the system will learn to always check inventory and suggest stock accordingly. After 5,000 orders, the store manager might simply delegate all authority to the system to automate the inventory process."
prevention
AI-powered services help avoid adverse outcomes. “They apply cognitive computing or their accumulated knowledge to identify potential threats. For retailers, AI-powered services might help identify potential credit card fraud before someone makes a purchase. The benefits can be even greater when a product or service is returned due to a defect. In such cases, AI-powered services focused on prevention are all about mitigating risk.”
Situational awareness
Data-driven AI-powered intelligent services tell decision-makers what they need to know right now. "Situational awareness—knowing what is happening at a particular time and place and what to do in that situation—closely mimics human decision-making. Achieving comprehensive situational awareness is an ideal outcome of AI-powered intelligent services, and one that can provide a high level of decision-making speed."
