6 minute read
Embracing the AI Revolution: Practical Applications for Your Business
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as the buzzword of our time, with discussions revolving around its impact on technology, ethics, legislation, and labour. However, one critical aspect often overlooked is the practical application of AI in enhancing business operations by significantly streamlining processes, saving time, and boosting profits.
Understanding Artificial Intelligence
At its core, AI refers to computer systems that can perform tasks traditionally requiring human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decisionmaking, and language translation. While the term may seem broad, it’s essential to recognise that AI systems learn through data, improving their outputs over time through trial and error.
AI is already woven into the fabric of our daily lives. Whether it’s Netflix recommending your next binge-watch or your smartphone’s voice assistant executing commands, AI is omnipresent. As AI continues to evolve, it raises numerous ethical, philosophical, and legal questions, but one thing is certain: AI is here to stay.
The Benefits of AI in Business
The primary benefits of incorporating AI tools into your operations can be categorised into three main areas.
1. Time Savings: Reduce the time required for various tasks. For instance, creating content, like blog posts, can transition from hours to just minutes. AI chatbots can answer customer inquiries almost instantaneously, providing immediate support and freeing up human resources for more complex tasks.
2. Increased Value: Enhance the customer experience by generating tailored content and facilitating smoother interactions. With tools like ChatGPT, businesses can produce promotional emails or social media posts efficiently.
3. Increased Profits: By generating engaging content and optimising pricing strategies, AI can help attract more customers. AI can analyse market trends and competitor pricing to inform revenue management decisions, ultimately leading to higher profit margins.
Practical Applications of AI
The practical applications of AI in business are vast. Here are three key areas to consider.
1. Large Language Models (LLMs):
Tools like ChatGPT can generate highquality text, making them ideal for crafting marketing materials, summarising feedback, or brainstorming ideas. For example, a glamping site manager could prompt ChatGPT to draft a promotional email, receiving a polished draft in seconds.
Here is an example of the prompt I used for an email marketing campaign.
“I manage The Emerald Glamping site near Lake Windermere in the Lake District. We have glamping domes, camping, and three cabin rentals, one of which is great for large groups.
Write a promotional email addressed to our past guests and campers inviting them to book a site or cabin for the Bank Holiday Weekend. Include a special offer: if they use promo code “CAMP50” and make a 4-night reservation, they can get the 4th night at 50% off. Other talking points could include our kayak rentals and campfire storytelling nights.”
2. AI Image Generation: Similar to LLMs, AI image generators such as DALL-E and MidJourney create visuals from textual descriptions. These tools allow businesses to produce professional-quality images for marketing purposes without hiring external creatives. However, it’s crucial to be aware of copyright issues and the potential for inaccuracies in generated images. Need a picture of a woman kayaking to enhance that promotional email? AI can create one that you can use in seconds.
3. Revenue Management: Effective revenue management is about applying consumer analytics to maximise profits. AI can analyse historical data, competitor pricing, and occupancy rates to help businesses set optimal prices and stay competitive in the market.
Challenges, Limitations & Creativity Constraints
AI, as it stands today, is fundamentally uncreative. It generates outputs based on the datasets it was trained on, which are inherently limited. For instance, an AI image generator may produce a standard view of an aeroplane rather than a unique perspective, such as an aeroplane wing from a window seat. Similarly, chatbots lack true understanding, often leading to surface level responses.
Lack of Depth: AI can struggle to grasp intent and nuance, leading to frustration in interactions. Its responses may sometimes miss the mark, resulting in “hallucinations” where the output is entirely off-base or inaccurate. For example, this image uses the prompt “family camping in tent”. When this happens, my personal workaround is to go illustration style if I am having too much trouble with the concept.
Data Collapse Concerns: There’s a growing worry about “data collapse,” where AI models trained primarily on other AIgenerated content may degrade in quality. Just as a copy of a copy loses fidelity, AI systems may become less reliable if they continuously train on their own outputs rather than fresh human data. This raises concerns about the sustainability of AI advancements.
Formulaic Responses: LLMs can produce predictable and stiff outputs. To maintain authenticity, it’s essential to adapt AI-generated content to align with your brand’s voice.
Copyright Concerns: The use of AI-generated images can raise ethical questions, particularly regarding the use of an artist’s style without consent.
For example, if artist Bob paints in a really unique style with lots of blues and purples, then finds out that people can type “generate a painting of Mount Rushmore in the style of Bob” and instantly generate a painting in his exact style, he has understandable reason to be upset. Always check the terms of service for any AI tool used.
While AI presents exciting opportunities for business enhancement, it’s essential to navigate its limitations and ethical considerations carefully. By embracing AI thoughtfully, businesses can improve efficiency, enhance customer experiences, and ultimately increase profitability. Remember to use AI as a tool to complement your creativity and authenticity, ensuring that your brand’s unique voice shines through in all applications. The future is bright for those who harness the power of AI effectively, but vigilance is necessary to mitigate potential pitfalls as the technology continues to evolve.
About Vicki Jones
Vicki and her husband Bryan founded their multi award-winning glamping site in 2017. Vicki has over 15 years’ experience working in the hotel and outdoor hospitality sector and has now become the UK Ambassador for the property management software ResNexus. Tractors and Cream has a YouTube channel dedicated to the world of glamping and outdoor hospitality and Vicki is also on the board of directors for the new Glamping Industries Trade Association, GITA (UK).
