For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), integrating generative AI (gen AI) into their operations represents a unique opportunity to improve efficiency and scale operations without increasing headcount. In this article, Adrian Poole, Director of Digital Natives UKI at Google Cloud, provides insights into how SMBs can strategically leverage gen AI to automate tasks and improve efficiency, helping their workforce work smarter, not harder.
The massive growth of next-generation AI offers SMEs unprecedented opportunities to expand the capabilities of their workforce. With the increasing popularity of AI tools, SMEs can not only gain immediate operational improvements but also a transformative change in their business models by integrating AI tools. For SMEs eager to embrace the next-generation AI revolution, selecting the right tools becomes a critical decision that can dramatically influence their growth trajectory and operational efficiency.
UKI Digital Natives Director at Google Cloud.
Getting started with the right use cases
The Gen AI implementation process begins with a thorough assessment of the company’s current needs, pain points, and long-term goals. This can range from automating administrative tasks to improving customer service, generating content, or gaining actionable insights from data.
Understanding these requirements allows SMEs to narrow down AI solutions that offer the most relevant features and benefits. However, currently, only 7% of UK SMEs consider their AI literacy level to be very good. To make positive progress, SMEs need to focus on identifying the areas where AI can make the biggest impact.
Ultimately, AI is designed to support human activity, including decision-making. Using it to improve productivity involves analyzing tasks that can be easily automated, so that less effort is needed to produce the same great results. One such tool that SMEs should consider implementing, for example, is multimodal AI models. These models understand and generate information in various formats, such as text, images, and videos, and offer a level of versatility and efficiency that can transform business operations – the ultimate multitasking model.
This makes them a particularly suitable option for SMEs that are already accustomed to employees juggling multiple roles and responsibilities. For example, a gen AI application that analyses customer feedback on social media, emails and online reviews can provide comprehensive insights into customer sentiment, allowing SMEs to tailor their offerings and improve the customer experience – something that has already seen 75% of UK SMEs credit gen AI for acquiring new customers.
Similarly, a tool that can process and generate content in different formats can help with marketing, sales and customer service, saving SMB teams valuable time.
Improving communication and collaboration with AI
In the modern workplace, communication and collaboration are critical to SMB success. As these companies strive to remain agile and innovative, they are turning to AI to transform the way teams interact, share knowledge, and work together.
One of the most immediate benefits of integrating Gen AI into operations is improved internal communications. Gen AI can automate meeting summary, ensuring that key points and decisions are accurately recorded and shared with team members, including those who are unable to attend. This capability not only saves time, but also ensures that everyone is aligned on goals and outcomes.
Because next-generation AI can be trained to understand and address situational needs, it can solve specific challenges. For SMBs, this could mean reducing the time or resources needed to complete tasks, allowing employees to be in “multiple places at once” and compete on a larger scale. We’re already seeing this in the US, with a recent survey showing that 63% of SMB leaders reported that AI helps level the playing field for small businesses competing with larger companies.
Educate staff on the potential of AI
Despite this potential, research conducted by IONOS in collaboration with YouGov reveals that almost half (48%) of UK SMEs say their knowledge of the technology is fairly poor or very poor, and more than half (56%) have never used AI tools at work before. To take advantage of the opportunities offered by next-generation AI, staff training is a crucial step. This goes beyond mere technical training; it involves gaining a thorough understanding of the capabilities, limitations and ethical considerations of next-generation AI.
The first step in educating staff is to build broad AI literacy across the organisation. This doesn’t mean turning all employees into tech experts, but rather ensuring that everyone understands the basic principles of AI, how it can be applied to their work, and the value it brings. By doing so, companies create a culture of AI fluency, where staff feel comfortable interacting with AI tools and contributing ideas on how to get the most out of them.
Equally important is the need to effectively illustrate the potential benefits to staff at all levels. To move from theoretical to concrete, discussions about general AI require demonstrable examples that are relevant to SME staff and aid adoption. Furthermore, the more staff can see general AI tools in action, the better they will understand how to use them effectively to save time and improve productivity.
Doing more with less
The future of business is intrinsically linked to the evolution of AI technologies. For SMEs, this represents an unparalleled opportunity to improve efficiency, drive innovation and deepen customer relationships. By empowering staff, selecting the right tools and fostering a culture of ethical AI use, companies can leverage next-generation AI to not only optimize their operations but also achieve sustainable growth and gain a competitive advantage. With this foundation, next-generation AI can play a crucial role by augmenting human capabilities with the computational power of AI to tackle challenges, uncover new opportunities and achieve goals previously considered out of reach for SMEs.
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