ANGELINE CORVAGLIA

Want competitive advantage? Your staff should try Generative AI

Digital hands typing

The use of advanced AI to enhance everyday work life and drive efficiency is on the minds of many businesspeople. Yet, often, companies still see it as a tool of the future instead of something that can have short-term benefits. To get a competitive advantage, it’s crucial to find a way forward sooner than later. The best way is to get people to try it. The benefits of generative AI are best discovered by playing around with it.

For that to happen, people first must understand what it is. They must see how it can be helpful in their roles, even for those who don’t have a technical playground. Generative AI can create new content, such as text, images, videos, or music. It has the potential to be a powerful creative assistant in various ways. What those exactly are will differ for each company, so the more people who try it and find both short- and longer-term benefits, the better.

Give examples of what Generative AI could be used for

Describe concrete ways in which Generative AI can be used by staff, for example:
 
  • Efficiency and Time Savings through automation of repetitive and time-consuming tasks. For example, generative AI creates reports, drafts emails, or summarizes large data volumes. As a result, valuable time can be freed up to focus on more strategic and value-added activities.
  • Content Creation and Innovation in any area where content is created. Generative AI can generate ideas, help with content creation, or even assist in designing visuals. This can unlock new possibilities and discover fresh perspectives.
  • Decision Support and Analysis, with generative AI supporting by analyzing complex data sets and providing valuable insights. For instance, identifying patterns, trends, or anomalies that might not be clear to the human eye. This can lead to more informed decisions and improved forecasting capabilities.
  • Customer Experience Enhancement through a heightened understanding of customers’ needs and preferences. Generative AI can help analyze customer data, generate personalized recommendations, and improve customer interactions.
  • Learning and Development with generative AI used as a learning tool. It can simulate scenarios, provide training materials, or be a virtual mentor. 
The key is that people see it as a new technology that is a companion for augmenting their expertise, not replacing it. Once the potential purpose of the tool is clarified, the next step is to get people to start using it. A great way to do this is to organize a trial period inviting staff to explore and give feedback on the potential of generative AI in everyday work life.

Keep your data safe, but discover benefits of Generative AI by playing

Before starting, some basic ground rules must be set to ensure the company’s data stays safe. Firstly, as there are many available Generative AI tools, a specific few should be chosen and made available for the company to work with. In addition, everyone must be informed about fundamental issues to keep in mind like:

  • Data security: Unless working on a closed LLM, any data that is input will be shared externally
  • Hallucination: People must double-check any results that they get. Generative AI still tends to invent information
  • Internal rules: the IT department should ensure that activities are in line with any existing internal guidelines

As a new technology, people will have trouble imagining how it can help until they try it and get a feel for what it is. Yet, the benefits of Generative AI are best discovered by playing around with it. It will be used in conjunction with existing processes. Data Leaders, who I talk about in this post. Know your data leaders! Transformation is impossible without them. (corvaglia.me), can be an excellent support during the activity. By exploring this way, companies can determine which benefits they can gain even before investing in large, more complicated projects.