Companies are using AI on a daily basis to do their work in a faster and smarter way. But they must keep in mind that they are using it because it is really helpful not for the trends.
Katrina Redmond, the CIO at Eaton Corp.,found many opportunities for utilisation of AI but before that he wanted to be clear that is it really helpful for the business or not. . Some AI tools require custom work, while others just need to be turned on. Companies like Microsoft have made AI a major part of their products, so businesses can start to access it easily.
Redmond formed a team to find the best AI for his company.they focus on one AI model that actually improves work , like managing inventory or predicting sales instead of following every new AI tool. The CIO of Webster Bank, Vikram Nafde, says AI can be expensive, so they carefully check whether each AI project is worth the money before investing in it.
Some AI projects are already showing positive results. At Eaton, AI has helped organize data from over 70 different systems.They built an AI system With the help of Palantir Technologies, who cleans and analyzes data to help managers make better decisions. For example, if some part of the company needs material then Ai suggests the availability of material list. And a person will always be there to double check the suggestion before using it and AI starts learning from the feedback of the person.
Webster Bank also followed a similar approach. They formed an AI team having members from different departments, including security, law, and finance. They test one project to read the financial statement when reviewing a loan application.Since financial documents come in different formats, AI can summarize in a smaller time which is really important for human workers. which help them to work faster and also at a high accuracy rate.
Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is using AI in a different approach. Their AI tools help design new medicines, in a small time frame, which generally takes a long time frame may be more than one year or more but now it can be done within a month or even in some days.They also use AI to analyze the prescription and improve the medicine safety. Additionally, AI also helps in reducing the work load for the researcher by creating reports for government approval for clinical trials.
AI is also helping with production. At Lilly, robots and AI-powered tools manage different work like managing warehouses, guiding vehicles, and automating production processes. This helps speed up medicine production and ensures higher quality.
Since AI is still new, many companies work with experts to get started. Eaton worked with outside AI specialists at first but is now training its own employees to handle AI projects. Webster Bank also works with big AI providers like Microsoft and AWS, but they focus on developing their own AI tools over time to save costs.
One big challenge with AI is trust. At Eaton, now AI can be able to predict the future sale which generally takes a high volume time for analysing. The AI model is very accurate but still the worker is not able to trust it completely. They’re still in the phase of “trust but verify,” meaning they check the AI’s predictions before relying on them.
Another big concern is that AI is not completely transparent like the old technology, sometimes it gives output without clarifying the proper explanation so this is not acceptable by the company where small mistakes have very high cost value.
The key reason for the success of AI is to completely lie on good data before jumping to the AI model. Companies at 1st organize their data in a proper manner. Nafde from Webster Bank says companies should focus on data first, then AI.without proper data it is not effective. AI can also help clean up complex data, making it more useful over time.
Some AI tools work well without much data preparation. For example, generative AI models can handle tasks without structured data This makes AI accessible to companies if they don’t have the organised data.
When the old technology is integrated with the AI technology they must be careful. Some tools from companies like Salesforce and ServiceNow promise big improvements but they need to fix it proper manner and also with the existing work flows.Just jumping to the AI without proper management and planning may be dangerous and can create serious threats.
Redmond’s team at Eaton has turned on some AI features in their software, which helped them to detect issues and solutions for it . But companies need to decide whether they want an in-built AI solution or they want to develop a new one for this problem.
One big question for CIOs is whether to wait for a vendor or to invest in your own custom tool. It is expensive but can fix the specific issues. Waiting for software vendors might save money but could slow down progress.
Company those starting their journey with the AI, experts recommend a few key steps. First, organise the data Then, make sure AI goals align with business goals. Start with small projects and check the effectiveness of AI. Also, educate employees and get leadership involved to build trust in AI.
Promoting an individual to being an expert from your own company is crucial. While it’s good to start with expert partners, companies should train their own teams to manage the AI system in the long term period.Also communication between the team is really needed , because they are in the fear that AI can replace them but you should inform them that AI is just for to work in better and smarter way not for replace them.
Finally, companies should focus on a few high-impact AI projects rather than trying to do everything at once. As Redmond puts it, “Focus on a few things and go deep.” AI adoption is as much about company culture as it is about technology. If employees don’t explore AI, even the best tools won’t be fully effective.
AI is not for time saving, it’s also about doing the work in a smarter way. By using AI carefully, businesses can improve efficiency, save money, and make better decisions. But they need to invest their time to find out and to make sure that they are using AI in the right direction and for the right purpose and also need to ensure that the employees are comfortable with the changes. If done right, AI can be a powerful tool for growth and success in the future.
