The Isle of Man is home to a diverse range of industries and business types, from eGaming to financial services. As a managed IT and technology solutions provider, we understand the unique challenges small businesses face on the Island. One way to stay ahead is by embracing emerging technologies, such as generative AI and platforms like OpenAI and ChatGPT. In this blog post, we’ll explore the benefits of generative AI for small businesses, show you how to get started, and discuss how it integrates with familiar tools like Office 365 and Teams.
What is Generative AI?
Generative AI refers to a category of artificial intelligence that can create new content, such as text, images, or music. It uses advanced machine learning algorithms to learn from vast amounts of data and generate new outputs based on that knowledge. ChatGPT is an example of a generative AI platform designed to understand and conversationally respond to user input.
Benefits of Generative AI for Small Businesses
Boosting Productivity
Generative AI can help automate repetitive tasks, such as drafting emails or generating reports, freeing up your team’s time to focus on more strategic activities. This can result in increased efficiency and productivity across your organization.
Enhancing Customer Experience
You can quickly and accurately respond to customer queries by integrating generative AI into your customer support channels. This can improve customer satisfaction and help you maintain a strong Isle of Man business community reputation. AI can also judge the sentiment and tone of customer communications, highlighting any cases or e-mails that may become an issue.
Example
In this example, we have an e-mail from a (fictional) customer complaining about their CRM.
We asked ChatGPT to do the following:
Can you analyse this e-mail and tell me:
- Customer sentiment
- Recommended actions
- Possible issues
This is the result:
Customer sentiment:
The customer sentiment in this email appears to be concerned and mildly frustrated. Jane is experiencing issues with their CRM system, and while they appreciate your assistance, they are not satisfied with the vendor’s support.
Recommended actions:
- Respond to Jane promptly, acknowledging the issue and expressing empathy for the situation.
- Investigate the CRM slowdown issue by analyzing the network usage and server loads during peak hours. This could help identify if the issue is related to the internet connection or other internal factors.
- Collaborate with the CRM vendor to gather more information and troubleshoot the issue. Their expertise may be necessary for a comprehensive solution.
- Update Jane with your findings, any identified issues, and the steps taken to resolve them. Provide an estimated timeline for a resolution if possible.
Possible issues:
- Network congestion during peak hours: The slowdown at lunchtime could indicate higher internet usage at that time, causing a bottleneck in the connection.
- Server overload: The CRM system’s servers might be struggling to handle the increased traffic during lunchtime, causing a slowdown in performance.
- Insufficient resources: The CRM system may not have enough resources allocated to handle peak usage, resulting in a degradation of performance.
- Hardware or software issues: There might be an underlying hardware or software problem causing the slowdown, unrelated to the internet connection.
As you can see, this was an accurate analysis of the e-mail and the next steps.
This is a straightforward example – and ChatGPT can handle much more complex tasks, mainly if you provide more context.
Streamlining Content Creation
Generative AI can assist with content generation, whether it’s creating engaging blog posts, social media updates, or marketing materials. This can save you time and resources while maintaining a consistent brand voice. You can define the tone, target audience, and word count and emphasise the need for search engine optimisation or keywords. You can even share past content for the system to understand your style and tone.
Facilitating Data Analysis
Generative AI can help analyze and interpret large amounts of data, uncovering valuable insights to inform business decisions. By harnessing this technology, you can make more informed choices and stay ahead of your competitors. You can provide the system with reference material; reports, accounts and similar documents – before asking questions or seeking comparisons.
Getting Started with Generative AI
Assess Your Needs
Before implementing generative AI, evaluate your organisation’s needs and identify areas where AI can provide the most value. Consider tasks that are repetitive, time-consuming, or require a high level of creativity.
Explore Available Platforms
Research various generative AI platforms like ChatGPT or OpenAI’s Codex to find the best fit for your business. Look for platforms that integrate seamlessly with your existing infrastructure and offer a user-friendly interface. ChatGPT can help your developers write the code to interface with OpenAI’s API!
Pilot and Iterate
Start with a small pilot project to test the capabilities of your chosen AI platform. Gather feedback from users and make adjustments as needed to optimize performance.
Based on our own experience, the following areas are easy to implement:
- Question and answer. Detailed, insightful answers where staff would otherwise use a search engine.
- Content creation. Assistance with writing or reviewing e-mails, reports, website articles or datasheets.
- Content review. Upload and share a document using OneDrive, and ask ChatGPT to analyse the results. Ask questions, ask for comparisons, etc.
Integration with Office 365 and Teams
Microsoft offers AI-powered services that integrate seamlessly with Office 365 and Teams, enhancing collaboration and productivity. One example is Microsoft’s Power Automate, which can help automate workflows and streamline tasks. Additionally, Copilot, an AI-powered code completion tool, can assist developers in writing code more efficiently within the Visual Studio Code environment.
Enhancing Office 365 Capabilities
Incorporate AI-driven features like Microsoft’s Text Analytics and Translator services to automatically analyze and translate text within your Office 365 applications. This can help you better understand customer sentiment and improve communication with international clients.
Coding Assistance with Copilot
Visual Studio Code developers can use Copilot, a generative AI tool that provides code suggestions based on context. By integrating Copilot into your development process, you can reduce the time and effort spent on coding tasks. Copilot is rolling out in 2023 and will be incorporated into a range of Microsoft 365 products and services.
You can learn more about Copilot here:
Introducing Microsoft 365 Copilot | Microsoft 365 Blog
Streamlining Workflows in Teams
Microsoft’s AI Builder allows you to create custom AI models that integrate with Power Apps and Power Automate within Teams. This can help you automate routine tasks directly from the Teams interface, such as approving expenses or managing customer support tickets.
How MTG can assist
MTG can assist your organisation in several ways:
- Tailored Consultations: We’ll help you assess your business needs and identify the most suitable AI solutions to address your unique challenges.
- AI Platform Selection: Our team will guide you in choosing the best generative AI platform that aligns with your objectives and integrates seamlessly with your existing infrastructure.
- Customized Implementation: We’ll develop a tailored implementation plan, ensuring a smooth integration of AI solutions into your business processes.
- Training and Support: We’ll provide comprehensive training for your team to effectively use generative AI tools and ongoing support to ensure your success.
- Performance Optimization: We’ll monitor the performance of your AI solutions and make necessary adjustments to maximize efficiency and achieve your desired outcomes.
- Security and Compliance: Our experts will ensure that your AI implementations adhere to industry standards and maintain the highest data security and privacy levels.
- Scaling and Future-proofing: As your business grows, we’ll help you scale your AI solutions and stay ahead of emerging trends and technologies.
- Ongoing Innovation: We’ll inform you about the latest advancements in generative AI, offering insights and recommendations to enhance your business operations further.
Conclusion: Embrace Generative AI for a Competitive Edge
Generative AI has the potential to transform the way small businesses in the Isle of Man operate, enhancing productivity, customer experience, and decision-making capabilities.
By understanding the benefits and integrating AI platforms with familiar tools like Office 365 and Teams, you can stay ahead of the curve and maintain a competitive edge in your industry.
