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Artificial intelligence is the buzzword of the century. It’s been featured across nearly every technology headline and is guaranteed to be included in every sales pitch. It’s no secret that this innovative and disruptive technology will revolutionize every industry. Historically, the latest technology has been reserved for resource-flush mega corporations, giving them significant strategic advantages over smaller operations.
AI is leveling the playing field by giving entrepreneurs and startups unprecedented ability to compete with large organizations. For example, small marketing firms can quickly create an entire content campaign in seconds and at little to no cost. Not only does AI allow small businesses to amplify the output of their small teams, but it may also allow them to move faster than behemoths burdened with layers of bureaucracy and cumbersome internal processes.
With AI moving at breakneck speed, there is a lot of pressure for small businesses to get on the AI bandwagon quickly. Despite best intentions, many entrepreneurs find themselves jumping straight to the step of purchasing a subscription to an AI platform, thinking it will solve all of their problems. The challenge is that rushed adoption without a clear strategic plan can result in serious consequences.
Investing in the wrong AI tools can create more complexity than they solve, frustrate your team and waste valuable resources. Instead, it’s critical for entrepreneurs to start by creating a roadmap to strategically integrate AI into their business.
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1. Identify pain points and opportunities
The last thing you want to do is deploy AI haphazardly across your business. Before you start thinking about which AI tools to implement, it’s critical to understand where AI might benefit your operations the most. Do you have any major bottlenecks? Are there tasks that consume too much time or money? Which areas of the business have the most opportunity for growth?
To find these answers, start by conducting an internal audit by mapping out current workflows and gathering feedback from your team. This audit can help you pinpoint repetitive tasks, activities that are prone to human error, customer service issues and slow decision-making. Once you have a list of opportunities, you can decide whether AI is or isn’t the right solution to solve the problem.
2. Establish clear objectives and KPIs
Once you’ve identified where AI can support your business processes, you need to define what success looks like. For example, do you want to reduce customer service response times by 30%? Having clear, measurable objectives accomplishes two things. First, it establishes a baseline of your current performance. This will allow you to look back later and know whether the AI you implemented had a positive or negative impact. Second, having clear objectives will support you in your decision-making process as you select the right AI tools.
Related: 5 Tips for Integrating AI Into Your Business
3. Research and evaluate available AI tools
It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the flood of AI choices on the market. Having clear objectives in mind will allow you to ignore the hype and focus on tools th