Today’s businesses are using machine learning algorithms to improve internal and customer-facing operations, leading to better experiences for customers. Machine Learning (ML) lets companies harness the power of artificial intelligence and modern technologies to improve in ways that were not possible before.
In the end, all of this makes it easier for businesses to deliver value on a new level. Take advantage of these six applications of machine learning for modern business applications.
What is Machine Learning?
Machine learning (ML) is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that enables computers to learn without being explicitly programmed.
In other words, rather than having their functionality pre-defined by human programmers, machine learning algorithms use data to create models that allow them to improve their functionality automatically. This can include everything from identifying what people are talking about in a given piece of text, to choosing the best path to navigate a self-driving car through an intersection.
Why Your Business Needs Machine Learning
As the use of AI algorithms continues to grow, businesses have an opportunity to create personalized customer experiences that delight customers, increase retention, and drive revenue. But before you can create these modern AI-powered experiences, you have to first understand why your business needs machine learning. Let’s look at three ways that modern businesses use AI algorithms to drive better results.
Target Customers With More Personalized Messages
Businesses that don’t use AI risk sending the same message to every customer. This can include everything from marketing communications, to automated emails that customers receive after a purchase. Unfortunately, these communications are often impersonal and can turn customers off from a brand after just one interaction.
Create a Better User Experience (UX)
The best AI-powered tools use user data to proactively suggest an ideal experience for each person. This can include everything from suggested product variations, to personalized product recommendations based on a customer’s buying history.
Increase Revenue With Personalized Product Recommendations
Businesses that use AI algorithms to power personalized product recommendations can see significant increases in revenue. This is because these algorithms can identify what products specific customers are likely to buy, and recommend those products to other customers who are likely to buy them as well.
What You Can Do With Machine Learning
Let’s take a look at what you can do with the best machine learning algorithms for modern business applications.
Recommend Products With Collaborative Filtering
One of the most common machine learning techniques is collaborative filtering. This algorithm analyzes data from a group of customers (based on things like past purchases, ratings, and other interactions) to make recommendations for other customers. These recommendations help customers find exactly what they need faster and with a higher degree of accuracy.
Detect Fraud and Risk With ML Techniques
To ensure that your business is only receiving legitimate orders from customers, it’s important to have fraud detection algorithms in place. There are a number of machine learning algorithms that can help pre-screen orders before they reach your business, including decision trees and anomaly detection.
Manage Data With Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Computer Vision
Businesses collect a lot of unstructured data that can be difficult to manage. The best AI algorithms for data management can help companies organize this data, analyze it, and put it to use in meaningful ways. They do this through a combination of computer vision and NLP.
Computer vision is an algorithm that helps machines analyze and understand images. NLP works in the same way, but is used to analyze audio samples of people talking. This combination allows computers to better understand media and not be entirely reliant on text.
For businesses, this means that computers can learn more about data that it collects from social media and other sources that are not text-based.
Train Employees With Reinforcement Learning
Reinforcement learning is a machine learning algorithm that trains employees to respond to certain situations with the best possible outcomes.
This works by analyzing outcomes and making recommendations on how to improve. Then, the program reinforces positive behaviors with rewards and negative behaviors with punishments.
For training purposes, that means that automated systems can analyze and understand employee performance, and reinforce desired behaviors automatically. This lets companies automate training practices.
Create User Profiles With AI Algorithms
Many businesses use machine learning models to create user profiles based on customer data that helps those businesses send personalized communications and deliver relevant products. This can include everything from recommending products, to creating targeted advertisements designed to appeal to customers’ interests.
User profiles require a lot of data and filtering that data to find the right mix of information to build the profile on. Machine learning makes it possible to automate the collection and analysis of data to create profiles automatically. Some companies even use ML to update their user profiles based on their online transactions in real-time. Better profiles mean that the company can pivot more effectively to meet customer needs and stay relevant.
Make Smart Advertisements With ML Algorithms
Advertising is a high-stakes game that can make or break a business, especially in ecommerce. Fortunately, AI algorithms can help businesses create more relevant advertisements that appeal to customers who are most likely to click and buy.
This is done by tracking ad performance and combining metrics with user profiles to determine which users are engaged by specific ad elements. ML automates the development of new ads that are based on this data analysis as well as the desired targets of the company. With enough accurate user data, ML algorithms can drastically raise the effectiveness rate for a company’s advertising.
Develop The Infrastructure to Use Machine Learning in your Business
Machine learning is a powerful tool in the right hands. Make sure that your company has the right infrastructure in place to take advantage of ML algorithms as they develop. Contact KitelyTech at (800) 274-2908 to learn more about ML and how to prepare your business to put it to use.
