Automation and AI: Super-Tools to level up your business

Automation is something that humans have been innovating and developing for centuries to improve the way something works, and make it easier for the human resources doing the work. One of the oldest known automations is the spinning mill, developed for Richard Arkwright in 1771, which was driven by water power, the concept of which was built on later in 1785 by Oliver Evans who developed the first fully automatic flour mill. 

As was evident then – and even more so in today’s times – digitisation has opened doors to utilise automation to improve and speed up various business processes, and allow people resources to apply their skills elsewhere. Anything from taking over time-consuming admin tasks to automating social media posts and newsletter sends, managing service teams in the field, and directing sales funnels, can now be automated.

Automation to empower your workforce

Over the past couple of years, the implementation of automation in companies has given businesses the ability to enhance their workforce and their operations. This is because automation can take over many of the manual, admin-heavy tasks that can be very time-consuming for a workforce, as well as reduce the risk of human error where large volumes of information are being input.

“The hybrid approach of human knowledge and experience, threaded into an intuitive software model that integrates machine learning, is absolute gold,” says Subaraj, noting that with automation taking over a bulk of manual and repetitive tasks, the human partners have the capability (and time) of expanding their intellect to grow the business, tapping into new markets, and applying innovative thinking to improve customer experience.

Enabling seamless integration between platforms

Automation can make a big difference in enabling seamless integration between different financial systems and platforms, for example through APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). This integration reduces manual data transfers as well as the risk of errors introduced during manual data handling.

“International money transfers are one of the most glaring areas of concern regarding banking technology,” says Harry Scherzer, CEO of Future Forex, international money transfer fintech.  “Far too many South African banks are stuck using outdated technologies for these kinds of transactions. In some parts of the process, they barely seem to have adopted technology at all,” he adds.

Technology and automation can democratise areas of finance

But technology, when properly applied, can also be an incredible democratising force. It’s already played that role in media, publishing, collaboration, access to information, and so many other areas of our daily lives. This is according to Tobie van Heerden, 10X Investments CEO, who says that technology and automation have helped to democratise areas of finance that were once the domain of small groups of specialists.

“Buying and selling shares, for example, can now be done with a few taps of your smartphone. It’s almost as easy as ordering a pizza from your favourite food delivery app. Technological advances have also made it easier and more affordable to send money across borders and access cutting-edge financial insights, among other things,” says van Heerden.

Starting small with automated AI

AI is another area that enhances the benefits of automation, using machine learning and intuitive data analysis to improve the effectiveness of business operations and processes.

But for the power of AI to be effectively harnessed, starting small is key. A good place to begin could be the deployment of a customer service bot. They are straightforward to integrate into a business website or portal, provided they are fed the correct data (for example, a basic list of FAQs and responses, which can then direct a person with a particular query to a specific human on the other side). AI-powered chatbots can be highly effective at saving time by eliminating the need for employees to answer the same queries repeatedly, and to funnel the right customers to the relevant people. Whatever small AI solution is experimented with, if the results are positive, then they can be easily scaled up with intelligent cloud integration.

But as Andrew Bourne, technology company Zoho, Regional Head for Africa comments, “AI goes beyond automation and chatbots, of course. To effectively leverage this powerful technology, data skills training is also an important factor. While automation ramps up efficiency, extracting meaning from the numbers provides valuable insights that can turbo-charge business growth. “

Autonomous AI can revolutionise the chatbot industry

Studies show most companies use chatbots today, but 81% of customers would rather wait to speak to a live agent because the current generation of chatbots isn’t meeting their expectations and the experience can be frustrating. Yet, 61% of customers say they’d rather use self-service to resolve simple issues, underscoring an opportunity and need to deliver more intelligent, autonomous agents powered by generative AI.

Salesforce recently announced Einstein Service Agent, the company’s first fully autonomous AI agent. Einstein Service Agent can understand and take action on a broad range of service issues without preprogrammed scenarios, helping make customer service far more efficient.

“This chatbot, will not just complete service jobs on its own; it will augment human co-workers and completely transform how service teams operate, making them far more efficient and productive,” concludes Linda Saunders, Salesforce Director for Solutions Engineering Africa.