8 Questions You Need to Ask About Ai Solutions Before Buying

We all know Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer organizations a competitive advantage if used right. There is also considerable pressure on organizations to route for fear to competitors.

According to a survey, 54% of executives said that the implementation of AI solutions in their businesses has already increased their productivity.

During the time of the pandemic, with people confined in their homes, AI solutions took a center stage. Businesses started to adapt and change as per the new norm. However, it was observed that some businesses found one technology very beneficial and productive while others found it to be a waste of time.

The reason behind the failure of some businesses with the same solutions while others deceased is being credited to their ability to adapt. However, that now is the case, is a business needs to make the best of AI solutions. The first step is to buy a perfect one.

This is where most businesses fail and even after investing a huge sum of money, they are not able to benefit from that AI solution. Most businesses buy it with a “one fits all” mentality but expecting it to work wonders as it did for other businesses might be tough.

This doesn't mean that AL solutions can’t work or that they don’t have the potential to be beneficial to all. But, when a business plans to implement AI solutions, they need to make sure that it blends with its business planning and strategies along with their need to think

If a business wants its money’s worth and an effective solution, they need to find one which can work with them.

As you go through the process of procuring an AI-based solution, be aware that its providers focus more on selling than defying it. You are going to be your advocate as you make buying decisions that will affect your business organization.

So, in this blog post, we are going to cover some points which you can run through to remember before selecting an AI solution.

What qualifies as an AI solution?

This is a basic question that businesses need to ask vendors from whom they are planning to purchase their AI solutions.

The reason behind this is that most of the vendors now know the right answer. There are plenty of providers who are touting things as AI that aren’t.

For instance, some vendors refer to the basic scripted automation as AI without realizing that this automated process is not required to think like a human. In reality, those products are using pattern-matching rules rather than relying on sophisticated data models.

Other than that, businesses should ask how the solution leverages AI and its actual functioning, Businesses should make sure that the person or vendor who is pitching can explain it because the simplest questions are the most difficult to answer.

Can Existing Infrastructure Support New AI Solution?

The first question you should ask is if your current infrastructure can hold up under the new load of artificial intelligence solutions. By determining if your current data management infrastructure will work or not will help you

The fuel for any AI system is data. If they have an incomplete, inaccurate, tainted, or biased then it will lead to less effective AI.

However, you don’t have to worry much as current AI is perfectly capable of determining what kind of data works and what data is unreliable.

Will New AI Solution Improve Customer Engagement?

Pandemic has created a hype around AI solutions which might lead businesses to think that it can solve all business problems. However, as I said earlier that is not always the case, businesses who want the best results need to focus on tackling issues that will impact customer experience.

For optimal customer engagement, businesses need to identify the low-hanging fruit and higher-impact opportunities to completely transform their brand.

So, the next question businesses need to ask is that if the AI solution is proven to make an immediate difference in customer relevance.

If you want to look for a solution that suits you, find a channel in which AI can help determine the right message at the right time for any given customer.

If the main aim of the businesses is cost reduction, you can think about AI-powered chatbots to reduce menial customer service tasks.

What Data Was Used to Train the AI?

Your next question should be, what kind of data was used to train the AI solution. As we already discussed that AI and machine learning techniques detect patterns in data and use those patterns to make future predictions.

These models are only good as the data which was used to train them. So, you need to understand how the security system’s models work.

For instance, you need to know if the product created a model customized for your organization? or Does it use the same model across environments?

How will AI Solution Improve Its Abilities Over Time?

Today, technology is moving at an advanced pace and as its user behavior, networks, and systems your system needs to adapt. These changes need to reflect on your work.

So, businesses need to understand how the AI solution they are looking at will update and continuously retrain newly collected data. They also need to see if it requires product updates from the vendor or those updates are delivered to improve its abilities.

Owner of the Resulting Models

In case the AI solution is using your data then either develop or contribute to broader models. Does the AI solution give your businesses the ownership and rights to those models or is the vendor permitting other customers to access it.

If your businesses will be able to access details of the model and use them. For that read the contract’s fine print and make sure if you understand how the vendor will use your data.

Will the AI solution Save Your Time?

The AI solution you are investing in should be what you believe in and reduces the amount of time you are currently spending on your team. This crucial insight can be received from your vendor and make sure it justifies the ROI cost.

Cold-start Problem

Firstly, let’s start by understanding, what is a cold-start problem?

A system will not be able to draw any inferences for users if it has not gathered sufficient information about it, this is called the cold-start problem.

The problem in the computer-based information systems is that it involves a degree of automated data modeling. Vendors of AI solutions don’t just have a magic button which can turn on an AI. Rather, by gaining intelligence in the form of data, AI grows smarter as its use progresses.

However, businesses need to realize that they need to get started working with it as quickly as possible. This means only one thing: that is you don’t have time to wait as the solution collects data and you’ll be able to use it.

Hence, in such a case, it’s critical for a business to overcome the problem of cold-start. So, the vendor needs to have a solution for this and in case they don’t then you know that’s a red flag.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an AI solution?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) allows machines to sense, comprehend, act, and learn to expand human capabilities. These AI systems are capable of executing tasks with their immense knowledge of AI, machine learning (DL), and deep learning (DL) associated with human intelligence. These intelligent systems capable of performing tasks from ML, natural language processing (NLP), computer vision, forecasting and optimization, and others to meet changing business needs are AI solutions.

What problems can be solved with an AI solution in business?

In businesses, AI solutions are capable of solving various problems such as detect fraud, customer support, personalization, data analysis, productivity, and much more. For example, it can detect fraud by handling and keeping track of more digital and mobile transactions.

What are some examples of artificial intelligence solutions?

AI can be found in most of the devices today. Some of the examples of AI solutions are AI Assistants, Chatbots, Search and Recommendation Algorithms, Face Detection and Recognition, Text Editors or Autocorrect, E-Payments, and so much more.

Bottom line:

There is no single standard that can govern what AI means and that the vendors are free to claim the AI capabilities of their AI solution. But, while they may believe it, it only scripted automation.

By asking your business and your AI solution vendor these simple questions you will be able to accurately find a solution which works with you and your business organization.