Making AI Work for Business Productivity

As part of the first-ever National Productivity Week, I had the opportunity to attend the ‘Beyond the Hype - Making AI Work for Business Productivity’ presentation, held at Manchester Art Gallery by Be the Business and The Productivity Institute. AI has become something of a buzzword in recent years, and as we like to keep up to date on the latest business trends and business concerns, I decided to see what it was all about. I have been very vocal in my thoughts about AI generally – I believe it has fantastic applications in healthcare, and elsewhere in the business world, but have concerns over it being used responsibly and ethically. 

It is important to cut through the noise and separate the good from the bad. 

So, what exactly is AI? 

AI, or Artificial Intelligence, is a very broad term that defines computer software engaging in human-like activities – examples include problem-solving, learning, and planning. In business terms, it can analyse data, identify patterns and trends, and enhance customer experiences. AI has made huge strides in recent years and is everywhere from mobile phones to business software. 

The event I attended focused on how AI could help bridge a productivity gap in the UK – UK productivity is the second worst in the G7, being only marginally higher than Japan. This has resulted in stifled growth and has lowered the UK’s overall competitiveness on the global stage, impacting everything from wages to standards of living. If we could attain just a 1% growth in small businesses across the UK, we would add £94 billion to the economy over 5 years. AI has the potential to bring growth to a level even higher than this. 

It is predicted that in no more than three years, anything not connected to AI will be considered broken. 

(Source: Sam Schillace, Deputy CTO, Microsoft – Microsoft Build Conference 2023) 

Alison highlighted the following: 

• 49% of workers are worried AI will replace their jobs. 
• 70% of workers would delegate to AI as much as possible. 

It seems that despite concerns about AI, there is real excitement around some of the things that AI can do to save us from the more boring tasks which we have to do day to day. 

There are multiple AI business suites currently available on the market, and Alison discussed Microsoft Copilot. It has been found that corporates and smaller businesses have found productivity gains using AI: 

• 75% spent less time searching for information. 
• 71% saved time on mundane tasks. 
• 5x faster at catching up on missed meetings. 

• 2 hours saved on average per week. 

It is important to note that it takes around 14 months (on average) to see a return on AI investment (source: IDC, The Business Opportunity of AI, 2023) 

For every £1 that a company invests in AI, it is realising an average return of £2.8. 

There will be resistance to AI being implemented in business in much the same way as there was resistance to introducing computers to the workplace. It’s important to note that businesses may lose staff when implementing AI and will need to upskill current staff. It is likely £10-20k will be needed, and at the event, it was highlighted that it is best to start the AI investment small, and then grow this gradually throughout the business. 

We also learned that AI adoption has generally been slow, and business models require dynamic change to make the most of it. A few points to note: 

• Businesses will need to hire/train problem solvers to realise AI’s potential. 
• It is important to note there is a big difference between adopting AI and playing around with AI – ChatGPT’s users, on average, engage for only 7 minutes. 
• The challenge is having businesses adopt, continue to use, and innovate with AI. 
• It’s also important to remember that we, as people, must be involved and responsible with AI at every single stage. 

More was discussed, of course, far too much for me to adequately summarise here. Here are my key takeaways. 

• AI is here to stay. 
• AI can benefit businesses if utilised correctly. 
• Businesses need to train their staff to realise the full potential of AI. 
• Businesses will need to invest in AI. 
• This is an opportunity that businesses shouldn’t let pass them by. 

Businesses should start looking into this now and begin checking into how they can benefit from AI. It has applications in almost everything, and I encourage them to bring in expert help to see how it can be implemented. 

If you want to chat with one of our advisers about AI, or have any other questions surrounding this topic area, then please feel free to get in touch.  

Email: enquiries@hertsgrowthhub.com 

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