Demystifying AI starts with understanding what artificial intelligence really means for mid-market businesses. There is suddenly a lot of urgency around AI and its impact on the future of work, yet many CEOs are still unsure where to begin or how to turn it into practical value.
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It seems that whilst many are embracing artificial intelligence (AI), many are also unsure of their next steps. The latter isn’t surprising, given how we’re seeing a lot of earth-shaking—and yet strangely conflicting—predictions about AI.
According to the Economist, 5% of AI experts believe the overall impact of AI ‘will be extremely bad, such as human extinction’. Conversely, PwC estimate that AI will provide a 26% boost for local economies.
Perhaps both will be true, and the economy will be booming, but without us.
In all seriousness, we do believe AI will bring huge changes, along with enormous gains—and consequences for some. It may help to look back at mass industrialisation. Many at the time saw it as a threat to jobs, wealth, even the very fabric of civil society. And yet employment has consistently risen, with living standards and longevity vastly improved in every industrialised society.
There were consequences though. Many pre-industrial labourers were horses, and they were indeed ‘let go’. According to a Microsoft post, the US working horse population was reduced by 85% as a result of industrialisation. 95% of US companies in the horse-drawn carriage industry closed down permanently.
The lesson for us is to figure out how to benefit from new technology—and how not to get put out to pasture or sent to the glue factory.
It’s too early to determine the answers on a societal level. Thankfully, at Freeman Clarke, we have a narrower range of focus—mid-market businesses and technology. And in this case, we’re already seeing the benefits of AI.
So, to put your mind at ease and provide practical ideas, this guide to Demystifying AI explains what artificial intelligence really means for mid-market business leaders.
Demystifying AI for real-world business impact
AI does not need to be mysterious or overwhelming. Demystifying AI is about focusing on practical outcomes, improving efficiency, uncovering insights, and helping leaders make better decisions faster.
What do we mean by AI, ML, and RPA?
Often these terms are thrown around interchangeably. But they don’t all mean the same thing.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the umbrella term for technology that mimics human thinking and communication. Its applications range from fraud prevention to personalised learning to autonomous vehicles.
AI includes Machine Learning (ML), which means tech that learns how to do tasks by scanning large amounts of data and finding patterns—for example, searching for similar text in thousands of purchase orders or invoices, or searching CVs for a specific kind of experience, or spam filtering.
Generative AI (GAI) is a type of ML that scans data and creates outputs like the ones it has seen before rather than regurgitating the same. For example, Large Language Models (LLMs) are a type of GAI that can scan huge numbers of documents (such as large chunks of the internet) and then create new text that, at its best, feels like the work of a human.
ChatGPT and Bard are LLMs with a chat interface, so it’s really easy to ask questions and have conversations with them. The LLMs return replies which feel spookily intelligent.
ChatGPT is owned by OpenAI, in which Microsoft has a heavy investment. Bard is owned by Google. So we will see both Microsoft and Google including AI features in their products in the near future.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is an umbrella term for tools that allow you to operate and coordinate IT, which is something human workers often do. These tools are sometimes called Intelligent Automation (IA) or Software Robots. There is no intrinsic link between these tools and AI, except that RPA businesses like to wrap themselves in the AI flag to increase their valuations and mystique!
Having said that, RPA tools are often used to extract data for processing by ML systems. And clever RPA can base its actions on the input of an AI. So they may be part of an AI solution.
Practical uses of AI in mid-market businesses
As we mentioned above, people often throw around the term ‘AI’ when they really mean something else. So beware the hype. However, there really are genuine opportunities for mid-market businesses right now.
Of course, it depends on your particular sector and business needs; that’s why, at Freeman Clarke, we relentlessly focus on practical uses of AI to deliver improvements for our clients.
We are working in four areas at present:
- Implementing AI into off-the-shelf software products. For example, our CTOs have implemented document processing products and site security systems that are smarter and faster than previous generations. In another case, we are using chatbots to support a client’s long-tail of low-value customers, freeing up staff to focus on high-value accounts.
- Employing AI tools to automate tasks. For example, a Freeman Clarke CTO helped a client reduce the effort to produce routine regulatory paperwork by 98%. Another of our CTOs used AI to translate 28,000 documents in less than a week!
- Using AI to provide previously impractical insights. With two clients, we used AI to analyse the sentiment of incoming phone calls. In one case, the AI assists in real-time to indicate to call handlers and supervisors when a caller is becoming unhappy. In the other case, the AI creates post-event assessments of different handlers and their effectiveness.
- Offering new services to clients. This may be an opportunity to increase revenue or retention, or just to stand out from competitors. Even more strategically, it may be an important defensive step to prevent a new AI-fuelled competitor.
Two examples of legal service providers: we helped a client extend its offering with AI processing of contracts and other documents. Another client is using AI to make predictions about legal outcomes.
And in the life-sciences sector we are helping a consultancy offer new services based on their ability to process huge amounts of evidence and content.
How to make AI part of the everyday
This briefing was partially written using autocomplete and voice-to-text to save time. ChatGPT provided some ideas as well. None of this is rocket science—it’s just everyday AI.
And yet, if there are so many practical ways of exploiting this new technology, why aren’t more mid-market businesses taking advantage?
We see it as a leadership issue. More specifically, senior directors must have a vision for the future of the business in the context of AI. One place to start is to consider how your competitors might use it—and how you can get there first.
Because AI may not ruin your business, but competitors armed with AI just might.
The next step is overcoming the cultural barriers. Every bit of tech we now use without hesitation—email, social media, teleconferencing—had its naysayers at their inception, and now we can’t function without them. We believe it will be the same with AI. So the Board itself need to foster enthusiasm for the new tools.
CEOs in particular need to use these new tools, and their use need to be visible within the organisation.
Consider how might your business benefit from the technology? Enlist your senior team in envisioning how AI might define your future. And in the meantime, CEOs can encourage staff to use AI for:
- Drafting copy, such as marketing copy or job descriptions
- A first check on legal and accounting rules
- Cracking Excel problems
- Suggesting meeting agendas
- Summarising meetings
Imagine having 100 interns
CEOs are seeing the possibility to quickly complete tasks that previously were unrealistically huge. With some preparation, simple jobs that we all know would just take far too long can now be done in an afternoon.
Getting the best out of AI on a larger scale may require data analysts and software developers. But the key step is having the vision, being able to confidently articulate it to the Board, and competently deliver it at a sensible cost.
Consider this question we like to ask CEOs: ‘Imagine having 100 interns…what would you accomplish?’
AI is a step change in the rate of change
AI is not just a change in business; it is an enabler for greater change! Like all new tech, its adoption requires leadership as well as expertise, and the first step is cultural change to embrace new opportunities rather than reject them.
A new vision needs to accompany a change in attitude, and everyone on the Board has a part to play, whether they’re directly involved with IT or not.
Freeman Clarke CIOs and CTOs are already expert at formulating a digital strategy that includes AI and delivering it on time and budget. And our fractional model means that their expertise is affordable.
Demystifying AI is not about chasing hype. It is about leadership, culture, and applying technology where it creates measurable business value. The organisations that succeed will be those that act early, experiment sensibly, and embed AI into everyday ways of working.
If you have any questions about AI or related tools, or would simply like to discuss how to better use IT and technology in your mid-market business, get in touch. We’re always up for a no-strings, no-pressure conversation.