13 Questions to Answer Before Implementing AI in Business

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Nobody needs to sell heavily anymore the idea that generative AI is the future. In nearly every industry, we can anticipate changes due to artificial intelligence in the upcoming years. AI has the potential to revolutionize productivity, and PwC's Global Artificial Intelligence Study predicts it will add $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. The study also highlights the necessity for strategic investments to realize this potential.

But it’s not just about the money. A HubSpot report states that artificial intelligence saves workers about 2.5 hours per day on repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on more important responsibilities.

According to a Forbes Advisor survey, most business owners believe artificial intelligence will benefit their businesses. 64% expect improvements in customer relationships and productivity, and 60% anticipate sales growth.

What Do Companies Need To Know Before Investing in AI?

Before implementing artificial intelligence, companies need to clearly understand their readiness, objectives, and the benefits they expect. This involves identifying the potential returns from such an investment and understanding the challenges involved in AI adoption. 

Main Factors That You Need To Consider When Implementing Artificial Intelligence 

Here is a brief outline of the main factors that you need to evaluate when you decide to take the leap and invest in AI for your business:

• Understand the objective — how to use artificial intelligence in business
• Define AI's role — what will it exactly do; how can I use AI
• Assess AI implementation initiative — how to implement AI in your business
• Protect personal data — will your business operations data be private and secure
• Recognize the risks — how does it align with your values and impact your stakeholders
• Prepare the workforce — train and educate your staff

While these points will give you a clearer perspective on the pathway to implementing AI, there are deeper points you need to explore for it to be successful. 

We listed 13 key questions every business leader should answer to confidently move forward with their AI investments. By addressing these questions, you can ensure a strategic approach to implementing AI in business and better understand the benefits and risks involved. 

1. What Specific Business Problems and Goals Are We Trying To Solve With AI?

You need to assess whether leveraging AI can solve business problems and if it can be tailored to address unique challenges within your company. Ask yourself what success looks like for your AI integrations. Well-defined objectives will help measure the impact of AI and guide your strategy.

• Define the business problems:

Clearly state what you aim to address with AI. A precise understanding of the issues will guide the selection of appropriate AI technologies and solutions, ensuring they deliver tangible benefits.

• Establish clear goals: 

Define how AI implementation will enhance your business operations, whether it is to boost efficiency, cut expenses, improve customer satisfaction, or create new products.

2. Where in Our Business Could AI Make the Biggest Impact?

Identify areas within your company where the workload is high and the tasks are repetitive. 

Determining areas with high manual effort is one of the first steps toward effective AI implementation. Every manager already understands that manual labor is often slow and error-prone. 

Group these areas by type of work, then rank them based on the required time and effort. For example, repetitive data entry tasks or customer service inquiries can be prime candidates for automation.

This approach helps prioritize AI implementation in areas that can significantly enhance efficiency and productivity, freeing employees to focus on more strategic and value-added activities.

3. Should We Develop AI Internally or Outsource?

The next question might be whether your company has the internal expertise to develop AI solutions or if partnering with external vendors would be more beneficial. This decision will shape your AI implementation strategy. 

4. How Much Do We Want To Invest?

Determine the financial resources you can allocate to exploring and implementing AI. Setting a clear budget will help guide the scale and scope of your AI projects.

This will help you prioritize which AI tools you are capable of investing in first and which AI initiatives you can pursue down the line. That way, you can ensure that your investments align with your overall business goals. 

This brings us to the next question you need to ask yourself, and it is about calculating ROI for your business.

5. How Will We Measure the Success of Our AI Endeavors?

When considering AI investments, estimating the potential ROI helps validate the investment and justify its costs later. Since each company has unique goals, working closely with the CFO and other stakeholders is essential to determine the relevant metrics.  

Here at Multimodal, we like to say, “Maximize ROI and minimize costs.“ Defining success criteria upfront will help track progress, demonstrate value, and make necessary adjustments to optimize outcomes.

Calculating the ROI of AI begins with identifying key metrics, which can vary significantly even between similar companies. We found these metrics matter the most when evaluating the performance and impact of AI projects:

6. Who Will Manage Implementation?

Identify which departments and teams within your organization are best equipped to lead AI projects. These teams will play a crucial role in piloting the efforts and scaling successful AI implementation. 

To drive successful AI implementation, people in those teams should have a mix of technical expertise, innovative thinking, and a strong understanding of business operations.

While anyone in your organization can lead the adoption of generative AI, the key is having a singular leader responsible for overseeing the generative AI strategy. This individual can come from various roles within the company, such as the CEO, head of IT, chief data officer, or head of AI. The specific title doesn't matter as much as the commitment to guiding the AI initiatives effectively.

7. What Data Will We Use?

You need to know the quality of your data and properly evaluate its current state. Is it well-organized and clean, or is it fragmented and cluttered? Do you have enough of it for AI model training? The readiness of your data will determine how quickly you can implement AI and what preparatory work you may need to do additionally.

Early-stage projects require data that represents the highest reward and lowest risk. However, before using all your available records, you must identify which training data types to make accessible. You might decide to use only a portion of it. Which, for many, turned out to be a better option.

Regardless of the approach you choose, bear in mind that the quality of generative AI's outputs directly correlates with the quality of the data it receives. Therefore, ensure you only employ clean and high-quality data.

8. Will Our Business Operations Information Be Private and Secure?

Speaking of data, one of the most important business objectives to consider is its security. Enterprises should focus on information collection and storage while ensuring legal compliance and ethical use. 

In addition to company data, you need to be mindful when managing collected customer data. Inform customers if their records will be stored and obtain consent through a form. Recognizing potential legal and ethical considerations in advance can safeguard against future complications, as these can vary by country. Therefore, always check local laws and ethical guidelines in each operating location.

What Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities Does AI Pose?

AI systems can face cybersecurity threats like data breaches and adversarial attacks, where malicious inputs deceive AI models. However, with robust security measures, continuous monitoring, and regular updates, you can effectively manage these risks. 

Implementing strong protection protocols and adhering to privacy regulations also help safeguard sensitive information, ensuring that AI can be securely integrated into your operations. That brings us to the next question. 

9. How Willing Are We to Take Risks With AI?

Consider your organization's risk tolerance. How ready and willing is your leadership to adopt new technologies? This will influence how aggressively you pursue AI integration and which partners you might choose.

CEOs commonly highlight two key resources when asked about their decision-making tools: financial and operational data. How do leading CEOs make informed choices amid debates on the ethics and practicality of AI-driven decisions versus human judgment?

• 75% assert that a competitive edge relies on possessing the most sophisticated generative AI;
• 50% are actively incorporating generative AI into their products and services;
• 43% leverage generative AI to shape their strategic decisions. 

And so, rather than slowing down AI adoption, there's more pressure to accelerate it. Discuss these issues and trends with the rest of your leadership team.

10. What About Compliance and Regulations?

Another important question to ask yourself is, what are the potential challenges and compliance issues with AI implementation?

Effective policies rely on compliance, which requires clear decisions on policy rollout and enforcement methods. Strategies for ensuring compliance include conducting regular audits, assigning clear responsibilities, and educating staff on the ethics of generative AI, which we will cover later.

11. What Are the Potential Negative Implications?

Generative AI carries some risks, such as the ones mentioned above. However, there are other perils to be mindful of, such as potential loss of copyright and intellectual property, unauthorized distribution of confidential data, and the creation of false information, known as hallucination. This makes governance essential. 

Leaders must take the initiative to develop a comprehensive policy strategy for generative AI use and carefully weigh the potential benefits and risks before expanding their investment in this technology. 

Does Adopting AI Align With Our Values and Impact Our Stakeholders?

When implementing AI in your business, you need to ensure it aligns with your values and positively impacts your stakeholders. Proactively addressing ethical concerns and biases can prevent future problems.

Additionally, communicate transparently with stakeholders about AI initiatives, involve them in the decision-making process, and consider the social implications of AI adoption. This approach fosters trust and ensures that AI implementation supports both organizational values and stakeholder interests.

12. How to Prepare the Workforce?

There are several factors you need to keep in mind when it comes to preparing your workforce for the implementation of AI.

Address Potential Resistance To AI Adoption Among Employees

Plan for potential resistance to AI adoption within your entire company, and don’t focus merely on your IT team for that. Develop strategies to engage and educate employees about the benefits of AI by addressing concerns and promoting a culture of innovation and adaptability.

Educate Your Employees About Generative AI

To answer what training employees need and who should undergo it, consider topics such as:

• The dangers of disclosing confidential or personal information
• The principles of ethics and transparency in the use of generative AI

Who Will Use Generative AI Tools?

Also, determine who should receive this training—should it be exclusive to team members using generative AI, or could there be advantages in extending it to all employees? Answering these questions will better frame your execution strategy.

Will AI Integration Impact Our Existing Workflows?

Analyze how AI implementation will fit into your current workflows and processes and consider the changes required to integrate AI smoothly. Planning for these adjustments will help minimize potential operational disruptions. 

13. What Is Our Long-Term Vision for AI in the Organization?

Every day a new AI tool pops up on the market, promising enhancements for your business. It can be overwhelming trying to keep up with these trends. Staying informed about external trends and industry benchmarks related to AI can help you identify best practices, avoid common pitfalls, and stay competitive in your industry.

You need to develop a long-term vision for AI adoption, considering how it can evolve with your business over time. This forward-looking strategy will ensure that AI initiatives are sustainable and aligned with future growth. 

This is also important to keep in mind when choosing a potential partner for AI implementation. It needs to be someone who can advance its products while understanding the needs of your particular business and tailoring customized solutions for you.

Conclusion

You will often hear the phrase, “AI is the future.“ However, our successful customer stories already showcase that AI is already the present. Implementing these technologies in business is an important decision that requires thorough preparation and strategic planning. By answering these questions on how to implement AI in business, enterprises can gain a clearer understanding of their readiness to adopt AI and develop a robust strategy for successful AI implementation. 

This proactive approach will help mitigate uncertainties, build confidence, and pave the way for AI to drive transformative changes in your business. Adopting artificial intelligence and automating your enterprise will help you stay competitive and ahead of the game. 

With careful planning and informed decision-making, you can harness the power of AI to achieve your business goals and drive future growth.

Ready To Explore How AI Can Transform Your Business?

You might have additional questions, like what to expect from an initial consultation on how AI can specifically benefit your organization or whether the AI solution can be customized to our company's needs. Do you want to know what long-term support looks like in AI adoption?

Contact us today to get all these answers and more, and discuss your AI strategy to learn how we can help implement the right solutions for your needs. Schedule a free 30-minute call with our team to discuss strategic implementations we can customize specifically for you.