AI’s transformative power: A four-step blueprint for business success

At Valtech, we understand the significance of AI and how these new tools, leveraging machine learning, are shaping not only our future but also the future of our workforces. Our mission is to accompany our clients and partners on this transformative journey to benefit from the potential of AI in a responsible way.  

One of the key pillars to ensure AI systems will benefit our society is having a regulatory framework that will make it safe, transparent, traceable and non-discriminatory. 

In that context, regulators have the dual responsibility to mitigate the dangers posed by new AI technologies and ensure fair market competition. Due to the scale and the speed of AI adoption in recent months, regulators have the duty to act swiftly to protect customers, and Valtech is closely monitoring all new regulations to guide our clients.  

As one of the leaders in responsible AI, Salesforce launched their AI cloud which brings the power of generative AI to supercharge customer experiences and boost company productivity. The open ecosystem approach of Salesforce allows you to use their own Large Language Models (LLMs), bring your own or use third-party LLMs in a secure, enterprise-ready way without compromising on data privacy and security.  

In this article, we will explore the four main steps towards building an efficient AI-enabled strategy. To illustrate these steps, we have outlined a fictive story that leverages salesforce AI’s new suite of tools to address a specific, yet quite generic business problem.

1) Understanding business issues

Before integrating AI, understanding current business challenges is vital. This step is the compass guiding the entire AI-powered transformation, and it’s pivotal for several key reasons. 

First, it enables tailored AI solutions. Every organization has unique issues and understanding them allows precise problem-solving. For instance, a transport company could focus on production and/or route optimization while a healthcare provider seeks AI-driven patient care improvements.  

Understanding those unique business issues will guide the data usage. Identifying business issues pinpoints the relevant data that will be crucial for training AI models and gaining relevant insights. Thusly, we will be able to manage expectations regarding the realistic AI capabilities.  

Finally, it fosters ongoing improvements as new challenges emerge, ensuring AI’s continued effectiveness.  

For instance, consider a customer support center. They may struggle with response times due to a heavy load of customer inquiries, leading to reduced customer satisfaction. Identifying the issues which could make the operation more efficient is the starting point.

2) Selecting the right tools

In today's tech landscape, many tools exist that can empower organizations. Choosing the right one(s) is a pivotal decision in the AI adoption process, here’s why it’s crucial:  

These tools empower your transformation journey. Just as the right tools are essential for a craftsman’s work, selecting AI tools aligned with your objectives is vital. They can enhance customer experiences, optimize supply chains, or improve decision making.  

They also maximize the potential of your data. The right AI set of tools will unlock valuable insights, drive informed decisions, innovation and therefore competitiveness.  

They should seamlessly integrate into your existing workflows, systems, processes to reduce disruptions and improving productivity. What sets Salesforce apart is its ability to connect multiple data sources seamlessly, even your proprietary Large Language Models.  

To illustrate, let's return to our customer support example. By harnessing Einstein GPT in Salesforce CRM (Customer Relationship Management), we can equip the support center employees with AI-driven tools that propose faster and more relevant responses based on previous interactions or any set of data. This addresses their efficiency concerns by providing the agents with the ability to offer timely and personalized solutions, significantly improving customer experiences. 

3) Implementation and governance

When implementing AI solutions, change management is vital, regulations are crucial, and data protection is paramount. Implementation can start a wide range of initiatives; however, we often recommend executing comprehensive AI strategies, starting with Proof of Concepts (POCs) to pilot cutting-edge AI tools. This is the way we ensure seamless integration: test, iterate, test, implement.  

This is where Salesforce Einstein comes into play, offering a trusted AI layer. Salesforce Einstein’s promises to ensure that your AI initiatives comply with industry regulations while safeguarding sensitive data and protects your client’s information by layering them into different algorithms. This layer of trust enables organizations to harness AI's power responsibly and ethically. 

This step, which we call contextualisation is key to any AI system implementation, to ensure full compliance with your company's ethics and your local and global regulations. You need to be a step ahead to build AI systems ready to comply with oncoming regulations such as the EU AI Act.  

In this stage, we test the new AI-powered CRM with a select number of employees. This tool now enables the client service partners to directly recommend the right offers to the clients based on their previous interactions or give the indication of the next best action* to provide. We see overall indices of client satisfaction drastically improving, and we recognize that our workforce works smarter. We’re ready to roll out this program throughout the entire organization.  

4) Training your employees for augmentation

Augmenting your workforce effectively and ensuring that the chosen tools are used to the full extent of their power requires reassurance and training.

Training empowers employees to maximize AI tools, streamlining responses for faster, more efficient customer service. It fosters a culture of continuous improvement, adapting to evolving AI technologies. In summary, training bridges the gap between AI’s potential and practical implementation, fostering innovation, efficiency and overall success within your organization.  

Returning to our customer support scenario, imagine your agents using GPT-driven recommendations that suggest direct and satisfying solutions based on analyzed historical interactions. These AI tools can streamline responses, whether by email or phone, resulting in faster and more effective customer service. When a case is transferred from agent to agent, the GPT can summarize what has been discussed making a smooth and fast handover possible. After understanding what the inquiry is about, instead of writing the response directly, the agent uses prompts and grounding to get the best response to the customer. To be able to use those tools, they have been trained by their colleague who tried the tool and now advocates for it. 

In conclusion, we believe the path to leveraging AI for business growth involves a four-step process not just an out of the box solution. It begins with understanding your organization's unique challenges, moves on to selecting the right combination of tools, implementing them with proper change management, security, ethics and governance, and finally, training your employees to augment their capabilities. By following this structured approach, you're not just adopting AI; you're harnessing it to drive meaningful improvements in your business operations. 

Our commitment goes beyond empowering diverse organizations in today's technological landscape. We collaborate to unlock AI's potential for business growth, spanning various industries and sizes.

Complemented by employee training programs and strategic communication plans for the dissemination of AI initiatives, our approach sets in motion organizations toward their AI objectives. We firmly believe in a future where AI harmonizes seamlessly with businesses, enhancing their efficiency and workforce as well as innovation and overall success.  

We also believe that effective policies are needed to mitigate risks posed by new AI systems and ensure a smooth transition and limited or controlled impacts on our society, and we are monitoring closely all the regulatory changes to advise our clients wisely. 

AI is here to empower humans, not to replace their jobs.  
 
To embark on this transformative journey, reach out to us today and let's explore together how AI can enhance your business!