In another blog post, we have already covered the more theoretical topics of identifying and prioritising an AI use case. In this blog post, we would like to be much more specific and use an example – but without concrete figures – to outline a case that could be suitable for amberSearch. In our case, this is one of several use cases, which can also be spread across different departments, that can be solved by us. We would be happy to help you define a use case!
Exemplary AI use case
There are use cases in companies that can be calculated down to the last euro and there are use cases that are somewhat softer but have just as high an impact. Since we have two solutions, amberSearch and amberAI, which are located in the unstructured area and in the information management area of a company respectively, our solution is more likely to belong to the latter. Below we have defined an example use case for a department:
Problem Statement
A short and concise sentence that summarises the user’s pain point and highlights the consequences. Example:
- Due to too many data silos, our sales department spends too much time researching information and too little time with customers, which leads to lost sales….
Problem description
This part should be a little more detailed. This is about building a user story. It could look like this, for example:
- Franz is still a fairly new employee in sales. Over the years, new software solutions and the way they are stored in the systems have changed time and again. In order to find information, he often has to look in different systems. Current information is stored in the CRM, for example. Information on older projects is stored in the project management tool. However, contracts & co. have been maintained in the DMS since the introduction of a DMS. And to check the status quo, Franz has to look in the ERP. In addition, he was not yet in the company when the various systems were introduced and therefore does not know when which system was switched from drives to the more specialised systems.
Consequences
This section deals with the actual negative impacts experienced by the company and its employees.
- A survey of employees revealed that 40% of sales staff spend more than 30 minutes a day searching for information. The search in the project management tool and in drives was seen as particularly challenging. In particular, it was criticised that each department stores information according to different schemes and that the software’s search function does not work well. Another point was that new employees in particular waste a lot of time formulating emails, as they sometimes lack the right wording. In particular, employees complained of high levels of frustration, as the constant searching keeps them from achieving their actual goals. It is recognised that although every system has its raison d’être, the data silos mean that work is often carried out on the basis of incomplete or incorrect information. In some cases, colleagues are consulted beforehand and sometimes incorrectly sent information has to be laboriously corrected afterwards, which also does not make a professional impression.
Added value
In this section, the main focus is on presenting the added value or business case.
- By introducing AI-based information management software such as amberSearch, we expect that
- We achieve a time saving of X hours/week/employee
- New employees become more productive faster
- Reduction of correction effort towards customers
- Optimised formulation of emails and other correspondence to customers using AI
- Decentralised systems become accessible in one place
- Increased employee satisfaction
- Reduction of frustration
A survey of employees revealed that departments X and Y in particular support the project and also see the added value.
Investment
In this section, the resources required to realise the use case can be discussed in more detail.
- The following resources are required to realise this use case:
- Investment of X initial, Y long-term
- Z hours for M of resource A,
- Z hours for N of resource B,
- ….
- The following systems must be connected:
- System A
- System B
- ….
- The following employees are affected
- Department A (X persons)
- Department B (Y persons)
- ….
Other factors
Other factors that can be included in such a use case are, for example, time frames, technical requirements, training for employees, security aspects and the definition of goals and success criteria according to which such projects should be evaluated.
However, AI also gives companies the opportunity to reposition themselves organisationally and introduce a different mindset:
Change management, new work and AI
For many years, it has been preached that it is increasingly important for employees to make the right decisions and implement them. It is no longer a question of an employee coming into a company with as much expertise as possible. The expertise is either available in the company or can be acquired quickly. It is much more a question of better utilising the knowledge in a transfer service and spending the time gained on, for or with the customer. To achieve this, the qualities of the employees required must change on the one hand and the tools must support this on the other. We have already published a blog article on the mindset change here. With amberSearch, we enable users to implement precisely these changes.
In the company, it is simply not about using the first-best information to make a decision, but the overall best information. Nevertheless, it often works like this:
The employee knows that there used to be something somewhere on the topic he was looking for… He starts clicking through the various systems and ends up with something that halfway fits. Since he doesn’t know whether he has any chance of success if he continues searching and this would also take a long time, he is satisfied with this and works out the rest anew. The alternative is not to search at all, but to ask colleagues directly, who then go looking for the person asking the question. In both cases, the enquirer only receives the first-best information.
With an intelligent search in conjunction with generative AI, as we do with amberAI and amberSearch, employees would be able to retrieve the relevant information directly themselves. This allows them to work much more independently and efficiently. The time previously spent searching around is not only frustrating, but also means that there is no time for the important things: how can I improve the company or make the customer more satisfied.
So if you invest in software like ours, you should be aware that you are not only solving a problem, but if you want to, you can lay the foundations for a future-orientated company mindset. This is also what the younger generation of employees expects.
Last but not least, in some of our other articles we have already discussed what you should look out for when choosing a software provider and which questions you should be able to answer yourself.