Returns will be key to fulfulling AI’s business promise

Using artificial intelligence (AI) to support business operations is not fully understood, and the availability of time and skills, as well as return on investment criteria, must be taken into account to justify investments in AI and ensure that the intended benefits are achieved, says market research firm Forrester senior analyst Brandon Purcell. He believes that AI will eventually significantly disrupt the way organisations win, serve, and retain customers, but not in the short term. To reap the intended benefits, it will take massive amounts of data to train AI systems to perform their jobs well enough to replace their human counterparts, he emphasises.