This is where conversational AI – including technologies like chatbots and virtual assistants – emerges as a powerful tool for enhancing public services. It uses the power of natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to transform how citizens interact with government services. This allows public sector organizations to streamline processes, enhance citizen engagement, and deliver more efficient and responsive governance.

This post explores six use cases of conversational AI in public sector governance, showcasing how these technologies are transforming interactions between governments and citizens.

Six ways to use conversational AI in public sector governance

1. Streamlining citizen services

One of the primary ways of implementing AI in public services is citizen support and service delivery.

Intelligent virtual assistants, like chatbots, can serve as the first point of contact for citizens seeking information or assistance with government services. Deploying these AI-powered tools on official websites and mobile apps can handle common inquiries, such as application processes, document requirements, and service availability.

Available 24/7, they provide instant responses, reducing wait times and making services accessible at any time. This alleviates the burden on human staff, particularly during peak times or high volumes of inquiries. They can also offer multilingual support, catering to a diverse population. And, use data from previous interactions to provide personalized assistance, enhancing the user experience.

An example of this is CHIP, the City Hall Internet Personality, in Los Angeles, which helps residents navigate city services and report issues. Similarly, the IRS chatbot in the United States assists with tax-related questions, alleviating the workload on human staff.

2. Enhancing public health communication

Conversational AI is a powerful tool in the public healthcare domains. These AI systems provide citizens with reliable health information, facilitate appointment scheduling, and monitor public health trends through natural language interactions. This enables public health authorities to efficiently manage large volumes of inquiries and maintain public trust during health emergencies.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed “Clara,” a conversational AI assistant that offers accurate, up-to-date information about COVID-19. Clara answers frequently asked questions and tackles misinformation, ensuring that the public receives trustworthy information during the pandemic.

Similarly, in India, the MyGov Corona Helpdesk on WhatsApp was introduced to answer citizens' questions about COVID-19, offering timely and accurate information on symptoms, preventive measures, and vaccination.

3. Improving public safety and emergency response

Conversational AI serves as a valuable solution in enhancing public safety and emergency response efforts. During an emergency, conversational AI assists public safety agencies in giving out crucial information to the public on evacuation routes, shelter locations, and safety protocols – helping citizens prepare for potential disasters. Further, chatbots can gather information from affected citizens, coordinate resources, and provide instructions for response teams.

This allows AI-powered chatbots to play a pivotal role in mitigating risks and ensuring the safety of citizens. They can make informed decisions and take appropriate actions to protect themselves and their families.

A notable example of this is Clara – the American Red Cross's conversational AI assistant.

During disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, or floods, Clara acts as a reliable source of information for affected individuals. Through various communication channels such as text messages, social media platforms, or the Red Cross website, it provides essential updates on shelter locations, emergency supplies, and safety precautions.

Plus, Clara offers personalized assistance by answering inquiries from individuals seeking help or information, such as finding a nearby shelter, locating loved ones, or accessing emergency resources. It is also integrated with FEMA's database, allowing it to provide more accurate and up-to-date assistance to individuals affected by disasters.

4. Automating administrative tasks

Conversational AI transforms the daily routines of government employees by automating repetitive administrative tasks.
For instance, consider employees within the State of New York's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Instead of manually scheduling appointments, responding to routine inquiries, or providing information on license renewals, DMV employees can rely on chatbots to handle these tasks efficiently.

This automation not only saves time but also reduces the administrative burden on staff members, allowing them to focus on higher-value activities such as processing complex applications, resolving customer issues, or developing innovative solutions to improve service delivery.

Further, conversational AI facilitates seamless internal communications within government offices. Chatbots can assist employees in scheduling meetings, managing calendars, or providing important announcements, ensuring that information is communicated effectively and efficiently across departments.

This way, government employees can work more effectively and collaboratively, leading to improved efficiency, productivity, and overall job satisfaction.

5. Taxation and revenue collection

Tax compliance and revenue collection are essential functions of government, but they can often be complex and confusing for citizens.

Conversational AI can simplify these processes by providing personalized guidance, answering tax-related queries, and facilitating online filings or payments. It understands natural language inputs, allowing users to ask questions in plain language and receive clear, concise responses tailored to their specific circumstances. This helps demystify complex tax concepts and ensures taxpayers have a better understanding of their obligations and entitlements.

Additionally, conversational AI streamlines the tax filing process by guiding taxpayers through step-by-step instructions, helping them complete forms accurately, and providing real-time feedback to prevent errors. Taxpayers can also receive reminders and notifications about important deadlines or upcoming tax events, reducing the risk of missed filings or payments.

Overall, this improves efficiency, transparency, and user experience for taxpayers. Plus, citizens can fulfill their tax obligations more effectively while enhancing government revenue collection efforts.

Consider the experience of taxpayers interacting with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States. With conversational AI, taxpayers receive tailored assistance in understanding tax-related processes. These AI assistants are accessible through various channels such as the IRS website, mobile apps, or even voice-enabled devices, providing taxpayers with instant support and guidance at their convenience.

6. Fraud detection and prevention

Imagine having a personal detective at your disposal, tirelessly processing vast amounts of data, analyzing intricate patterns, and alerting you to any suspicious activity. That's exactly how conversational AI can operate within government agencies, serving as an invaluable detective in the department of fraud detection and prevention.

Conversational AI goes beyond mere detection by facilitating proactive fraud prevention. It can automatically generate notifications when suspicious activities are identified, empowering government agencies to intervene promptly and prevent financial losses or protect taxpayer funds.

Conversational AI also fosters collaboration and information sharing among government agencies involved in fraud detection and prevention efforts. This way, agencies can work together more effectively, leveraging their collective resources and expertise to combat fraud.

Further, it safeguards public funds, ensures the integrity of government programs, and ultimately protects the interests of citizens.

Final thoughts

The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have revolutionized various sectors – and the public sector is no exception.

As governments strive to meet the evolving needs and expectations of their citizens, we can expect to see even more innovative applications of conversational AI in the public sector,

However, it's important to note that the successful implementation of conversational AI in the public sector requires careful consideration of ethical principles, data privacy, and security measures. Transparency, accountability, and citizen trust must be at the forefront as governments embrace this transformative technology.

The post Six Use Cases of Conversational AI in Public Sector Governance appeared first on Datafloq.

Either their current platform isn't performing up to the mark, or it can't scale, or there is high-cost ownership, and whatnot. Studies show that more than 60% of eCommerce companies are planning to migrate to an eCommerce platform soon.

But with this migration comes many considerations such as what platforms to use and how to migrate your data.

What is eCommerce Data Migration?

eCommerce data migration is relocating all your assets like media, images, blog posts, products, customer accounts, customer information, internal user accounts, and website data to your new platform. It is a one-way process where data is completely transferred to a new location, and you eventually abandon the old system or database.

Although it might seem straightforward, eCommerce migration or eCommerce replatforming is complex and time-consuming, considering the massive amount of data, product pages, and user information you have to migrate and ensuring its safety while doing so.

Data isn't always the same between systems even if you're migrating from one eCommerce platform to another. There may be gaps in the way the information is stored or differences in data functionality.

Understanding different data migration techniques in eCommerce helps you understand which would be the best method for data migration and how it can help you meet your eCommerce migration goals faster and more efficiently.

Techniques for eCommerce Data Migration

1. Manual or In-house

If you have a small site with limited data, you can conduct data migration manually and in-house. Your team can simply export CSV files from your current cart and import them to the platform you're migrating.

Ensure that you don't lose data when exporting databases into CSV files and that data is located in the right folder after importing. Compare CSV file structures and make necessary changes before importing them to your new platform to ensure data compatibility and exact location.

2. Apps

Various apps in the market make it possible for you to import products, customers, and order history to your store and assist with the data migration process.

For example, if you're transferring your site to Shopify, you can leverage Shopify's store importer app that allows you to transfer your data from your old platform to Shopify. Other similar apps include WooCommerce Importer and Cart2Cart.

3. APIs or Data Migration Service

If you're approaching a third party for migration, they facilitate data transfer through proprietary APIs that let you import data to your new platform.

You can consult different data migration service providers with expertise in using data migration tools. They can effectively transfer your data since they understand nuanced data structures, formats, and types that power each platform's functionality. After migration, they also assist in continuous monitoring using an eCommerce monitoring platform and analyze performance on new sites.

4. Assisted Migration

This is similar to manual data migration, but you're instead hiring a digital agency or a freelancer who can transfer your data for you. They also essentially use the transfer option through exporting CSV files.

However, it can be very time-consuming and expensive for you to consider this service as you'd need more than one developer, and it can also result in many errors due to a lack of understanding of the two eCommerce platforms.

Wrapping Up

For an eCommerce store, data is everything. It fuels their marketing efforts and holds valuable customer information. Understanding the data migration process and techniques helps you seamlessly transfer your data from one platform to another while also ensuring its safety and compatibility with different platforms.

The post 4 Techniques for Effective Ecommerce Data Migration appeared first on Datafloq.

AI systems use advanced algorithms to automate mundane tasks and solve complex issues. And in the coworking space, this technology can be used in ways that can help coworking operators save time and money, and make data-driven choices for the whole organization.

In this blog, we'll explore five ways in which artificial intelligence (AI) technologies might impact coworking spaces in the near future.

5 ways AI can revolutionize coworking spaces

1. Space optimization

Coworking spaces aim to provide flexible and shared work environments. However, optimizing the usage of the available space can be quite complex as different individuals have different needs.

Some may require private offices, while others prefer open workstations or collaborative areas. Further, certain areas might be overcrowded during peak hours, while some spaces may remain underutilized. And you can't imagine how dissatisfied members can become due to incorrect seating arrangements and allocation of meeting rooms and other facilities.

Hence, it's crucial to balance these diverse needs that accommodate user preference, promote collaboration, and ensure equal access to amenities – while using the available space efficiently. This is where integrating AI to monitor, analyze, and optimize space utilization improves the efficiency of spaces and enhances the overall coworking experience.

AI-powered sensors track occupancy levels in real time, identifying which areas are in use and which are vacant. This data helps understand peak usage times and underutilized areas. AI also assigns workspaces based on users' preferences and ensures they are seated in proximity to those they work with. Further, it suggests layout changes to maximize space utilization.

2. Smart work environment

AI plays a significant role in making coworking spaces more efficient, cost-effective, and user-centric.

With integration with Internet of Things (IoT) devices, AI automates tasks, such as turning lights or audiovisual systems on and off based on real-time occupancy, reducing energy wastage. AI tools also continuously monitor the consumption of utilities, such as water or energy. This provides a clear picture of what might be contributing to higher bills.

Since coworking spaces are filled with individuals working in close proximity, noise can be a major hindrance. But with AI tools, you can oversee noise levels across various workspace areas, helping members choose quiet zones for focused work. What's more? AI also predicts maintenance needs for equipment and facilities, resulting in proactive repairs in decreased disruptions.

3. Enhanced workspace security

A coworking space, where multiple individuals and companies work together, presents various security considerations. For example, protecting sensitive data while using shared Wi-Fi or printers, physical security breaches, managing access to the premises, and more.

To address these challenges, coworking spaces need to implement comprehensive security measures, which involve leveraging AI-enabled security tools. Some of these include:

• AI-powered facial recognition systems use advanced algorithms to capture an image of the person's face, which is then compared to a database of authorized faces. Access is granted only when the person's face matches the entry in the database – ensuring that only authorized individuals enter the premises.
• AI tools also study the behavioral patterns of individuals within the coworking space. This includes detecting data, such as unusual access attempts to restricted zones, interactions with shared resources, and other activities that trigger alerts for potential security breaches. This allows for early detection of suspicious activities and ensures that coworking space providers are notified promptly about potential security risks.
• The AI system integrates with fire and safety systems, such as smoke detectors, heat sensors, fire alarms, and emergency lighting, to monitor the space for risks and alert the coworking space occupants, helping them exit the premises safely.

4. Improved productivity

Embracing AI technology also enhances the efficiency and productivity of coworking space operations.

It excels at handling repetitive and time-consuming tasks that would otherwise demand considerable human effort. For example, generating automated emails, sending reminders, or updating website information, can be effectively managed by AI systems. This frees up administrators to dedicate their time and effort to more value-added tasks.

AI systems also manage essential operation tasks better than humans, which includes adjusting heating, cooking, and lighting to maintain ideal working conditions for coworkers. Further, AI tracks the utilization of various areas and guides the cleaning staff to focus on high-traffic zones. This not only promotes cleanliness in the premises but also provides a positive user experience.

And if you're concerned about providing 24/7 customer support to members, AI-powered chatbots can be your best bet. Not only do these answer frequently asked questions and provide information about available spaces and amenities, but also assist potential customers in their decision-making process.

5. Boosting marketing efforts

Operating a successful coworking space demands substantial time and effort, especially when it comes to creating marketing resources, such as product descriptions, newsletters, and social media posts. These tasks can be daunting for coworking operators with limited time, resources, and expertise. Fortunately, AI-powered tools help in addressing these challenges.

With AI-driven tools like ChatGPT and Jasper, you can craft engaging descriptions of coworking offerings, like meeting rooms, desks, and membership plans – in seconds. AI tools also come to the rescue when producing promotional materials, such as blog articles, social media content, website content, etc.

Not only do these tools save your time but also ensure consistency in tone and messaging across various marketing materials. Plus, it helps in attracting a wider audience and delivering exceptional workspace experience.

Wrapping up

To sum it up, harnessing the power of artificial intelligence in a coworking space can positively impact how it operates and the experiences it offers to its members and potential customers. Further, it is a powerful tool to maximize the coworking space' efficiency and productivity.

However, integrating AI systems into your day-to-day operations is not enough. Coworking space operators and occupants need to learn to use and trust these machines with their data and to complete complex tasks accurately. This demands investing time in training and familiarizing themselves with AI tools, ensuring proper management and optimization of these technologies.

The post AI’s Potential to Revolutionize Coworking Spaces appeared first on Datafloq.

The advent of advanced algorithms, Big Data, and the exponential increase in computing power has propelled AI‘s transition from theory to real-world apps.

However, AI has also unveiled a darker side, attracting cyber attackers to weaponize the technology and create havoc in ways unimaginable!

Deloitte states that 34.5% of organizations experienced targeted attacks on their accounting and financial data in 12 months. This shines a light on the importance of maintaining a risk register for tracking potential threats.

Another research further emphasizes this – a staggering 80% of cybersecurity decision-makers acknowledge the need for advanced cybersecurity defenses to combat offensive AI. Let us dive deep into the double-edged nature of the technology.

Top 4 AI-enabled phishing and cybersecurity threats to know

Cyber threats are on the rise, both in terms of complexity and volume. Here are four examples that are creating a buzz in today's security landscape for all the wrong reasons:

1. Deepfakes

This manipulative technique creates realistic-looking and highly convincing video, audio, and image content that impersonates individuals and organizations using AI algorithms.

Deepfakes can push fake news or negative propaganda to confuse or skew public opinion and imitate the victim's voice or appearance to gain unauthorized access to secure systems.

Using this technology, cyber attackers can instruct employees to perform actions that compromise the organization's security, such as sharing confidential data or transferring funds.

Remember when in 2019, the CEO of a UK-based energy firm got scammed into wiring 220,000 to a scammer's bank account because he thought he was speaking to his boss on the phone, who had the recognizable “subtle German accent?”

The voice, in fact, belonged to a fraudster who used AI voice technology to spoof the German chief executive. Deepfakes are known to make phishing attempts much more personable and believable!

2. Data poisoning

While data poisoning is typically associated with Machine Learning (ML), it can also be applied in the context of phishing.

It is a type of attack where misleading or incorrect information is intentionally inserted into a dataset to maneuver the dataset and minimize the accuracy of a model or system.

For example, most people know how prominent social media companies like Meta and Snap handle data. Yet, they willingly share personal info and photos on the platforms.

A data poisoning attack can be launched on these platforms by slowly corrupting data integrity within a system. Once the data gets tainted, it leads to several negative consequences, such as:

• Inaccurate predictions or assumptions
• Disruptions in day-to-day operations
• Manipulation of public opinion
• Biased decision-making

Ultimately, data poisoning is considered a catalyst for financial fraud, reputation damage, and identity threat.

3. Social engineering

It typically involves some form of psychological manipulation, fooling otherwise unsuspecting individuals into handing over confidential or sensitive information that may be used for fraudulent purposes.

Phishing is the most common type of social engineering attack. By leveraging ML algorithms, cyber attackers analyze volumes of data and craft convincing messages that bypass conventional cyber security measures.

These messages may appear to come from trusted sources, such as reputable organizations and banks. For example, you might have come across an SMS or email like:

• Congrats! You have a $500 Walmart gift card. Go to “http://bit.ly/45678” to claim it now.
• Your account has been temporarily locked. Please log in at “http://goo.gl/45678” to secure your account asap!
• Netflix is sending you a refund of $56.78. Please reply with your bank account and routing number to receive your money.

Cyber attackers want to evoke emotions like curiosity, urgency, or fear in such scenarios. They hope you would act impulsively without considering the risks, potentially leading to unauthorized access to critical data.

4. Malware-driven generative AI

The powerful capabilities of ChatGPT are now being used against enterprise systems, with the AI chatbot generating URLs, references, functions, and code libraries that do not exist.

Through this, cyber attackers can request a package to solve a specific coding problem only to receive multiple recommendations from the tool that may not even be published in legitimate repositories.

Replacing such non-existent packages with malicious ones could deceive future ChatGPT users into using faulty recommendations and downloading malware onto their systems.

How to protect your organization against AI phishing scams

As the sophistication levels of cyber attacks continue to evolve, it is essential to adopt several security measures to keep hackers at bay, including:

1. Implement the Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) protocol

As the name suggests, MFA is a multi-step account login process that requires additional info input than just a password. For instance, users might be asked to enter the code sent on their mobile, scan a fingerprint, or answer a secret question along with the password.

MFA adds an extra layer of security and reduces the chances of unauthorized access if credentials get compromised in a phishing attack.

2. Deploy advanced threat detection systems

These systems use ML algorithms to analyze patterns, identify anomalies, and proactively notify users about potentially dangerous behaviors such as deepfakes or adversarial activities, thereby giving organizations a leg up over cybercriminals and other threat actors.

Many Security Operational Centers use Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) technology in tandem with AI and ML capabilities to enhance threat detection and notification.

The arrangement allows the IT teams to focus more on taking strategic actions than firefighting; it improves efficiency and cuts down the threat response time.

3. Establish Zero Trust architectures

Unlike traditional network security protocols focusing on keeping cyber attacks outside the network, Zero Trust has a different agenda. Instead, it follows strict ID verification guidelines for every user and device attempting to access organizational data.

It ensures that whenever a network gets compromised, it challenges all users and devices to prove that they are not the ones behind it. Zero Trust also limits access from inside a network.

For instance, if a cyber attacker has gained entry into a user's account, they cannot move within the network's apps. In a nutshell, embracing Zero Trust architectures and integrating them with a risk management register helps create a more secure environment.

4. Regularly update security software

This measure is commonly overlooked, and it is essential for maintaining a strong defense against AI-driven phishing and cyber security threats. Software updates include patches that address known anomalies and vulnerabilities, ensuring your systems are safe and secure.

5. Educate and train your employees

Training programs come in handy to raise awareness about the tactics employed by cyber attackers. You must, therefore, have the budget for teaching your employees different ways to identify various phishing attempts and best practices for responding to them.

Over to you

The role of AI in phishing indeed represents a frightening challenge in this day and age. Addressing such cybersecurity threats requires a multi-faceted approach, including user education, advanced detection systems, awareness programs, and responsible data usage practices.

Employing a systematic risk register project management approach can help you enhance your chances of safeguarding sensitive data and brand reputation. In addition, you should work closely with security vendors, industry groups, and government agencies to stay abreast of the latest threats and their remediation.

The post Digital Deception: Combating The New Wave Of AI-Enabled Phishing And Cyber Threats appeared first on Datafloq.

That's when the power of advanced technology and tools to conduct seamless online classes became more evident. Several industry leaders took the initiative to introduce artificial intelligence, cloud, and various other advanced technology-based tools to help educators. The investment in these e-learning tools witnessed remarkable growth and continues to flourish with no end in sight.

In fact, reports state that the e-learning market size, which was $200 billion in 2019, might cross $400 billion by 2026. What's more? Research affirms that learners and educators have optimistic opinions about e-learning.

This post is about the top benefits of using advanced technology and tools for e-learning. You'll also learn about state-of-the-art tools to enhance the online teaching-learning experience. So, let's get started!

Top Benefits of Advanced Technology and Tools for e-Learning

Here are the top five benefits of using advanced technology and tools for online teaching-learning.

1. Provides a Personalized Classroom Experience

Personalized teaching sessions involve understanding students' unique needs and learning patterns to impart in-depth knowledge via lectures. Its goal is to reduce friction and boost students' interest in a specific topic or subject. However, creating a personalized experience is challenging. The reason? Each learner has their preferences when it comes to learning. Besides, collecting and analyzing real-time data is labor-intensive.

Traditional e-learning platforms often come with basic collaboration functionalities. A lack of intelligent features can fail to deliver personalized experiences, negatively impacting the outcomes. Research affirms that the right technology and tools are vital for positive learning results.

What's the solution?

With artificial intelligence technology-powered e-learning tools, you can achieve your goals! For instance, these tools use natural language processing (NLP), sentiment analysis, and machine learning to discover in-depth insights into students' profiles. The educators can observe granular details like areas of expertise and learning patterns of each learner.

AI-based e-learning platforms leverage advanced analytics to help educators analyze crucial insights and track learners' progress. This approach can help tweak teaching plans, thus ensuring seamless e-learning.

2. Offers Access to the Library of Digital Resources

Advanced technology-based tools can lay a strong foundation for thoughtful and skill-based learning. They can help educators encourage the students to develop a “learner” attitude and skills like problem-solving, reasoning, critical thinking, and more. Here's how:

Educators can create and share a library of digital assets offering in-depth insights (beyond a particular topic or subject). These valuable resources can imbibe curiosity to learn more. In fact, research states that digital educational resources can revolutionize the teaching-learning process. Traditionally, educators used tools like Google Drive, iCloud, and more to manage and share resources. But segmenting and finding helpful resources from hundreds of digital assets was labor-intensive.

To tackle this issue, advanced cloud technology-based digital asset management (DAM) software can empower educators to overcome these content management challenges. For instance, DAM tools can help organize, save, access, and distribute digital content assets to learners, thus streamlining the e-learning process.

With a few clicks, educators can find the required content to be shared, including images, videos, documents, and more. There's no need to browse the plentitude of files, thus saving time and effort. The result? The students get tailored content to enhance their learning. Besides, you can leverage AR and VR-driven e-learning tools (augmented and virtual reality). They can create immersive experiences to explain complex concepts.

Source

So, provide the best resources to support your students all along.

3. Assists with Monitoring Student Attendance

Research reveals that students' attendance directly impacts their overall performance. No wonder all educators track students' attendance without fail. Most e-learning tools empower educators to accurately monitor each student's attendance with a few clicks in real time. However, AI-based attendance tracking tools can take the process a notch further.

For instance, with AI-powered attendance trackers, you can monitor and generate detailed reports on:

• The exact number of days when students miss out on classes
• Classes that learners skip and attend – daily/weekly/monthly/yearly
• Attendance patterns (how often they are absent)

In the case of high absenteeism, you can take corrective measures without hassles. Advanced AI tools offer predictive and prescriptive analytics to help educators take actionable steps. This strategic approach can encourage learners to attend classes, thus boosting their overall performance.

4. Helps Assign and Manage Projects

Besides conducting online teaching-learning sessions, educators have a few more crucial responsibilities, such as creating, assigning, and managing projects.

Here's the traditional way of doing it:

• Educators research and collect the latest information to prepare for an upcoming lecture.
• Based on the topic, they create a questionnaire in advance.
• After the lecture, they dictate the assignment to the students.

The entire process consumes valuable time, effort and is a big headache! Leveraging advanced cloud technology-based platforms inbuilt with project management capabilities can ease your journey. These platform offers features to help educators create, upload, assign, and manage projects with a few clicks. This saves their precious time and effort. For instance, with cloud-based project management tools, you can –

• Create project deadlines
• Track students' project progress
• Share project updates
• Provide instant feedback
• Build collaborative spaces (for project discussions)

This way, you can optimize your teaching process and boost classroom productivity for the best outcomes.

Summing Up

For educators embracing digital, deploying advanced technology-driven e-learning tools is crucial to foster a positive learning experience. The advanced technology-equipped tools shared in this post can be your reliable partner in the online teaching-learning journey. They can help educators engage and establish strong relationships with students. So, leverage them to streamline your online teaching workflow and enhance productivity.

The post How Advanced Technology and Tools Are Transforming e-Learning appeared first on Datafloq.

Questionnaires and in-person consumer interviews were formerly the mainstays for product managers in collecting end-user feedback. These tactics helped product managers learn about their customers' experiences with their products. But now, they use a product management platform that integrates with product analytics tools to scoop key data about customer interactions.

Product managers leverage data to understand customer trends and preferences, optimize product performance and identify new growth opportunities. Another factor is data can be used to optimize product designs and features to improve customer experience. Data analytics can help measure product launch campaigns' success and track customer feedback trends.

Product managers use data analysis to get answers to questions like –

• What happened to the product after its release?
• What is the current state of the product?
• Can this product be better?
• Do users like the product? If not, what are their expectations?

Such descriptive answers require collecting data from multiple sources (tools, customer feedback, customer support team, etc.) and then summarizing it into useful metrics that provide insight into the current performance of the product.

Overall, 89% of marketers already leverage data analytics to make strategic decisions, which shows why data analytics is important for product management.

For more, let's dive in!

Track key metrics

Product managers may not involve themselves in collecting and poring every possible information they find. Doing so may overwhelm them and other team members to make sense of the data. Therefore, they can pick up the ethics of analytics and start identifying the necessary information that feeds the product enhancement actions.

Focus on key performance indicators that help save time and effort by restricting the search to the most relevant results.

Here are some of the most important indicators for a product manager to consider-

Engagement: Knowing how much the customers use your product can help plan a roadmap to enhance their experience. Collect key user information like how they found your product, what made them sign up, which features they often used (and seldom), and what kept them coming back. Such data can help fine-tune products to provide a large audience with the best possible user experience.

Customer churn: Keep tabs on customer churn to discover why customers stop using the product. It compels product managers to reconsider product features, customer service concerns, or pricing. This way, product managers will better understand where to put their efforts to reduce customer attrition.

Cost of new customers: This powerful metric feeds the marketing and sales team to streamline their efforts. It helps product managers calculate the cost of acquiring a new customer. The rise and fall observed in this metric help adjust marketing and product pricing strategies.

Customer lifetime value (CLV): This metric can help move beyond simply gauging the money customers spend buying the product. Knowing this helps you know the behavior of your valuable customers, based on which you can motivate them to continue with such behavior. Product managers must fine-tune aspects like onboarding experience, improving average order value, and long-lasting building relationships that drive loyalty.

Make informed decisions

First, data analytics plays a pivotal role in product management that helps managers make informed decisions and provide the direction to meet customer needs effectively. It begins with gaining insights into customer preferences and behaviour, which further propels identifying new product trends and opportunities.

And this way, product managers can measure existing product success, and if needed, they can refine the same.

The decision-making of product managers through data analysis includes (but is not limited to) the following –

Track product sales and performance: Data analytics help track the sales and performance of a particular product. This helps product managers decide where to allocate resources and how to promote products best to maximize profitability.

Identify trends in customer buying habits: With data analytics, product managers can identify trends in customer buying habits and use this information to develop new strategies for marketing campaigns or create more targeted promotions for specific customers or segments.

Customer satisfaction: Data analytics also provides valuable insight into customer satisfaction, enabling product managers to identify and analyze potential issues before they start hindering customer experience.

Understand the competitive landscape: Data analytics helps product managers better understand the competitive landscape by providing an in-depth look at competitors' offerings, pricing strategies, and promotional activities to stay ahead of the competition while keeping costs low effectively.

Open inroads for A/B testing

A/B testing involves comparing two product versions (A and B) to determine which is more effective. This test involves identifying the most successful features in improving user engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty (some of which were discussed earlier).

For this, product managers must accurately understand how users interact with their products. And this is where data analytics comes in for A/B testing – leveraging metrics like user behaviour, usage patterns, and preferences.

Quickly identify changes that impact user engagement and other key metrics by implementing A/B tests for effective product management. Here, product managers can make small changes to a single product feature or element and measure its impact on user behaviour.

This approach simplifies identifying features that need improvement or product elements that no longer add value. Making such adjustments based on data-driven insights helps product managers ensure that they continuously improve their products by making the right decisions time and again.

Optimize pricing strategies

Pricing plays an integral role in determining the success or failure of a SaaS product. Therefore, product managers must implement an effective pricing strategy by leveraging data analytics tools that offer audience segmentation, cohort analysis, retention analysis, or other predictive modelling techniques.

Product managers can analyze customer segments or other factors like seasonality or competitors' pricing to optimize pricing strategies. This requires them to set prices that maximize profits while still being competitive in the marketplace.

Firstly, product managers collect necessary customer data (past purchases, successful upselling, etc.) and use advanced analytics and product management tools to analyze it. These tools allow businesses to uncover patterns in customer behavior and market trends that help make informed pricing decisions.

For example, product managers can use predictive analytics to forecast future demand for certain products or services based on past data. This helps adjust prices accordingly to capture the maximum profit while remaining competitive with competitors.

Wrapping up

A lot would depend on the data quality when using analytics for product management. It helps drive smarter decisions when developing new offerings, refining an existing product, or targeting a new market. Using data for making such crucial decisions can help optimize deliverables and ensure maximum profitability.

Product managers can leverage the power of data-driven insights to help teams gain visibility into user behavior patterns. This allows tailoring products to cater to customer needs and prove successful in target market segments. Also, product managers work to capitalize on new opportunities quickly before they become saturated with similar offerings, and this keeps the product relevant amidst the growing competition.

The post Importance of Data Analytics for Product Managers appeared first on Datafloq.

For instance, in 2015, Coca-Cola strengthened its customer retention strategy with the help of big data analysis through a loyalty program. Netflix is also known to use it for its personalized recommendations and targeted advertising efforts by studying the behavioral data it collects.

Today, we would be focusing on the how to' part of using Big Data. But before we move on to that, let's take a quick look at the why' as well.

Why Is Big Data Analytics Important?

Reaching an understanding of why we insist on analyzing a vast data mine is of crucial significance. Unless we realize why an act is being done, it cannot be carried out optimally and data analysis is not a place where you'd want to be any less than thorough.

Following are some of the reasons that make data analytics as important as it is.

• Realistic Goal Setting: Ambitious yet attainable goals can be set according to the market conditions and the company's own standing, backed by the data.

• Effective Marketing: The efforts put into marketing and promotional activities can be more target-oriented and personalized, thus being more effective than generic hit-and-miss.

• New Revenue Opportunities: Unexplored potential markets can be discovered and aimed for, thus uncovering new business growth opportunities.

How To Leverage Big Data Analytics?

For many companies, success with big data analytics is often limited. This is due to the lack of know-how about how to use data optimally for better business decisions and results.

But while every organization has its own ways of going about it, here are three key ways to start gaining some amazing results with big data analytics for your business.

Marketing and Targeted Advertising

Although analytics has now become the heart and soul of marketing activities, its entry into the industry can be traced back to the period where companies began realizing what ideas enticed the consumer towards their products and services.

Ever since then, data analysis has been used for several purposes, from A/B testing to experimenting with new marketing channels. Gaining a deeper understanding of the markets as well as the potential and existing consumers also helped focus the advertising efforts in a more targeted manner.

For instance, big data analytics can help provide insights on what particular customers are most interested in, and that information can be used to target them with more personalized email campaigns.

Analyzing customer behavior and buying patterns for enhanced personalization is now a favorite of marketers around the world. In eCommerce, search intent analysis also enables marketers to devise stronger eCommerce SEO strategies.

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HR and People Analytics

Admittedly, information on consumer behavior is of significant importance as we discussed above. However, data about the efficiency, wellness, and welfare of employees working in your organization is also vital to creating a productive and happy work environment.

When used in the human resources department, data analysis can help in a wide range of tasks sorting qualified resumes, keeping a track of the impact of training provided, and collecting performance data of the workers alongside their pain points to name a few. By figuring out and resolving your employees' problem areas, you not only help your staff out of a bottleneck but also enable them to focus on crucial tasks by freeing up their time.

Qlik and Visier are two tools that can assist you with this process.

Supply Chain

Out of the three main entities in any business transaction, we have covered the use of data analytics for two. Now comes the third one, your vendors and suppliers.

Supply chain management has always been a complex activity and even though the traditional ways have come a long way, they can still be improved significantly using big data analytics.

For example, with the predictive analytical models, a supplier can monitor their inventory along with determining the chances and timeline of potential delays in delivery and preemptive replenishment, if any. The supply routes can also be optimized which can prevent them from suffering major losses.

Modern supply chain systems based on big data allow for more complex B2B supplier networks. PepsiCo is one of the major market players that relies on data analytics for an efficient supply chain management process.

Closing Thoughts

As a business owner, what ultimately matters is the fact that your enterprise is on track for growth, and an assurance that it will continue to do so in the future.

Big data analytics is an important enabler for that, so it's time to start leveraging it for your business.

The post 3 Ways to Successfully Leverage Big Data Analytics for Your Business appeared first on Datafloq.

The analytics and forecasting applications alone have enabled companies to have a giant reputation by having market and customer data at their fingertips.

As the world recovers from the after-effects of the pandemic, AI is likely to assume an even bigger role in our lives, and certain key trends are expected to take off in a big way in 2021. Here is how AI applications can benefit your business this year:

1. Emphasis on advanced and ethical data processing

The amount of data currently stored on devices, and the cloud worldwide is immense, and it will only increase as more devices come online every day.

To take advantage of this data, businesses need to incorporate machine learning algorithms to mine this data and draw insights from it.

One obvious application of data is hyper-personalization, where tailored marketing messages can be sent to each customer based on what they have browsed for before, where they are based, what income level they belong to, and so on.

Another aspect of data processing in 2021 will be data collection that navigates the privacy and legal connotations of using a customer's identity and online activity for marketing purposes.

2. Rise in augmented and virtual reality applications

Thus far, augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) have been regarded as something of a novelty, more for recreational applications (like gaming headsets or apps such as Pokemon Go) than anything else.

In 2021, however, more companies will be incorporating AR and/or VR into their marketing strategies. For instance, IKEA's Place application allows customers to preview what a piece of furniture will look like in their own homes.

Several fashion brands, such as Nykaa and MAC Cosmetics, also create this kind of immersive experience, allowing customers to try lipstick shades virtually and determine the best color for themselves.

This helps customers make better choices and makes the shopping experience more fun, both of which contribute to more sales. With COVID-19 and social distancing norms in place, more and more people will be looking for virtual shopping options, and AR/VR technologies make this possible.

3. Website optimization for voice-based searches

Over the last decade or so, the use of AI-powered voice assistants like Apple‘s Siri, Microsoft‘s Cortana, Amazon‘s Alexa, and the Google Assistant has gone up.

People often prefer to say what they would like done ‘from smartphone activities to managing home appliances ‘rather than type it out.

Major advances in machine learning that allow search engines to pick up natural language speech patterns have contributed to this popularity in voice search.

According to Statista, 8.4 billion voice-based assistants will be in use by 2024. Imagine how easy it would be for people living with physical disabilities to use voice-based devices and search for specific keywords and easily navigate websites.

Thus, one way for websites to adapt to the voice search trend is by ranking for keywords and phrases that people are likely to use while talking. Other strategies include optimizing local content and providing clear, immediate assistance in response to the search queries (rather than merely redirecting them to your website).

A significant component of this is conversational search, such as which restaurant near me is open now' rather than restaurants open now.' For content ideas on what natural language phrases people use in search queries, try this social listening tool called Answer The Public.

Once the site is optimized, test its accessibility quotient using an ADA compliance tester to ensure everyone can access and consume the web content.

4. Increased use of chatbots for customer support

Chatbots have taken off massively over the last decade. They have developed into sophisticated bots that can answer a wide variety of customer queries with ease in conversation language that makes them hard to distinguish from a human executive.

On the business side, chatbots significantly bring down operational costs (as companies no longer need to have large support teams) and bring invaluable data about their target audiences.

On the other hand, customers are also willing and welcome to use chatbots, as they can get instant query resolution 24×7 without having to wait in line for a support executive to be free. Ecommerce transactions via chatbot are projected to go up to $112 billion by 2023.

Businesses new to chatbots can easily set one up with various tools available online, many of which do not even require coding skills.

5. Real-time cyber threat detection and mitigation

The hyperconnectivity the world has today allows for countless new opportunities – however, it also makes data more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. AI's powerful predictive algorithms can play a significant role in ramping up a business' cybersecurity.

AI can detect cyber-weaknesses much faster and detect the pre-conditions that could lead to a weakness in the near future, thereby allowing for preventive measures to be implemented before any cyber-attacks.

AI will enable companies to respond much faster to any security breaches and thus minimize the damage. Finally, AI and the Internet of Things [IoT] can allow for easy monitoring of cyber-activity in real-time so that any deviations or malicious activities can be spotted and contained instantly.

6. Introduction of AI-powered chips in various industries

Applications and products that did not traditionally function on AI can do so now, thanks to AI-powered chips that will enable facial recognition, object detection, computer vision, and Natural Language Processing (NLP).

This has significant applications in industries such as healthcare, gaming, manufacturing, and finance. In gaming, AI-powered chips like Qualcomm‘s new Snapdragon 732G can create an unprecedented immersion level in the game.

In manufacturing, such chips can allow for automated product checks and even product assemblies to happen in a fraction of the time it took before (as BMW does for its Germany factory). By 2025, the market for AI-powered chips is projected to hit over $91 billion.

Wrapping it up

The applications of AI in business are manifold. Regardless of which industry you operate in, AI can boost your profitability, bring you more customers, and help you design better products and experiences.

Therefore, it is essential to stay in constant touch with which way the wind is blowing so that you can be the first to spot new opportunities for AI in your business. The sooner you embrace these new trends and invest in them, the sooner you can reap the rewards.

The post How You Can Start Using AI to Improve Your Business in 2021 appeared first on Datafloq.

In other words, AI as a technology has never been more accessible, with the vast majority of industries leveraging it to further their market dominance and innovation. Even small-scale businesses and startups are using AI in some or other way to further improve their products and customer experience.

Customer experience, simply put, constitutes every single experience positive and negative between your business and its customers. It directly impacts your odds of converting people into customers and keeping them loyal to your brand.

Now, your website is a crucial customer experience touchpoint, and AI can greatly contribute to enhancing your customer's on-site experience, as it:

Paves the way for seamless site navigation with semantic search

Intuitive navigation is a must-have for any modern business website and a search bar goes a long way in ensuring that. Many visitors have a specific intent in mind and would use your site's search bar to quickly navigate to that particular piece of content or product.

Obviously, a successful search experience will gratify those visitors and lead to a better customer experience, forming a positive impression on the minds of those visitors.

But traditional search aka lexical search does not go beyond literal matches of the query terms (or at most, its variants) and does not understand the meaning of the query. And visitors, being human, often make typos or may not know the exact words for what they want, which means they won't get relevant results.

With AI-powered semantic search, your search engine can determine the searcher's intent and contextual meaning behind the query, improving the relevancy of the results delivered and thus, improving the customer experience.

Enables quick and convenient self-service for your visitors

Your modern customer hates waiting and demands near-instant answers to their questions, be it a general product related query or post-purchase support related concern.

While having live chat on your website helps, your customer-facing team can't be online 24/7. That's where AI enabled chatbot comes in, when you have an AI-powered customer-service agent that simulates pleasant human conversations and provides immediate, personalized responses to all FAQs – 24/7.

As you are aware, chatbots are pretty mainstream these days, with 35% of consumers wanting to see more businesses incorporating chatbots on their websites.

A chatbot can also help guide visitors to different parts of your website, and instead of having visitors fill out a form and await a response from you over email, they can get real-time answers to commonly asked questions.

So, just as a knowledge management the centralized repository of information with FAQs, how-to articles, and product guides meant for instant self-help allows your audience to learn anything they want about your company and its products/services on their own terms, an AI chatbot enables quick self-service for your visitors, which is key to a great customer experience.

Helps provide next-level on-site personalization

Everyone loves personal attention from businesses and the modern customer (both B2b and B2C) actually expects businesses to personalize their offerings.

An Infosys study found that 31% of consumers wish their shopping experience was more personalized than it currently is. With machine learning, AI enables predictive personalization with which you can automatically deliver dynamic experiences (content and products) on your site that are most likely to appeal to each individual visitor.

Take Amazon, for example. Its AI-powered product recommendation engine utilizes data from past purchases, browsing history, and items that are related and regularly bought together to create a personalized list of products that customers are far more likely to buy.

It's so effective that it is supposedly responsible for 35% of the company's revenue.

On-site personalization applies to content as well. With AI, you can display different content to different visitors, tailored to their personal preferences and behaviors. This will enhance their experience on your website and improve engagement.

Closing thoughts

75% of organizations using AI have enhanced their customer satisfaction by more than 10%, according to Capgemini.

So, enable instant self-service from knowledge management software to provide tailored on-site recommendations, AI can clearly boost your website's customer experience and conversion rate to a whole new level.

The post Top 3 Ways AI Can Enhance the Customer Experience on Your Website appeared first on Datafloq.

Studies have shown that AI can boost business productivity by 40%. And it is anticipated that the global AI market will reach almost $60 billion by 2025.

But how do you start leveraging the power of AI? The right place to start is to dig into your business problem.

Do you face difficulty in understanding your customer‘s needs? Are you getting complaints about poor customer service? Is the workload too much to handle? Are your advertising campaigns going in vain?

All these issues can be solved by leveraging the power of AI in your business. Let's discuss some crucial points that will help you out while implementing AI.

1. Understand your customers better and improve their experience

Customer experience is crucial if you want your business to succeed. AI can help you to collect customer data, which you can use in understanding your customers better.

For instance, by using the data, you can personalize their shopping experience.

You can make product recommendations based on previous purchases by using their purchase history.

Here's how Sephora sends personalized emails to their customers for better customer satisfaction.

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North Face is another company that uses IBM Watson's cognitive computing technology. They ask their customers where they'll wear the clothing and what they will be doing. Making use of that information, they make personalized recommendations.

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And if you choose Shopify Plus as your platform to sell your products, you can turn complicated tasks into a streamlined experience that your customers will enjoy.

You will find easy to use templates, you can tag and segment customers based on their buying behavior, automate inventory management for low-stock products, track and reward customers based on lifetime spend and more.

2. Lighten employee workload

Automation can help you to work smarter and realize business objectives faster and more efficiently. With the help of AI, you can set up an intelligent digital assistant to help workers do data-oriented tasks.

You can prioritize emails based on urgency, balance workflows, and attach relevant content to emails. It will eliminate the issue of information overload.

Moreover, AI can help you to examine metadata tags and relationships automatically. Thus, you don't need to manually categorize the content.

And if there are adjustments to be made in your employees' practices or if you want to engage workers better and decrease high turnover, AI can constantly monitor employee morale by analyzing internal data, such as pulse scores, and employee reviews.

3. Improve marketing and advertising

Artificial intelligence can significantly enhance your advertising efforts. It can help you to control the purchase and sale of advertising in real-time, including ad exchange, third-party network, and advertising products on social platforms.

There are tools that can automatically improve advertising spend and targeting. You can process the amount you spend on ads and targeting data, get results, and learn what actions will increase profit.

For example, the Red Balloon, an e-commerce company, used AI to identify ways to improve spend and targeting that got them a 3,000% return on ad spend.

4. Provide employee training

Digital adoption platform companies that are powered by AI can make employee training easier and more productive. For instance, Whatfix is a digital adoption platform that offers LMS-integrated Microlearning.

It makes the content that you offer to your trainees more engaging and valuable by deeply personalizing it for them. It is designed for interactive learning, and the content can adjust to a user's needs.

You can support preferred learning styles with auto-generated articles, videos, PDFs, slideshows, and more, thus reducing the time spent on classroom training.

5. Enhance customer service with bots

Bots are being increasingly used by companies to provide customer service, and it is bringing positive results.

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AI-powered bots and live chat tools can handle numerous tasks, whether it is troubleshooting or interacting with potential customers in real-time, eliminating the need for human employees.

It can provide 24/7 customer service, which becomes difficult and tiresome when handled by humans.

Usually, customer support teams spend plenty of time researching answers. And customers hate to wait. With the help of AI, you can store answers and identify commonly asked questions. Thus, it provides you with an option of frequent answers that can be inserted automatically based on the content in the ticket.

Not only is it helping the customers, but the workflow also gets reduced. You will be saving a lot of time and money spent on maintaining human customer service teams.

It also helps you boost sales like nothing else!

Of course, the ultimate end of every business is to boost sales. By automating your sales processes and equipping your salespeople to follow up on leads, you can significantly improve sales.

It is said that the adoption of AI by sales teams is anticipated to increase by 139% in the coming three years. And as per Salesforce, automating activities such as email campaigns and sales follow-ups have resulted in a 14.5% increase in sales productivity.

So if you are not automating your sales processes, you are missing out on a lot. Plus, the type of customer experience you give will impact your sales.

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And US companies are losing over $62 billion yearly because of bad customer service.

By using AI, you can provide personalized service, offer 24/7 support, conduct follow-ups, and thus improve customer service.

Wrapping-Up

AI can be rightly said as the future of business. Companies that don't implement it are lagging behind. In this modern era where digitalization is evolving at a rapid scale and revolutionizing business, you can give a competitive edge only by adopting the latest technology powered by AI.

Use AI to understand your customers and provide them with a superior experience, cut down your workload, enhance marketing and advertising efforts, provide employee training, use bots for offering 24/7 support to your customers, and boost sales.

What is not there to love about what AI offers? Sure, you will need to put in some investment, but the ROI you get and the efficiency and accuracy it will bring to work is worth the money.

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