In the fast-moving world of technology, AI and, more specifically, generative AI has emerged as a powerful tool for businesses across industries. This innovative technology is changing how companies operate, interact with customers, and create content. Let’s look at how different companies are using generative AI and the real benefits they’re seeing.

The Rise of Generative AI in Business

Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can create new content, whether it’s text, images, or even code. It’s based on patterns it learns from existing data. This technology is proving useful in many areas of business, from customer service to content creation.

Real-World Success Stories

Improving Customer Service in Travel and Hospitality

Delta Airlines: Streamlining Customer Interactions

Delta Airlines, known for its commitment to customer service, has integrated generative AI into its “Ask Delta” chatbot. This AI-powered assistant helps customers with various tasks:

• Checking in for flights
• Tracking baggage
• Finding flight information

The generative AI chatbot provides detailed responses quickly, making it easier for customers to get the information they need. As a result, Delta has seen a significant impact:

• Call center volumes have dropped by 20%

This reduction in call volume allows Delta’s human agents to focus on more complex customer issues, improving overall service quality.

Heathrow Airport: Enhancing International Travel Experience

London’s Heathrow Airport, which handles about 1,300 flights and over 100,000 passengers daily, has also embraced generative AI for customer service. With nearly 90% of its passengers being international travelers, the airport faces unique challenges in providing efficient customer support.

Heathrow uses generative AI in two key ways:

1. Replying to service queries
2. Automatically summarizing cases

This approach has led to significant improvements:

• Agents are saving considerable time and effort
• The airport is experiencing “incredible new levels of productivity,” according to Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff

By automating responses to common queries and summarizing complex cases, Heathrow’s staff can focus on solving more intricate problems and improving the overall passenger experience.

Expedia: AI-Powered Trip Planning

Expedia, a leading online travel platform, has taken a step further by integrating ChatGPT into its mobile app. This new feature enhances the trip planning experience for travelers in several ways:

• Providing recommendations
• Exploring activities
• Offering travel assistance

Peter Kern, Vice Chairman and CEO of Expedia, explains the benefits: “By integrating ChatGPT into the Expedia app and combining it with our other AI-based shopping capabilities, like hotel comparison, price tracking for flights and trip collaboration tools, we can now offer travelers an even more intuitive way to build their perfect trip.”

This AI integration allows travelers to get fast, detailed answers without waiting for a human agent, making the trip planning process more efficient and user-friendly.

Revolutionizing E-commerce Customer Service

H&M: Enhancing Shopping Experience

Global retail giant H&M has implemented generative AI in both its website and mobile app to improve customer experience:

• On the website, the AI chatbot has reduced response times by up to 70% compared to human agents
• In the mobile app, a generative AI-powered voice assistant helps shoppers find products

The AI chatbot’s capabilities extend beyond product searches:

• Answering frequently asked questions
• Assisting with orders

These improvements have allowed H&M to provide a more satisfying customer experience while significantly reducing the workload on its customer service team.

Google: Virtual Try-On Feature

Google has introduced a generative AI-powered “try on” feature for its shopping service, addressing a common challenge in online clothing shopping. This innovative feature:

• Allows shoppers to see how clothes look on models with similar body shapes, skin tones, and sizes
• Uses a technique called diffusion to adapt a single image of a clothing item to various body shapes
• Shows how the garment will hang, drape, and fold on different body types

This technology enables shoppers to make more informed decisions from the comfort of their homes, potentially reducing return rates and improving customer satisfaction.

Transforming Healthcare and Financial Services

SmileDirectClub: Improving Patient Care and Internal Processes

SmileDirectClub, a med-tech company known for its at-home dental aligners, is using generative AI to enhance both patient care and internal operations. The company has deployed a generative AI chatbot that:

• Listens to and summarizes customer calls
• Allows call center agents to review and make adjustments as needed

This application of AI:

• Saves time for agents handling multiple calls or cases
• Enables the company to improve its customer service based on insights from past interactions

Wealthsimple: Simplifying Financial Management

Wealthsimple, a Canadian fintech company, has integrated generative AI into its customer service to make investing and money management more accessible. Their AI chatbot:

• Answers frequently asked questions
• Provides quick access to financial information
• Offers relevant guidance on money management

This AI integration has allowed Wealthsimple to:

• Automate more conversations
• Resolve more customer issues without involving a live advisor

By simplifying complex financial concepts and providing instant support, Wealthsimple is making financial management more approachable for its users.

ClickUp: Boosting Productivity Through AI

ClickUp, an all-in-one productivity tool, has implemented a generative AI chatbot to enhance its customer support. The chatbot:

• Provides instant, detailed answers to frequently asked questions
• Resolves over 50% of customer interactions without human intervention

If the AI can’t fully resolve an issue, it collects all necessary information before connecting the customer to a specialist, minimizing effort on the customer’s part.

Octopus Energy: AI-Powered Email Responses

Octopus Energy, a sustainable energy company, is using generative AI to draft detailed email responses to customer inquiries. This approach has yielded impressive results:

• AI-generated emails have resulted in 18% higher customer happiness scores compared to human-drafted responses
• The AI handles one-third of all customer inquiries

This frees up human agents to focus on more complex issues and products, improving overall service efficiency.

ServiceNow: Enhancing Self-Service for Business Users

ServiceNow, a leading enterprise software platform, has incorporated generative AI into its workflow offerings, including the Virtual Assistant app. This integration:

• Allows business users to self-serve when they need help with ServiceNow products and applications
• Provides quick, relevant, and conversational answers

Bill McDermott, Chairman and CEO of ServiceNow, emphasizes the significance of this development: “Our platform experts who have worked for the greatest brands and technology believe this moment is as transformative, if not even more so than the Internet or even the iPhone.”

The Impact of Generative AI: By the Numbers

Let’s recap the quantitative improvements these companies have seen:

1. Delta Airlines: 20% reduction in call center volumes
2. H&M: Up to 70% reduction in response times compared to human agents
3. ClickUp: Over 50% of customer interactions resolved by AI
4. Octopus Energy: 18% higher customer happiness scores for AI-generated responses, handling one-third of all inquiries
5. ServiceNow: 14% increase in issue resolution per hour, 9% reduction in time spent on issues

These numbers demonstrate the significant impact generative AI can have on customer service efficiency and satisfaction.

Key Takeaways for Businesses

Based on these real-world examples, here are some actionable insights for businesses looking to implement generative AI:

1. Start with Customer Service: Many companies have seen quick wins by implementing AI in customer service. Consider using AI chatbots or assistants to handle routine inquiries and free up human agents for more complex issues.

   Example: A small online retailer could use an AI chatbot to answer common questions about shipping times, return policies, and product availability. This would allow human customer service reps to focus on more complex issues like resolving disputes or handling special orders.

   Implementation steps:

   • Identify the most common customer inquiries
   • Create a knowledge base for the AI to draw from
   • Choose an AI chatbot platform that integrates with your existing systems
   • Train the AI on your specific products and policies
   • Start with a pilot program and gradually expand based on results

2. Automate Routine Tasks: Look for repetitive, time-consuming tasks in your business processes. These are often good candidates for AI automation, as seen in SmileDirectClub’s treatment planning process.

   Example: A marketing agency could use AI to automatically generate first drafts of social media posts based on client briefs. This would free up creative staff to focus on refining and personalizing the content, rather than starting from scratch each time.

   Implementation steps:

   • Identify tasks that are repetitive and time-consuming
   • Choose an AI tool that specializes in your specific needs (e.g., content generation)
   • Provide clear guidelines and examples for the AI to learn from
   • Set up a review process to ensure quality control
   • Measure time saved and quality improvements

3. Personalize User Experiences: Use AI to create personalized content or experiences for your customers, like BuzzFeed’s custom quizzes or Snapchat’s AI assistant.

   Example: An e-commerce site could use AI to analyze a customer’s browsing and purchase history, then automatically customize the homepage to show products that are likely to interest that specific customer.

   Implementation steps:

   • Collect and analyze customer data (with proper consent)
   • Choose an AI platform that specializes in personalization
   • Start with a small segment of your customer base
   • A/B test personalized vs. non-personalized experiences
   • Gradually refine and expand the personalization based on results

4. Enhance Content Creation: If your business involves creating a lot of content, consider AI tools that can assist with writing, design, or multimedia creation.

   Example: A local news website could use AI to automatically generate short summaries of longer articles, making it easier for readers to quickly scan the day’s news. The AI could also suggest relevant images from a stock photo library to accompany each article.

   Implementation steps:

   • Identify areas where content creation is bottlenecked
   • Choose AI tools that specialize in your content needs (e.g., writing, image generation)
   • Create guidelines for AI-generated content
   • Set up a human review process
   • Measure improvements in content output and quality

5. Measure and Iterate: When implementing AI, set clear goals and metrics. Measure the impact of AI on your business processes and customer satisfaction, and be prepared to refine your approach based on the results.

   Example: A software company implementing an AI-powered customer service chatbot could track metrics like response time, customer satisfaction ratings, and the percentage of inquiries successfully resolved without human intervention. They could then use this data to continuously improve the chatbot’s responses and capabilities.

   Implementation steps:

   • Define clear, measurable goals for your AI implementation
   • Set up systems to track relevant metrics
   • Regularly review performance data
   • Gather feedback from users and employees
   • Make iterative improvements based on data and feedback

6. Train Your Team: As you introduce AI tools, make sure your team is trained to work alongside them effectively. This can help you get the most out of your AI investments.

   Example: A law firm adopting AI for document review could provide training sessions for its paralegals and junior lawyers. These sessions would cover how to effectively use the AI tool, how to spot and correct any errors it might make, and how to use the time saved by AI to focus on higher-value tasks like case strategy.

   Implementation steps:

   • Develop a comprehensive training program
   • Provide hands-on practice with the AI tools
   • Address concerns and misconceptions about AI
   • Encourage feedback and suggestions from team members
   • Offer ongoing support and additional training as needed

7. Consider Data Privacy: When using AI, especially for customer-facing applications, ensure you have robust data protection measures in place to maintain customer trust.

   Example: A healthcare provider using AI to analyze patient records could implement strict access controls, ensuring that only authorized personnel can view sensitive information. They could also use anonymization techniques when using data to train AI models, removing any personally identifiable information.

   Implementation steps:

   • Review and update your data privacy policies
   • Implement strong data security measures
   • Be transparent with customers about how their data is used
   • Ensure compliance with relevant regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA)
   • Regularly audit your AI systems for potential privacy issues

Final Thoughts

Generative AI has already proven to be a powerful tool for businesses across various industries. The measurable improvements seen by companies like ServiceNow, Octopus Energy, and SmileDirectClub demonstrate that the use of AI can lead to significant time and cost savings, predictable process improvement, as well as improved customer satisfaction. Where it’s perception in the business community has become unstuck has been the realization that, perhaps, generative AI doesn’t have the instantaneous lightning in a bottle, transformational qualities that have been widely hyped and promised.

But, then again… What business process or system ever has? Even the Internet took 30 years to become the World Wide Web, and another 20 years to surpass other forms of telecommunication.

As with any new technology, the key to success with generative AI lies in thoughtful implementation. By starting with realistic expectations, clear goals, being disciplined about measuring results, and being willing to iterate or even fail and pivot, businesses can develop new differentiating and durable abilities by harnessing the generative AI to improve their operations and better serve their customers.