Generative artificial Intelligence tools such as GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) are quickly becoming a valuable business asset. That’s because these tools will impact how you create written communications, summarize information, conduct qualitative analysis, develop designs, and so much more.
With the advantages they offer and their rapid advancements, now is the time to embrace the reality of AI tools and plan how to use them to give your business – and your brand – a competitive edge.
To help prepare you to get full value from AI tools, here are five proactive steps we recommend you take right away.
1. DEFINE AND ENFORCE USAGE POLICIES
Along with human oversight of AI outputs, setting boundaries is a must.
Since some employees may already be using generative AI tools for personal exploration or work-related purposes, this creates the possibility of unforeseen applications introducing risks to your organization.
To reduce those potential risks, it’s important to establish well-communicated principles of use, make sure your team understands them, and incorporate them into regular security communications. Guidance on the use of these tools must be clearly defined and aligned with your company’s security policies and employee code of conduct.
2. HOLD CROSS-FUNCTIONAL DISCUSSIONS ABOUT AI
The responsibility for decisions and policies related to AI should not rest solely with a single team or department.
Given the rapid developments in this area, it’s imperative to gather team members with diverse perspectives and subject matter expertise from different areas of your company. This lets everyone collectively assess the implications of recent and future advancements in generative AI.
Such cross-functional conversations allow more informed decision-making, so your business benefits from a wide range of viewpoints.
3. SUPPORT DIRECT ENGAGEMENT WITH AI TECHNOLOGIES
As more AI applications come into existence, so will more voices, viewpoints, and claims. While some may be valid, others will be inaccurate or misleading.
Having your team engaging fully with AI tools and gaining firsthand knowledge means they won’t need to rely on others’ interpretations.
With proficiency from hands-on experience, the better you and your teams can grasp the potential impact of generative AI on your business processes and marketing strategies.
And the better equipped you become to make informed judgments and decisions for yourself, your teams, and your company.
4. CONTINUE DEVELOPING EMPLOYEE DIGITAL SKILLS
Leadership should continue to invest in developing your teams’ capabilities with a focus on where human skill and judgment will add the most value.
Working with AI tools requires learning new skills like prompt engineering, which designs inputs for AI tools to produce optimal results. Constant development of other skills will remain equally important, such as effective communication skills, strategic thinking, and creative problem solving.
5. RECOGNIZE THE NEED FOR HUMAN OVERSIGHT
While the abilities of AI tools are extraordinary, it’s important to know they require human oversight.
That’s because blindly trusting any output from these models can lead to unintended consequences, such as biases, inaccurate information, and infringement on intellectual property.
So, it’s crucial to verify the facts and content generated by AI systems and use critical thinking and human judgment in reviews. Doing so will make sure that what is created is accurate and aligns with your company’s ethical and brand standards.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AI’S POTENTIAL WITH PROACTIVE PREPAREDNESS
The potential of generative AI in your marketing and business activities is immense. Its ability to quickly create designs, write copy, analyze market trends, summarize reports, and much more can give your business a distinct advantage. Learning to adapt its capabilities to your benefit will serve you well in telling your brand story.
Taking action now and using the recommendations presented here will help position your company to start maximizing the value of AI tools moving forward.