Sean Swords from Storm Technology outlines how Generative AI can be best harnessed in the workplace.
The business landscape is undergoing radical transformation, with generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools at its core.
Over the past year, these tools have sent shockwaves across the digital world, captivated our news feeds and sparked fervent debates – particularly in relation to their value in the modern workplace and their role in transforming the future of work.
“Companies must seize the moment to harness the true value of Generative AI, drive innovation and support business performance. Otherwise, they could get left behind”
Without a doubt, these generative AI solutions signify immense potential and opportunity, possessing the ability to revolutionise content creation and augment day-to-day workflows for companies.
Yet, many organisations are unsure of how or where to harness the full extent of their possibilities. The reality is that the deployment of such tools needs to be carefully thought-out and executed, otherwise businesses will fall behind.
Finding value
Generative AI is a technology that can create various types of content – including audio, images, text and videos – utilising a blend of extensive licensed data, human-trained data, information found on the web, and organisations’ own content databases. In other words, it can revolutionise how companies produce collateral and enhance the productivity of employees.
By automating the content creation process, staff can focus on more strategic, creative and fulfilling tasks.
Generative AI can also help employees write faster by generating text from a prompt or keyword. For example, ChatGPT from OpenAI can generate initial drafts for emails, reports, memos, and other documents.
Furthermore, users can effortlessly input a statement and the tool will expand on these elements, crafting a coherent outline. Similarly, Microsoft 365 Copilot can streamline workflows by integrating with other Microsoft 365 apps such as Word (whereby it drafts text) and PowerPoint (in which it creates slides).
While such applications still require human instruction and input, they enable people to complete tasks faster, be more efficient and draw inspiration in those instances of writer’s block. In turn, this boosts productivity which can also enhance customer service levels and support business performance or growth.
Driving innovation
Generative AI also merges efficiency with creativity, helping employees craft captivating visuals that breathe life into their ideas.
For example, DALL-E is an Open AI tool which can transform text prompts into visuals of various styles. With DALL-E, users can refine their creations, adding layers of details to their initial vision and creating a vivid, nuanced expression.
Other AI tools on the market offer a variety of options in this space by suggesting different images, colour combinations, and layout choices for presentation slides. Again, this allows users to focus their attention on the message and content, while AI takes care of the aesthetics and enhances the content they have created.
Another area where Generative AI is showcasing its true potential is communication and collaboration. Arguably brought to the fore during the pandemic, tools like Microsoft Teams are further improving internal communication and supporting innovation across organisations.
As well as connecting people, it can transcribe, translate and summarise discussions, highlighting important points from meetings and making it easier to collaborate with people who speak different languages.
Leveraging Data
When it comes to the application of Generative AI in the workplace, businesses must consider their data. In today’s information-driven world, making educated decisions and simplifying processes is crucial, with Generative AI possessing the ability to assist organisations in leveraging data analytics to gain insights, improve workflows and support decision-making.
By incorporating Generative AI, companies can discover patterns, trends and connections which improve how they work. Industry giants like Microsoft are already paving the way by blending Generative AI into daily tasks to create a more intuitive, efficient, and data-driven workplace.
As businesses navigate the evolving terrain of data analysis and decision-making, incorporating Generative AI could be pivotal for unlocking the full potential of such information and utilising same to achieve business objectives.
While the world is only broaching the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the opportunity of Generative AI in the workplace and its impact on the future of work, the time for organisations to embrace such technologies is now.
The application of Generative AI in real-world scenarios are vast and ever-expanding, with a plethora of new tools constantly emerging. Companies must therefore seize the moment to harness the true value of Generative AI, drive innovation and support business performance. Otherwise, they could get left behind.
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