The 5 Types of AI Every Small Business Should Know

The software industry is notorious for its jargon, and the world of AI is no exception. With the current mania surrounding all things AI, it's easy for business owners and the general public to feel left behind or overwhelmed by the buzzwords — but understanding AI doesn't have to be daunting!

5 Types of AI

While it may seem like a very broad and weighty concept, Artificial Intelligence can actually be broken down into several specific categories, each offering distinct advantages. From automating customer interactions to making sense of complex data, the different types of AI are tailored to tackle various challenges.

In this article, we'll explore five key types of AI that are especially relevant for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): Generative AI, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Large Language Models (LLMs), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and Computer Vision. Each of these comes with essential AI use cases for SMEs.

1. Generative AI

Generative AI is the first and most obvious example of AI, and — as most people are aware — it’s a powerful tool that can create new, original content based on the inputs and parameters provided. Modern “Gen AI” systems can produce text, images, designs, and other types of content that are particularly useful for automating and streamlining various creative processes in marketing, allowing businesses to scale their efforts more efficiently.

1. Automated Product Descriptions: Gen AI automatically creates unique product descriptions for e-commerce sites based on key features, saving time and ensuring consistency.
2. Personalized Marketing Campaigns: By analysing customer data, generative AI creates personalized marketing content like emails and social posts, tailored to individual customers for higher engagement.
3. AI-Generated Social Media Content: Generative AI assists in creating engaging social media posts with text, images, and videos, based on brand guidelines, maintaining a consistent voice while reducing workload.

Despite the undeniable impact of these main applications, Gen AI isn’t limited strictly to content creation either, as you can find out in our other articles about this rapidly expanding area:

• Exploring the Business Benefits of Generative AI
• Transforming Data into Insights Generative AI Solutions

2. Machine Learning (ML)

Machine learning is an older (and slightly less famous) subset of AI that enables systems to learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed. By feeding large amounts of data into ML algorithms, businesses can train models to recognize patterns, make predictions, and automate decision-making processes — and often choosing the right AI model framework is essential to achieving these results.

Even if it’s not perceived as being quite as hip as Gen AI, this technology is particularly useful for tasks that involve complex pattern recognition and forecasting.

1. Customer Segmentation: ML algorithms analyse customer data to identify distinct segments, enabling personalized marketing and experiences.
2. Demand Forecasting: ML models predict future demand by analysing sales data and market trends, optimizing inventory and decision-making.
3. Fraud Detection: ML detects anomalies in financial transactions in real-time, helping SMEs prevent fraud without dedicated teams.

3. Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Large Language Models (LLMs)

Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a branch that, as you might guess, focuses on enabling machines to understand, interpret, and generate human language. NLP technologies analyse text and speech data to extract meaningful insights and facilitate more natural interactions between humans and computers. Large Language Models (LLMs), such as GPT-4, are state-of-the-art NLP models that can generate coherent, context-aware text and power advanced language-based applications, with AI agents playing a large role.

1. AI-Powered Chatbots: NLP and LLMs enable sophisticated chatbots that understand and respond to customer queries more naturally, handling tasks like FAQs, recommendations, and order processing 24/7, improving support while reducing staff workload.
2. Automated Email Responses: NLP can also process incoming emails, understand intent, and generate appropriate responses, significantly reducing time spent on email management for businesses with high inquiry volume.
3. Sentiment Analysis for Reviews: NLP analyses customer reviews across platforms, identifying sentiment to provide insights into opinions, preferences, and pain points, which can be used to improve products, services, and customer experience.

4. Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is an AI technology that takes automation to the next level — dealing with repetitive, rule-based tasks, such as data entry, invoicing, and compliance monitoring. By deploying software robots (or 'bots') to perform these tasks, businesses can streamline their operations, reduce manual workload, and minimize human error.

1. Invoice Processing: RPA bots can extract data from invoices, validate it, and enter it into accounting systems, reducing manual data entry effort.
2. Data Entry Automation: RPA automates data entry tasks like transferring data between systems and filling out forms, improving efficiency and accuracy.
3. Compliance Monitoring: Bots can also monitor business processes to ensure compliance, automatically checking things like expense reports against predefined rules and flagging discrepancies for review.

5. Computer Vision

Last but not least, Computer Vision is an AI technology that enables machines to interpret and understand visual data from the world around us, with a wide range of applications that few people consider when thinking about AI. By analysing images and videos, computer vision algorithms can identify objects, detect patterns, and even extract meaningful insights. This technology has a wide range of use cases in various industries, such as:

1. Automated Inventory Management: Computer vision systems can monitor inventory levels in real-time by analysing images or videos of shelves and storage areas, allowing businesses to track stock levels and optimize inventory management.
2. Visual Quality Control: Computer vision algorithms are now extremely efficient at scanning product images during manufacturing to detect defects, anomalies, or inconsistencies difficult for human inspectors to spot, helping businesses maintain high quality standards.
3. Security and Surveillance Systems: Automated vision-based security systems are also ideal for studying video feeds in real-time to detect suspicious activities, recognize faces, and alert security personnel, enhancing the effectiveness of surveillance systems.

Embracing the Different Types of AI for Competitive Advantage

In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, AI technologies are no longer a luxury but an actual necessity for SMEs looking to stay competitive. By understanding and making the best use of the five main types of AI, small businesses can unlock new opportunities for growth, efficiency, and customer engagement.

How to Get Started with AWS for AI Solutions

While implementing these AI solutions may seem daunting at first, it doesn't have to be complicated. With cloud platforms like AWS, businesses can access ready-to-use AI tools that fit seamlessly into your operations.

For a simple example, you might use services like Amazon SageMaker to simplify machine learning models, while Amazon Rekognition helps with image analysis, and Amazon Comprehend can make sense of customer feedback through Natural Language Processing (NLP). Whether you're just starting out or looking to expand, AWS provides flexible, scalable solutions to help you integrate AI without a massive upfront investment.

To get a better idea of how AWS can help you make AI a reality, take a look at our step-by-step guide to boosting retail sales with AWS Generative AI or read AWS’ own guide to their Artificial Intelligence products. And don’t forget, our experts are always available to answer your questions!