- Tips & Tricks
- Jan 27, 2022
How Artificial Intelligence as a Service (AIaaS) is Changing the Future of Businesses?
“There’s no one thing that defines AIaaS. It’s more like a tapestry of modern intelligent technologies knit together in a strategic fashion that can then uplift and create a knowledge base that is automated — where you can extrapolate findings from there.” — John Frémont, Founder of Hypergiant.
Before AIaaS, it was challenging for companies to get an in-house AI system because of its high price and complexity to achieve human-like qualities, i.e., critical analysis, thinking, cognitive skills, decision making, and learning.
AI as a service has been changing the fate of many small-to-medium businesses by acting as a third party to deliver advanced functionalities to the companies which will only have to pay a small one-time fee or a monthly subscription.
AIaaS has become a buzzword among technological experts, and everyone has different opinions about this term. After days of research, we’ve compiled this article to clarify any confusion about what AIaaS is and how to implement it in businesses to improve workflow.
What is AIaaS?
Artificial intelligence as a service (AIaaS) refers to commercially available AI tools that enable businesses to implement and scale AI techniques at a fraction of the cost of an in-house artificial intelligence team. Some major types of AI as a Service are the following:
- Chatbots
- Virtual Assistants
- Automated Emailing
- AI via APIs
- Machine Learning Frameworks and Services
AI as a Service is Defining The Future of Businesses:
The global market of AIaaS was US$1.13 billion in 2017, which is predicted to hit US$10.88 billion by 2023, and it’s just a start; AIaaS has much more to offer. Let’s take a simple example to understand how AIaaS can change the framework of small ventures:
Jacob is an entrepreneur who started his small skincare business online. At first, he managed all his customers’ complaints, feedback, emails, and orders by himself. Once he started receiving enough orders, it became hard for him to respond to every email and deal with complaints.
Meanwhile, another entrepreneur named Louis released an AI-based software to keep track of all emails and queries. The tool could respond to customers based on word choices and writing tone. Jacob purchased a subscription to this service and implemented it in his system, which covered around 80% of his work in customer service. Jacob efficiently handled the remaining 20%.
We’ve covered just one aspect of the business use of AIaaS in the example mentioned above but the possibilities are endless. Let’s dig into the detail:
AIaaS as Customer Service Solution
AIaaS can improve the customer service experience and provide a fast and efficient way to accomplish tasks. Businesses can use chatbots and virtual assistants and incorporate them in their setup to provide 24/7 customer service. Bots use AI technologies and take advantage of pre-existing data to train themselves and improve over time.
An example is Bold360 by Genesys DX which offers live customer support services. They provide chatbot training, agent co-pilot mode, and intelligent routing. Another example is Amelia, an AI-based no-code platform that offers virtual assistance and provides cognitive & automatic solutions.
Zendesk provides its services alongside the agents by analyzing the customers’ queries and offering their support regardless of whether agents are present or not.
AIaaS for Social Media Marketing
From the example of Jacob, we’ve learned how AIaaS can handle the workload of businesses. Let’s explain how it helps enterprises grow their audience and bring traffic to their websites:
- Using AIaaS, you can create catchy headlines and slogans for articles and blogs that promote your brand.
- It can be used to find the platforms on which their targeted audience spent most of their time.
- You can find the content your audience actually wants to see.
- AIaaS is an efficient tool to design logos for brands.
- You can use AI tools to compile infographics of your competitors to know where you stand in the market.
- AIaaS helps brands figure out what their target consumers actually want.
AIaaS in Project Management:
You can use management tools to organize everything in one place; you can assign work to different team members and set deadlines for each task. These tools provide a promising way to visualize the workflow, which can get a complete picture of a project from beginning to end.
ProofHub is an all-in-one project management software. It comes with a reporting engine that generates custom reports and monitors project progress. It is a cloud-based software that provides solutions for project, task, and resource management. Rather than using lengthy emails to communicate, AI-powered ProofHub allows users to just mention others to include them in discussions.
ClickUp provides services like task management, documentation, and chat. It easily integrates with other popular tools for managing processes, tasks, time, etc. In addition to tracking strategies, this AI-powered software creates reports from notes, timesheets, and billing. It also creates Gantt charts to visualize dependencies.
Cybersecurity via AIaaS
While taking care of everything from automated customer services to efficient project management and brand building, businesses remain at the risk of security breaches. Thanks to AI as a Service, providers are also optimistic about the benefits it can bring to prevent data leakage and security issues.
IBM Qradar Advisor is an example that uses IBM Watson Technology to prevent cyber attacks. It uses AI technology to optimize the response cycle and immediately assess security issues.
Darktrace and Syman’s Target Attack Analysis(TAA) are also AIaaS which provide real-time protection and identify hidden viruses. The Dragonfly 2.0 attack on energy companies to steal data from their IT systems was also tackled by Syman’s TAA tool.
Artificial Intelligence as a Service Market
“The gradual platformization of AI as a service is very interesting to me. The efforts by Google, Amazon, Salesforce — they’re bringing AI down to the level of not needing to be an expert to use it”. – Kai-Fu Lee, SinovationVentures.
A report from Technavio shared that the AIaaS market can grow by $15.70 billion from 2021 to 2025, whereas the CAGR will jump to an all-time high of 40.73%. It is because of the benefits AI is bringing for organizations.
AIaaS offers services to every field of life, including travel agencies, recruitment agencies, project management teams, social media marketing, healthcare industry, tech institutes, movies and drama industry, and even gaming. AIaaS is helping businesses operate more efficiently and effectively.
Here are some of the best AIaaS providers which we’ve put together after extensive research:
Microsoft Azure
Azure from Microsoft is one of the leading cloud computing providers. It offers practical solutions to the developers with the help of its AI and ML stores.
Apps using APIs can be embedded with the AI tools like text recognition or computer vision by using Azure Cognitive assistance. Chatbots and Virtual Assistants can be accessed and built through this platform.
Features
- Various services like chatbots, computer vision, text recognition, etc
- Accessible by everyone and simple to use
- Azure also powers Microsoft’s (teams, Bing, Xbox, etc.) services
Slazzer
Slazzer is an AI-based background remover for processing images within a few seconds. You can get background-free, customized, vibrant, and stunning photographs using this platform.
Slazzer is a cost-effective, easy-to-use tool that is helping organizations to grow. Slazzer’s API is compatible with all programming environments. With just a few lines of code, it can be incorporated into various tools, applications, programs, ecommerce platforms, websites, and systems. Slazzer’s API can process millions of images per month with a speed of 1 second/megapixel.
This platform offers you to change any image background automatically to transparent, single-color, or customized background as per demand. The image can be cropped, crop_margin, ROI, sized, previewed, or positioned to suit your needs.
Minimalistic and captivating pictures draw the attention of the visitors. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if you’re a developer, product photographer, or a business that sells different products to their clients; you can get services from this platform to make your images stand out. It can help you convert your visitor to a potential client.
Features
- Works on all Windows/Linux/Mac operating systems
- It is suitable for personal and business use
- User-friendly and quick background remover
- Can be integrated into any website/app/system with just a few lines of code
Odus
An automated AI-based chatbot platform is helping companies to manage calls and queries with the help of this intuitive AI tool. Odus is user-friendly and works at a fast pace to handle all customers’ complaints professionally.
Features
- Chat automation
- Easy to use, especially for novices
- Variety of integrations available
UCFunnel
It is a data-driven company that helps the B2B business expand by providing services like Small Trading Desk, aka SDKs, and several other promotional tools like KOLs. Online small business owners can get assistance from UcFunnel for customization and design/development of their products.
Features
- Provide AI-based services to publishers and advertisers both
- Help in monetization and provide technical help
- Help promote businesses through marketing tools
Trends of AIaaS to watch in 2022
AIaaS is everywhere, from forecasting the weather to booking discounted flights. It’s not going anywhere anytime soon. To stay relevant, one has to follow the top trends AIaaS will offer in the coming years because it will affect our way of life and our jobs. Here are some “Artificial Intelligence as a Service” trends to look out for in 2022:
Zero-In On Managed Services
During the past few years, managed services have become the top interest of many leading companies. Third-party services are being offered to handle financial and legal ventures using AIaaS.
Microservices:
Have you ever heard of microservices? These are the services AIaaS offer to small enterprises for business automation. These services include rapid digitization, critical analysis, and speeding up of AI technologies.
AI setup Testing
Enterprises have begun implementing AI setups in their ventures, but who will test these setups to ensure they’re working properly? AIaaS, of course! It can be used to test embedded systems, bots, and algorithms without hiring a professional for this work.
Challenges: AI as a Service
Inaccessibility and lack of advanced technical skills have made us think about using AI as a service, which has brought us incalculable benefits. However, no service or product can be perfect. These are some of the limitations AIaaS has, which can be minimized with time for sure:
Privacy
Users’ top concern is protecting their private data. No matter how advanced and foolproof AI could be, there always remain slight chances of privacy breaching. Cybersecurity services are, however, striving to protect customers’ data.
Future Cost
At the moment, AIaaS is cost-effective, which is a significant relief to the consumer market. In cases where projects need to be completed quickly, AI as a Service is a suitable choice at a low budget. Still, the client should compute the rough estimate of expenditures AI as a Service will bring for long-term scenarios.
ProTip:
AIaaS is a powerful tool if used wisely. To take advantage of it, consider these things:
- It should be transparent.
- It should be able to pass your data security questions.
- It must have a secure API.
- It should be compatible with your automation plan.
Experts’ Advice:
Businesses are a bit skeptical about using AIaaS in their infrastructure. This uncertainty can be mitigated by taking small steps and scaling the AI as a service in the whole system as providers are now offering AI services at meager rates.
There is no doubt that AI can change the way businesses work by providing accessible and efficient solutions to complex problems. Whether you’ve to run a social media campaign or send personalized emails to your users, AIaaS can handle it all. It helps businesses automate the workflow and gain huge profits by paying attention to more important matters. If you want to stay competitive in your industry, AIaaS adoption is essential; just make sure you know your goals and budget.
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