23 Tedious Tasks to Automate to Reap the Benefits of Artificial Intelligence in Business

AI is rapidly changing the way businesses operate. The first thing most people think of when they think of AI is automation. Automation is one of the most significant benefits of artificial intelligence in business—specifically, the automation of tedious, everyday work.

Tedious tasks are repetitive, time-consuming, and require little human thought. They can drain productivity and morale. If a person does tedious tasks all day, their accuracy trails off, leading to errors.

Unfortunately, tedious tasks are often critical to the business. No one wants to fill out a time card, but we need to run payroll. Data entry is grueling, but data isn’t useful until it’s machinable. Mercifully, AI can automate these tasks. This frees up employees to focus on more creative and strategic work—the ‘value-adding’ work. This increases productivity, accuracy, and morale. It also reduces costs.

Everyday Business Tasks Well-Suited for Automation

Here are 23 examples of tedious but critical tasks you should automate to maximize the benefits of AI in your business:

1. Data Entry and Data Migration
2. Inventory Management and Stock Reordering
3. Invoice and Billing Processing
4. Routine Email Sorting and Response Drafting
5. Generating Performance Reports and Analytics
6. Social Media Scheduling and Posting
7. Order and Shipping Tracking
8. Time Tracking and Attendance Management
9. Expense Tracking and Reimbursement
10. Customer Support Ticket Triage and Categorization
11. Gathering and Summarizing Market Research Data
12. Conducting Sentiment Analysis on Customer Feedback
13. Website Content Management and Updates
14. Screening and Shortlisting Job Applicants
15. Automating Software and System Updates
16. Conducting Basic Quality Control Checks
17. Conducting Automated Software Testing
18. Conducting Routine Security Scans and Checks
19. Transcription of Audio and Video Files
20. Removing Duplicate Records From a Customer Database
21. Handling Employee Onboarding and Offboarding Documentation
22. Conducting Routine Employee Performance Evaluations
23. Monitoring and Analyzing IT System Performance

These are just a few examples of tasks that AI can automate. It’s not exhaustive. Further, as AI continues to develop, we can expect to see even more uses.

When to Consider Custom AI Solutions

Off-the-shelf software can automate most of the above tasks. AI can help with more general business needs, though complex tasks usually require more bespoke approaches. Depending on your business needs, you may want to explore custom artificial intelligence.

Using AI to Improve Decision-making

Machine learning is a prominent subfield of AI. It’s known for its ability to analyze data. AI doesn’t have preconceptions (outside of its programming) and doesn’t get tired. Therefore, it can identify trends and patterns humans might miss. Humans, armed with these summaries, can make better business decisions. Better decisions about things like:

• product development
• marketing
• pricing improve outcomes

Personalizing Customer Experiences at Scale with AI

AI can use data to understand customer preferences and deliver personalized experiences. A common example is recommending products or services that are likely to be of interest. It can be more involved than that:

• Using important dates gleaned from social media
• Recommending gifts a user might buy for others
• Identifying intent to purchase and prompting accordingly

Generating New Ideas

One of the great benefits of artificial intelligence in business settings is generating new ideas for products, services, and marketing campaigns. While those ideas should be vetted with actual research, AI can be helpful in the ideation phase, especially techniques like large language models.

Humans often get stuck with a blank piece of paper. By priming them with a few ideas, you can get the creativity flowing.

Getting Started with Artificial Intelligence for Your Business

AI is a powerful tool for the toolbox. It can automate tedious tasks, improve decision-making, and personalize customer experiences. Companies that can leverage AI within their businesses will be well-positioned to succeed in the future.

Here are some tips for businesses that are considering using AI to automate tasks:

• Start with small, simple tasks
• Don’t try to automate everything all at once
• Pick tasks where automation’s correctness is easy to measure
• Get the right data. AI models need good data to work effectively. Make sure you have the right data in place before you start automating tasks.
• Monitor and adjust. As you automate tasks, monitor the results and make adjustments as needed to ensure that the AI models are working as expected and providing the desired results.

We’re poised to see the significant benefits of artificial intelligence in business across all industries, from aerospace and defense to consumer IoT and everything in between. The best way to get the most out of AI is to start now and start small. By growing your understanding and experience with AI, you can ensure less waste and a good return on investment.

You Might Also Like

• When to Reach for Custom Artificial Intelligence Solutions vs. Off-the-Shelf
• How to Think About AI: 4 Things Artificial Intelligence Experts Want You To Know
• Demystifying Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Business Leaders