• If you familiarize yourself with AI, you don’t have to be afraid
• aifora’s AI platform offers advantages for retailers and customers
• Changes in the job market are commonplace, old jobs are lost, new ones are created
Artificial intelligence (AI) can have something playful about it. The first PC games suffered from a poor AI controlling the opponents. Conversations with the characters resembled a one-way street, their exit was predetermined. Over time though, the bots became more intelligent, the conversations more exciting and the outcome less predictable. In many games, the outcome of a dialogue now has an influence on the storyline and how the character is perceived by its environment. This doesn’t frighten the players but rather inspires them.
The reactions are different when we encounter AI in our everyday lives – because we cannot simply reload the game or switch off the computer. AI knows what users want to buy before they have realized it themselves, and thus delivers tailored advertisements via Facebook & Co. Furthermore, product prices are adjusted in real time and our job landscape has changed. A frequent consequence: fear and insecurity.
The influence of AI on the job market
Insecurity is particularly prevalent on the job market, for example. Which occupational groups are most threatened by AI? “AI will change our job market. But that doesn’t mean that the need for human labour will decrease, it will just shift,” stresses Thomas Jesewski, CEO and founder of aifora. Where jobs are lost, new ones are usually created. aifora impressively proves that AI can be beneficial. Business customers of the AI service provider have to invest significantly less work in the manual calculation and adjustment of long Excel tables with price and sales trends. Stronger sales and turnover mean that new customer service jobs are created, and new branches can be opened. In addition, there is a growing need for IT specialists and creative minds to strengthen the online presence of their own brand.
Knowledge beats fear
For aifora the work on and with AI is essential. The team behind aifora consists of tech experts who are constantly developing the functions and possibilities of the software in the area of intelligent price and stock automation. “The fear of change is not a new phenomenon, but it disappears when one deals with the matter. The initial scepticism about the Internet has also diminished over the years,” emphasizes Jesewski. Today the World Wide Web has become an integral part of our everyday lives. And so it will be with the AI, because it offers us a multitude of advantages.
Advantages for the retail sector
aifora’s retail automation platform relieves retailers considerably. AI enables users to automatically set the optimal prices for their SKUs, and the software continuously adapts the prices to market conditions (Intelligent Price Automation). It does not matter whether the retailer has a broad product range or a very narrow assortment. aifora’s solutions are adapted to each client’s individual needs. Relevant factors here are, for example, the weather, the season, regional characteristics and competitive prices.
In addition, aifora’s AI solutions also take care of merchandise management and dynamically adjust stock according to demand (Intelligent Stock Automation). aifora’s software thus efficiently manages complex, repetitive tasks. “Thanks to AI, our customers are able to concentrate on what they do best: thinking creatively and interacting with customers. This allows retailers to focus on developing an interesting customer journey,” says Jesewski.
Consumers also benefit
Dynamic pricing enables consumers to save money. Those who follow the price developments closely, will gain an understanding of when and why price changes occur and can pounce on attractive offers. The principle of supply and demand still applies on the market, so one is by no means at the mercy of AI-controlled price fluctuations.
Intelligent Stock Automation offers customers a further advantage. By accurately forecasting demand, it ensures that customers are not faced with empty shelves. In addition, by helping retailers to save time, retailers can increase the quality of personal customer service and remain competitive against major e-commerce players. This provides customers with a greater variety of retail products and thus more choice.
AI is a good colleague
In most cases, AI can help us to activate unused potential. Many things are automated, but not everything, because AI can only perform partial tasks. Those who inform themselves about AI and the possibilities it offers us, can benefit the most from it and overcome the initial skepticism.
