There are mixed feelings around AI, some fully embrace it, others are scared of it, but understanding how it can help you in your everyday life and your business, is where its benefits lie.

AI describes a machine or system which has capabilities similar to humans, replicating thoughts and ideas.  AI technology can process a large amount of data, recognising patterns and trends, much like a human can.  The difference is that an AI tool can do this much faster and consistently with more accuracy.  

AI has the potential to make businesses more productive, efficient and profitable, but the value comes from HOW organisations choose to do it.  We're not talking about replacing human roles, but using AI to assist staff by taking on the repetitive, mundane tasks.  Staff can take care of the skilled, strategic and less predictable jobs.

Business thrives on human contact, building relationships, and trust, while making connections with clients and colleagues.  These are things AI tools can never replace.

Data-driven AI lies at the heart of any AI technology, where the AI tool learns from data to make informed decisions and predictions.  As mentioned above, by analysing huge volumes of data and recognising patterns, the AI system can learn and continuously improve.  This means that over time, accuracy is increased further, making it a reliable tool for processing documents that contain a high level of data such as invoices, contracts, survey data, order forms and more.

It's likely many of us are benefiting from data-driven AI in our personal lives; Netflix uses our past viewing habits to suggest new programs to watch, facial recognition software unlocks our phones or banking apps, and digital voice assistants inform us about the weather or the latest news. 

These AI applications have all been so readily accepted because they make our lives that little bit easier.  We all love the ease of clicking a button on our phones for our banking app, which reads our faces, confirms who we are and allows us to pay.  We no longer need our bank cards, wallets or bag!

A Quick History of AI

Whilst AI has been a real buzz word for 2024, the technology is not new.  The term artificial intelligence was first coined in the 1950s by Alan Turing with a test of machine intelligence called 'The Imitation Game', made hugely famous by the film of the same name.

A branch of AI, called machine learning, has been part and parcel of our document management software for years.  DocuWare has a data capture tool called Intelligent Indexing which accurately scans documents such as invoices, identifying the most valuable information.  It then uses this captured data when naming and storing a document securely. 

This document can then kick-start another process such as an approval, or the validated data can be passed to your 3rd party integrated software such as SAGE or SAP.  This removes manual data collection and manual data entry, both of which are slow and error prone.

With developments in data-driven AI, this can now be enhanced even further.  AI tools have the ability to manage unstructured data such as emails, some invoices, hand-written documents, and reports better than ever before.  Valuable information contained within the body of an email for example, can be found, extracted and processed accordingly.  This could be a hand-written delivery note, or meter readings emailed from a tenant.

According to an August 2023 IDC report, 90% of data generated by organisations in 2022 was unstructured, which means that businesses could be sat on a lot of information they could be doing so much more with.

When implementing any new software or technology such as a data-driven AI tool, there will be risks and benefits that will differ in importance from business to business.  It's down to each individual company to asses why they need AI technology to begin with, weigh up the benefits and assess the risks.

Data-driven AI tools can come with some risks that organisations need to be aware of.

One thing we're encouraged to do by every AI tool we use is to check the output, and it's no different for any data-driven AI software.  The accuracy comes from how well the system has been trained and the quality of the data.  If organisation's can ensure both, then the time-savings and overall reduction in errors will be worth it.

As we've said, AI tools recognise patterns and trends to be able to make decisions, but will mirror any human bias that is present in the data it's reading.  So, it's the same message again, check the data.

Data-driven AI systems can only make assessments based on the data its presented with, and so can't take a 'bigger picture' into consideration.  When analysing sales data for example, a monthly slump in orders could be a result of bad weather if you're an outdoor furniture outlet, or if you import internationally from a war-torn country, the costs of your goods may rise, putting up prices and putting customers off.

While there are risks with data-driven AI, there are also huge benefits which will increase production, efficiency and profit.

Data-driven AI tools have the ability to process and analyse vast quantities of data contained within documents such as invoices and sales orders, in a significantly shorter timeframe compared to traditional methods. This efficiency means businesses can streamline their operations and make data-driven decisions more effectively.

The advanced algorithms and machine learning capabilities of data-driven AI tools enable them to extract meaningful information. This not only saves time and resources but also ensures a higher level of accuracy. As the AI tool continues to learn and improve over time, its ability to process data becomes even better, leading to increasingly reliable results.

The capabilities of AI software means that manual data collection and entry from documents into finance or ERP software, can be removed and replaced by automated workflows.  The data-driven AI software in our document management system, accurately captures data, stores it, and then, if required, can push it into any other integrated application.  This provides the business with accurate data, removing human error and freeing up staff time which can be spent on more productive tasks.

If errors are made while processing invoices, such as the wrong figures used, duplicate payments made or transactions given the wrong cost-code, they can take time to find and rectify.  While this is happening, future work builds up, invoices aren't paid, and staff may be come stressed.  This all costs time and money.  Utilising data-driven AI alongside automated invoice processing speeds the process up and removes errors.  Suppliers are paid quicker, month end becomes less stressful and costs are reduced. 

We are experts in document management software and process automation, and this year, we celebrate our 40th anniversary.  That's four decades, working with clients across all industries to improve their document processes, from suppler invoice management to employee onboarding, document tracking and integrated digital signatures.

We understand the value and importance of a company's data and will work with you to understand your challenges and offer a cost-effective solution.  We want to help you leverage data-drive AI solutions to enhance document processes and drive continuous improvement. Don't let Netflix be the only thing AI helps you with.