It seems as though everything today is branding itself as “AI.”  There are AI chat bots, AI personal assistants, even AI homes.  The concept of “artificially intelligent technologies” evokes excitement in those who are looking for innovative solutions to their problems.  Businesses know that finding and adopting the right AI technologies is crucial to their success.  In 2016 alone corporate investment in AI was $39B, and spending is only forecast to increase.  But there’s one glaring issue:  not everything that claims to be AI actually is.  And weeding out the fakes is crucial to any company looking to integrate AI into their business model.

We get it:  Implementing new technology is hard for any organization.  You’ve probably read about AI in the news.  You know the big tech companies are using it, but you’re not sure if it’s right for you.  Capgemini reports that 3 out of 4 businesses who have implemented AI/ML solutions increased sales by over 10%. 78% of these companies increased operational efficiency by over 10%, and 75% enhanced customer satisfaction by over 10%.  The numbers are impressive, but they beg the question:  How?  What did AI do for these organizations that they were unable to do before?

Pretend you’re sitting on an airplane. You purchased your ticket two weeks ago for business and are sitting in the middle seat. Do you turn to the person on the aisle and ask them how much they paid for their ticket? Probably not. We’re comfortable with the idea that people pay different amounts for the same flight.  So why aren’t we comfortable paying different amounts in retail?

It seems as though the news has been full of the dangers of “big data”.  Most recently, Facebook came under fire for the Cambridge Analytics scandal, in which it allowed a political consulting firm to harvest raw data from 50 million Facebook profiles in order to target political ads.  While, understandably, the idea of sharing personal data may be daunting, there are a variety of ways that big data—when used correctly—has the potential to wildly benefit our society.  

Last year, some of the largest players in traditional retail closed over 5,000 stores, and this year the trajectory doesn’t appear to be slowing. Toys R Us, Teavana, Gap, and many other large brands are set to close hundreds of locations in 2018.  Large competitors, like Amazon and other online sellers, seem to be dominating the marketplace.  But what is it, exactly, that sets Amazon apart?  Although we’re seeing a clear trend towards digital purchasing, this isn’t the sole reason traditional retail is failing.  Here are 3 of the key reasons brick and mortar stores can’t keep up (and how to fix them):