At Content Formula we help organisations and digital workplace teams to get started with artificial intelligence (AI), so they can benefit from the many opportunities AI technology has to offer and the potential it has for employee engagement and productivity.
AI is an umbrella term to describe a set of technologies that simulate human intelligence, enabling the completion of tasks by computers that could previously only be done by humans, or were impossible to carry out at the speed and scale with which they can be carried out using AI.
AI as a concept and practice has been around for decades and huge advances have been made. AI has a broad range of different elements and disciplines including Machine Learning (ML), generative AI and the ability to understand and interpret natural language.
AI is used in numerous products and tools which are deployed across the digital workplace. Many digital workplaces will already have some form of AI deployed, or at least a product which claims it is using AI.
Forward thinking organisations are already beginning to work with AI and AI-powered tools to deliver and improve the digital workplace. They are also looking to the future to see how they can deploy and manage the next generation of AI tools in what continues to be a rapidly evolving and exciting field.
There are a wide variety of benefit in using AI across the digital workplace:
Save time and reduce costs by automating repetitive tasks.
Eliminate data issues caused by human error.
Ramp up productivity across your digital workforce.
Improve processes both centrally, but also across local business teams.
Increase employee self-service, taking pressure off busy helpdesks.
Take advantage of products and tools across your workplace.
Support a range of people-focused outcomes
Create new products and services, for both customer and employees.
Support creativity, ideas and innovation by using generative AI as a starting point.
Stay ahead of the competition, who are almost certainly looking at using AI too.
Develop in-house skills now relating to AI and automation that can be leveraged in the future.
Find out more about our AI services.
AI has the potential to significantly transform and benefit many aspects of the digital workplace, from the way we work to the environment and culture in which we work.
At Content Formula, we are already implementing and seeing tangible value and opportunities in the following four areas:
One of the most exciting advances in AI is the ability to use a Large Language Model (LLM) like GPT4 (which ChatGPT is based upon) to build intelligent solutions that leverage your own organisational data, but in a way that ensures data is kept private and secure within your own environment, avoiding many of the current risks associated with using ChatGPT. For example, you can currently use Azure OpenAI services to access GPT4 but ensure all your data remains within your Microsoft 365 tenant.
Taking this approach means that you can generate content, perform searches, carry out data analysis and more based on your own corporate data and content – so for example, employees could ask questions or generate requests relating to your policies, products, research, contracts and other internal data sets.
Another area where we’re seeing AI making a difference is automating and transforming specific processes, for example relating to customer service, marketing or content management.
Business needs in these areas are different for every organisation and can be complex, so a “plug and play” approach is not always possible. Instead, some kind of training for the AI solution is needed, usually based on a sizeable collection of specimen content and data, as well as ongoing testing to improve results. Content might also need to be tagged based on an organisational taxonomy.
For example, a business development team might be able to produce highly tailored marketing material sent to a prospect based on their individual needs.
There are a wide variety of different digital workplace products that leverage AI, usually for specific purposes. For example, some apps with the Microsoft Viva suite have some built-in AI, while Microsoft CoPilot is being launched across multiple tools. Other tools support processes relating to marketing, search, smart analytics, recruitment and more.
These products are usually ready to implement and can even be “plug and play”, although some foundational work may be required to get the best value out of them. The number of AI-powered products and tools is also set to increase, particularly as more tools and apps launch on the back of advances in generative AI.
The fourth type of project is where you are building a new product, service or process from scratch that is powered by AI. This could be a new customer or employee app. This kind of AI project takes the most skill and resources to deliver.
AI is a broad field with many different types and ways to categorise it. A common way to describe AI that we find useful in our conversations with clients is to consider its impact and intent with three types – narrow AI, general AI and super AI.
Narrow AI refers to artifical intelligence systems designed and trained for a particular task. Unlike broader AI models, it doesn't prossess general problem-solving abilities, but excels in its specific function.
For example, chatbots for customer service or image recognition software.
General AI represents a system with cognitive abilities similar to human intelligence. This AI can perform most types of intellectual tasks that a human can, including understanding, reasoning, and learning across diverse domains without specific task training.
ChatGPT is approaching general AI although some might argue it still has a long way to go.
Beyond general AI, super AI (or super-human AI) possesses intelligence surpassing the best human minds in practically every field, including creativity, decision-making, and social interactions.
It represents a theoretical future point where AI's capabilities outstrip human intelligence and understanding.
A SharePoint intranet brings together the entire hybrid workforce regardless of whether they're office-based, remote or frontline workers.
At Content Formula we are already helping organisations to get started with AI technology, so that they can benefit from the many opportunities it has to offer.
AI has the power to significantly transform and improve many aspects of the digital workplace, from working processes through to knowledge management, communication and culture.
To ensure your organisation is evolving and maintaining a competitive advantage, we recommend getting started with experimentation as soon as possible.
Although it’s still early days for AI, we’re already helping clients make the transition from AI interest to action.
Request a call back with one of our artificial intelligence (AI) experts for a free consultation, where we'll discuss the opportunities in which your organisation can be benefiting from AI technology.
