Local business leaders learn how AI could increase productivity at LSUS conference

Local business leaders learn how AI could increase productivity at LSUS conference

SHREVEPORT - Small steps that can lead to a massive transformation.

That's how artificial intelligence expert Nick Askew described the impact AI can have on business Friday at a conference of local business leaders hosted by LSU Shreveport.

More than 30 business leaders from a variety of sectors including banking, real estate, healthcare, automotive, and manufacturing attended the conference.

"What repetitive task are you doing that's preventing you from doing the thing that you really need to do?" Askew asked the audience. "AI can replace mental grunt work that we didn't like to do anyway. It allows us to minimize those tasks to free up more time for critical thinking and decision making.

"Start with your biggest time sink or an activity that could result in your biggest revenue opportunity."

One arduous task in healthcare that every consumer participates in is appointment scheduling.

Chatbots and other digital solutions are beginning to take mundane appointment-making out of receptionists' hands and reducing customer frustration caused by jammed phone lines.

"Chatbots or other versions of AI are doing things like answering phones and handling other customer service tasks," said Askew, who launched his AI consultant business Askew AI and has a 'digital employee' named Nina that's powered by AI. "Nina, who is named after my dog, helps customers troubleshoot software problems among her many tasks."

Askew built his early career in the automotive sales, where he gained national recognition in modernizing automotive retail through AI, digital retail and CRM technology where he applied AI to marketing, operations, and customer engagement.

"If you have 100 leads that you need to follow up with through email, most people copy and paste the same email to those 100 people," Askew said. "But AI could actually

From a real estate perspective, finding potential buyers/sellers and communicating with those people throughout decision-making process is a central facet of the job.

"AI can actually make those email communications more personalized because it would know details surrounding that person's car search and their history with the dealership," Askew said.

AI can be trained on data and information sets that the business owner would tailor specific to the task that needed to be done.

Restaurant owners can lower food waste costs by asking AI to evaluate its inventory and sales, generating a strategy around what and how much to buy with predictive ordering.

Small business in particular are better positioned to take early advantage of the AI revolution, which Askew said is still in its "floppy disk" era.

"Large corporations move at the speed of smell, while small businesses are so much more nimble," Askew said. "With AI, small businesses can access data analysis that only large corporations could do before, and they can do it faster and without having to hire data analysts to do it.

"We're still in the early adoption phase with only 19 percent of employees reporting that they use AI on a daily basis."

Askew acknowledged the fear that AI would replace some human workers, which he argued has occurred in previous eras like the Industrial Revolution and Computer Revolution.

But Askew said AI could allow humans to focus on tasks that only humans are able to perform.

"AI doesn't mean replacement," Askew said. "If you do it right, it means augmentation.

"Areas like marketing, design, analytics, development, customer support - they are all increasing productivity with the help of AI. I compare it to Iron Man and his suit - the suit amplifies Tony Stark, it doesn't replace him."

LSUS Continuing Education is planning additional AI conferences and events that could be tailored to specific industries or AI functions.

Have an idea? Share via email with Continuing Education at [email protected].