NAIC SME BRIEFS 

Why AI? An introduction to 
artificial intelligence for businesses 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful technology that can empower Australian 
businesses to grow and compete on the global stage. AI has the potential to 
enhance operational efficiency, improve customer engagement, create new product 
and service opportunities, and open up new markets. But what exactly is AI? 

Defining AI 

AI is a technology that can be trained to perform specific 
tasks such as reasoning, planning, natural language 
processing, computer vision, audio processing, interaction, 
prediction, and more. This capability can be harnessed 
to enhance business performance and outcomes by 
automating tasks, interactions, decision-making, and 
data analytics. 

From a technological perspective, AI encompasses a 
broad range of technologies that rely on elements like 
computing power, scalability, networking, connected 
devices, interfaces, and data. AI models and solutions can 
be either pre-trained to perform particular tasks or custom-
developed to meet specific business needs. With the help 
of Machine Learning, AI systems can continually improve 
in line with human-defined objectives and operate with 
varying degrees of autonomy. 

You may have come across terms like Artificial Intelligence 
(AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Deep Learning. 
Let’s clarify their relationships: 

The AI in the movies 

We ve all watched those sci fi movies featuring AI, 
which often sparks our imagination. AI is not just a 
technological field; it s equally creative, theoretical, 
and philosophical. To differentiate fact from fiction, 
consider the following theoretical stages of AI: 


Narrow AI: Today s technology comprises 
AI models trained to perform specific tasks, 
typically repetitive or pattern based ones. 

General AI: A theoretical concept where AI 
matches human intelligence, though this 
level of AI is not achievable at present. 

Super AI: A theoretical concept portraying 
AI as more intelligent than humans, 
a concept popularised in movies but 
currently beyond our reach. 


Artificial 
Intelligence 
Machine 
Learning 
Deep 
Learning 
Broad category of technologies 
Systems that make sense of 
big data, adapting to perform 

specific tasks without specific 
instructions 
Specialised ML, processing data 

in ways that attempt to mirror 
neural networks of brain 



How can AI support your business? 

AI can significantly enhance decision-making, operations, 
and customer service. For instance, by employing machine 
learning to analyse data, businesses can gain insights into 
customer behaviour and enhance demand forecasting 
accuracy. Recent research from the National AI Centre 
reveals that businesses save an average of 30% in time and 
gain $300,000 in value per AI project. 

AI presents remarkable opportunities for small-to-mediumsized 
enterprises (SMEs), enabling them to navigate 
complexity, operate at scale, and explore new markets. 
With AI language capabilities, businesses can reach 
customers in different languages and regions. Additionally, 
digital assistants or chatbots enable businesses to provide 
customer service at a scale previously unattainable. 

Common AI use cases 

While the potential applications of AI are diverse, 
here’s a glimpse of common use cases that can help 
you engage customers, empower employees, optimize 
operations, and innovate products or services: 

Engage customers: Utilise digital assistants like 
chatbots and voice bots, offer personalized product 
recommendations, and tailor user experiences. 

Empower employees: Implement Intelligent Process 
Automation to automate manual processes and 
document flows, facilitating document searches. 

Optimise operations: Leverage AI for IT network 
and application monitoring, identify anomalies on 
production lines, deploy robotics for picking and 
packing, and improve demand forecasting. 

Innovate products and services: Enhance accessibility 
through speech-to-text and text-to-speech features, 
introduce new experiences and functionalities, and 
bolster security. 

If you want to know where to start with 
AI, look for the high volume activities in 
your business, look for the things which 
may be repetitive. There could be a high 
number of customer calls, a high number 
of transactions, or a repetitive process. 
Stela Solar, Director, National AI Centre 


Next up: How to get started 
with AI? 

For many businesses, adopting AI technologies can be 
achieved through off-the-shelf tools that incorporate AI in 
a low-code or no-code manner, eliminating the need for 
specialised AI skills like Data Scientists or Machine Learning 
Engineers. Others may choose to create their own custom 
AI models and solutions, necessitating the establishment of 
their own developer and data science teams. 

To determine the right path for your business, you can refer 
to ‘Brief Exploring AI for Small and Medium Enterprises: 
Build, Buy, or Partner?’ available at the National AI Centre: 

csiro.au/naic 

B&M | 24-00022