Artificial intelligence has taken the business world by storm, with organizations testing applications in a wide range of areas to increase productivity and reduce costs. However, of the many potential applications for artificial intelligence, one of the most important is its potential to be used in conjunction with business intelligence (BI) tools to improve the use of data and decision-making capabilities of an organization.

With the convergence of Generative AI and business intelligence, leaders have a more powerful set of tools to help them make informed decisions that will shape the future course of their brand.

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The value of combining AI and BI

The value of applying artificial intelligence to business intelligence tools should be immediately apparent in light of the amount of data businesses create and rely on every day. According to an analysis by Veritas, the average enterprise-level business maintains approx 10 PB given — the equivalent of 23.1 billion files — with 15% of that data being business-critical, 33% redundant or obsolete, and 52% unclassified.

From sales pipelines and logistics tracking to data collected from web visitors or through customer resource management software, the sheer number of data points a business can (and likely should) use to improve its production can quickly become overwhelming.

As Konstantinos Mitsopoulos, a research scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in Florida explains in an interview with Harvard Business Review, “In principle, generative AI systems can help overcome some of the problems that affect human decision-making, such as limited working memory, short attention spans, and decision fatigue, especially when it comes to for making decisions under pressure. Generative AI tools can potentially help decision makers save time, save energy and free up time to focus on the issues or questions that matter most.”

How generative business intelligence works

While business intelligence tools contain a wide range of useful data, accessing that data is often a challenge for organizations. When team members don't understand how to turn available data into meaningful insights—or even how to find that data in the first place—it doesn't deliver the intended value.

On the other hand, the combination of AI and BI (often referred to as generative business intelligence or GenBI) makes it much simpler to extract relevant insights from data. GenBI tools allow users to type in a query or query using natural language, which the combined AI and BI solution transforms into an analytical query to produce a relevant analysis or even a complete dashboard.

In an interview with Unite.ai, Omri Kohl, CEO and co-founder of Pyramid Analytics, explains“Simply put, GenBI allows anyone to use the insights they need, regardless of their level of expertise. Traditional BI tools require the user to know the best technique to manipulate the data to get the results they need. But most people don't. Think pie charts, scatter charts, or tables. They don't want to find out which visualization is most effective for their situation—they just want answers to their questions, regardless of their expertise. “.

Notably, this combination of AI and BI allows query results to be produced in either a plain-language version or a visualization that better communicates the data. GenBI removes the technology barriers that often prevent individuals from accessing and using the data they need. These tools provide the basis for informed decision making providing not only data but making it easier to understand.

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Practical applications

Business intelligence has long been considered a valuable tool for identifying trends in consumer and market behavior, benchmarking performance, and understanding what is working or not working for a company. quality data analysis it is essential that executives make informed decisions to guide marketing, product development, and other core aspects of the business.

However, by using AI to enhance what traditional business intelligence is capable of, leaders open up a new world of possibilities for how they can use their data to strengthen the business.

For example, AI can be built on standard business intelligence data using that historical data for predictive analytics — that is, in predicting outcomes related to possible future trends or business decisions. This enables organizations to take a more proactive approach to understanding the risks and opportunities associated with various events and actions.

The ability of AI to automatically identify trends and anomalies can be crucial in empowering the human decision-making process. With so much data available, the combination of AI and BI can help leaders identify specific issues or concerns and respond quickly. Alternatively, GenBI can make it easier for executives to identify opportunities for it personalize the customer experience or streamline their internal processes to create more engaging experiences.

Ultimately, by increasing operational efficiency, the combination of AI and BI enables leaders to make decisions with confidence, knowing they have access to all the relevant data relevant to that decision.

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The future of decision making

Combining direct connectivity with the ability to maximize an organization's ability to use and understand its data, the combination of AI and BI is poised to dramatically improve business decision-making in the years to come.

Leaders who strategically apply these resources to augment their knowledge and skills will find themselves well positioned to achieve results consistent with their company's most important goals.