In the next 5 years, many tasks that executives are spending a lot of their time on right now will be taken over by Artificial Intelligence. This is because AI is becoming more and more sophisticated every day, and is quickly learning how to do things that humans can do. There’s two ways you can view AI. It’s either a threat or an opportunity. In this blog post, we will discuss 5 tasks executives currently do that could be replaced by AI in the next 5 years. More importantly, how can you make sure that you use it as an opportunity and don’t become redundant?
As an executive, you are probably always looking for ways to be more efficient and get more done in less time. Well, that’s the purpose of this blog, isn’t it. There’s good news! In the next few years, AI is going to take over many of the tasks that you currently spend your time on. Here are our top five predictions.
Sales and Marketing
AI can already do a better job than humans at prospecting, lead generation, and even closing deals. In the next few years, AI will become even better at sales and marketing tasks, leaving executives with more time to focus on strategy and high-level thinking. No need for the masses of so-called LinkedIn consultants, promising you endless leads. AI will find them for you. Our prediction is that the prospect won’t even know that it’s not you making the initial approach.
Customer Service
Already, many companies are using AI for customer service. AI will only get better at handling customer issues so that executives can spend their time on other tasks. Imagine if you were on holidays or preoccupied with a major project. Clients are not able to get you on the phone or email and they need something done quickly. Would you rather they find someone else to fix their problem or have their query addressed immediately by AI?
Product Development
If you’re not already using AI to help develop new products and features, you will be soon. In the next few years, executives will be able to delegate more product development duties to AI so that they can focus on other areas of their business. AI will also be able to access ‘Big Data‘ and determine how successful the product will be for its intended consumers. The probability of success will be better than solely relying on you or your team’s experience.
Finance
AI can already be used to manage finances and make investment decisions. In the next few years, AI will become even better at handling financial tasks. This is good news for executives who want to spend less time on numbers and more time on strategic thinking. Forecasting will be a breeze. It’s already in many banking apps like the Commonwealth Bank’s Netbank.
Human Resources
AI can already be used for recruiting, performance reviews, and even training employees. In the next few years, AI will become even better at managing human resources. This is good news for executives who want to spend less time on administrative tasks. It’s bad news for HR Managers. In fact, AI could be the answer to unconscious bias in hiring and firing decisions.
So there you have it! These are the top five tasks for execs that is expected to be replaced by AI in the next few years. For office workers in general, we would expect there to be many more job functions humans currently do that will be redundant.
As an executive, you have a choice to make. You could either see AI as a threat or start to make sure that you use this as an opportunity to focus on more strategic long term value-creation activities. If you don’t know what they are, it’s time to start investigating and asking others. Don’t become redundant; use AI to your advantage to free up the time you need to create value in the business over the long term!
Do you have any tips on how to make sure you don’t become redundant as AI takes over more tasks? Share them in the comments below!