New artificial intelligence tools seem to crop up every day—and many businesses are implementing them just as quickly. However, while these tools are meant to make businesses more efficient, that doesn’t mean they don’t also come with their own challenges, especially when it comes to implementing them in the first place.
From simply not understanding the technology to gaining customer acceptance and trust, there are numerous struggles leaders are facing while attempting to adopt artificial intelligence into their processes. Here, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss 10 of those hurdles and what they think business leaders can do to overcome them.
1. Lack Of In-House Expertise
A major AI implementation hurdle is the lack of in-house expertise. To overcome it, invest in training, collaborate with experts, hire AI talent, start small with pilot projects and use user-friendly AI tools. Building internal expertise is key to successful AI adoption. – Nic DeAngelo, Saint Investment – Real Estate Funds
2. Uncertainty About Where To Implement It
One of the biggest hurdles—with one of the biggest potential downsides when executed incorrectly—is deciding where to implement AI. While it might be tempting to say, “Let’s add that chatbot for website inquiries,” or “Let’s stuff our blog with AI-generated articles,” AI should not be used anywhere that it will negatively impact the overall customer experience. In almost every instance, AI should be used to help alleviate tasks from an employee who is closely monitoring AI, rather than being unleashed to replace a role. Customers who get frustrated by bad information or bad experiences (stemming from AI or otherwise) may move on and find a solution with a competitor before you even have a chance to salvage the sale. – Brittany Hodak, Creating Superfans
3. The Absence Of Updated, Capable Infrastructure
One hurdle that businesses are facing right now when implementing AI is the absence of updated infrastructure with processing capabilities that can handle large amounts of data in minimal time. Most businesses still struggle with outdated systems, tools and applications, making AI integration difficult. Whether it is the proper storage, processors or the necessary training needed to understand these new tools and troubleshoot problems, businesses should find the right AI provider or vendor who has the requisite AI experience, expertise and certifications to help carve a manageable cost component and guarantee a smoother transition to AI implementation. – Brian David Crane, Spread Great Ideas
4. Data Privacy And Security Concerns
One of the biggest challenges businesses face with AI is data privacy and security concerns. AI models typically require large data sets to learn and generate high-quality outputs. The problem with that is this handling of sensitive information poses serious risks. It’s incredibly important that businesses ensure compliance with data protection regulations and safeguard sensitive data from potential breaches. This will require businesses to stay on top of the latest trends in AI and data protection so they ensure they’re up to speed with changes. The risks of AI systems and threats of malicious use will likely be a big challenge for years to come. – Blair Thomas, eMerchantBroker
5. Difficulty In Determining Intellectual Property Ownership
In my opinion, the biggest hurdle is the challenge around intellectual property (IP). When using AI, it is difficult to determine the ownership and inventorship of AI-generated or AI-assisted outputs, especially when multiple human and machine agents are involved. So, businesses must navigate the risk of infringement or misappropriation of IP rights by unauthorized or malicious use of AI systems, such as copying, reverse engineering or hacking. – Renato Agrella, Acerca Consulting
6. The Inability To Create Personalized Solutions
I think that one of the hurdles businesses face right now when it comes to implementing AI is the inability to come up with personalized solutions by default. AI is a great facilitator of different processes; however, businesses can’t solely rely on AI-powered tools and completely automate different processes. Whichever solutions you devise with the help of AI, they lack human touch and, to make up for it, you have to be actively involved in the process to get the result that meets your preferences. Businesses can partially overcome this challenge by training artificial intelligence systems. But in the end, to come up with solutions best suited to their needs or preferences, it’s essential for AI and humans to join forces. – Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
7. Knowing How To Utilize LLMs To Produce Quality Content
A significant challenge for businesses that are implementing AI lies in effectively utilizing large language models (LLMs) to produce high quality, engaging and SEO-friendly content. While tools like ChatGPT offer value, the crucial factor is finding the optimal equilibrium between AI and human expertise. Over-reliance on AI can result in subpar content, plagiarism risks and diminished search engine rankings due to excessive duplication. On the other hand, neglecting AI tools means forgoing efficiency gains that can set businesses apart and attract customers, potentially affecting competitiveness and expansion. To address this challenge, assess your processes carefully and determine the ideal balance at each stage to meet your objectives effectively. – Kevin Getch, Webfor
8. Technological Overwhelm
One of the most common hurdles is technological overwhelm. Many businesses add on too many tools without really analyzing how they are going to use them. As a result, they end up with three different content generation platforms. They pay for all the subscriptions but their teams don’t really use any of them. This sort of inefficiency can be easily avoided if you make the decision as to which tool to purchase based on its utility for your workflows rather than its big promise and shiny cover. – Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS
9. Gaining Customer Acceptance
Gaining customer acceptance. While AI can bring tons of benefits, like improved efficiency and personalized experiences, some customers still have reservations. They worry about their data privacy, fear job losses or simply don’t trust AI to make decisions. To tackle this, businesses need to be transparent about how they use AI, emphasizing data security and showing how it can complement human expertise rather than replace it. It’s crucial for businesses to involve customers in the AI journey too. Building trust takes time, so continuous communication and education about AI’s advantages are key. Ultimately, it’s about demonstrating that AI is a tool that’s there to enhance the customer experience, not compromise it. – Abhijeet Kaldate, Astra WordPress Theme
10. The Sheer Number Of Options Available
There are too many options. It’s hard to figure out where to start. First and foremost, start by identifying your specific business goals and challenges. Determine where AI can make the most impact. Additionally, analyze customer needs and pain points. AI tools can enhance the customer experience and address some of these pain points. Study what your competitors are doing with AI as a reference too. Verify if it would also be helpful for your business. It is important to consider your budget, as there are a vast number of options available these days. Start with the most impactful solutions, test and evaluate, iterate this process and expand as your business grows. – Meeky Hwang, Ndevr, Inc.
