Expected AI and Automation Trends 2021
Tags: Trends, Automation, AI, Technology, 2021

As 2020 is coming to an end, our world has changed in more ways than we could have ever imagined. Kids attending school online, employees working from home, grocery delivery services are just a few of the big changes we saw take place this year. Although there were many restrictions and changes during COVID-19, we were able to adapt so quickly with the use of Artificial Intelligence. 2021 will be a big year for AI and will continue to impact our lives in many ways. Here are a few trends you can expect to see with Artificial Intelligence and Automation Technology for 2021.

Expected AI and Automation Trends 2021

Operational Efficiency & Process Mining

RPA is an innovative software that allows you to create and implement robots that automate processes based on specific, repetitive and high volume rules. This AI technology can efficiently perform repetitive tasks much faster than a human would, and with zero error. Examples of these repetitive manual tasks include billing, invoicing, payroll processing, shipping scheduling, tracking, etc. Although RPA software is designed to reduce the work load for employees, this does not eliminate the need for humans. RPA software is used for time consuming tasks to allow for better services to the clients, while giving employees more time to focus on complex tasks.

Cybersecurity

By 2021, data privacy has become a global necessity which is why new regulations are constantly being updated and security is being improved. Due to the pandemic, a majority of a company’s information is outside the physical perimeter of the organization as employees work from home. This is why it’s essential for companies to have a “Cybersecurity Mesh”. According to Gartner, a Cybersecurity Mesh allows secure access to any asset, by any person and from any place, regardless of where the people and assets are located. This will be necessary in 2021, as many people will remain working from home.

Customer Experience Automation & Conversational Commerce

AI-powered chatbots, or Conversational AI, improves customer experience by improving response time and personalization of each person. Chatbot uses natural language processing (NLP) and Machine Learning to read, understand, and make sense of the human languages in order to interact with humans. Chatbots provide a more natural, human-like conversation. This technology gained popularity from the usage of Amazon Alexa and Google Home, and will continue gaining popularity all throughout 2021.

Reinforcement Learning

Reinforcement learning is the training of machine learning models to make a sequence of decisions. In the learning process, the software is given several different conditions and self-learn actions to get the best result. In 2021, we will see more AI solutions that will be able to detect common IT problems and make corrections on its own. This will give employees more time to focus on more complex tasks.

Merging of IoT and AI

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of physical objects “things” or interconnected devices that are able to collect and transfer data over a wireless network without human intervention. These devices are able to perform tasks in different companies and homes. Researchers were able to increase the capabilities of these devices by incorporating AI IoT technology. When AI and IoT are combined, systems will take action on the data it monitors. This could include locking doors, changing your homes temperature, turning lights off, closing the garage door, etc. According to Forbes, it’s estimated that 28% of U.S. homes will be “smart” by 2021.

Predictive Analytics

Through the use of machine learning, deep learning, and AI, companies will be able to analyze massive amounts of data that would be almost impossible for a human to analyze. With the use of this data, AI-powered tools will help reexamine business processing strategies based on the needs of the business. This process will predict future demands which can also improve the company’s marketing strategy by knowing what the customer wants, who the target audience is, and being able to make personalized recommendations to each individual. According to ThinkML, in 2021, many companies will introduce recurrent neural networks to obtain highly accurate forecasting information.

Although 2020 has been a hard year for everyone, it has allowed us to incorporate the use of AI in our everyday lives. In this next year, we will see that automation technology will become the new “normal” in making our everyday lives run more efficiently than before. Contactless and touchless mechanisms will also gain more attention from organizations, companies and households in order to maximize safety not only during COVID-19, but for the years to come.

Jenna Wilson