Top 5 AI Business Ideas to Transform Your Startup in 2024

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has evolved from a futuristic concept into a powerful tool that is transforming the way businesses operate. From drafting high-converting marketing strategies to improving customer experiences, AI is opening new doors for innovation and operational excellence.

The AI market is expected to grow from $86.9 billion in 2022 to $407.0 billion by 2027 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36.2%. With so much potential profit at stake, many forward-thinking entrepreneurs are looking into AI business ideas to boost their bottom line and turn in high profits. Read on for five profitable AI business ideas to maximize your earnings!

How Can AI Help Business Development?

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a subject of speculation for decades, but its practical application in business has only become mainstream in recent years. In 1956, John McCarthy called in top researchers at the Dartmouth workshop to discuss the future of automation, where he later coined the word “Artificial Intelligence.”

Shortly after this, the first AI programs were developed to solve mathematical problems, like Newell and Simon’s General Problem Solver (1972). David Rumelhart and John Hopfield started working on “deep learning” methods in the 1980s, programming computers to learn using experience. Expert Systems were introduced by Edward Feigenbaum during the same year.

This program asked experts about their reactions in any given situation and later trained computers for the same decision-making abilities. Thanks to Feigenbaum, non-experts could receive advice on relevant subjects in the same manner an expert would think. In 1997, IBM’s chess-playing computer program, [Deep Blue], defeated the world Chess champion, Kasparov.

As per a 2024 survey by McKinsey & Company, 65% of respondents state that their organizations have adopted Generative AI. Most of these companies are in marketing and sales, but AI adoption is also seen in scientific literature, IT, and customer service. The survey also found that many businesses, including healthcare, retail, and financial services, are hoping to invest around 5% of their budget in Generative AI.

5 Best AI Business Ideas for 2024

1. AI-Powered Customer Support

AI-powered chatbots are one of the best AI ideas for business. They help companies to cater to customers' ever-growing expectations through round-the-clock service and support. These virtual assistants use natural language processing (NLP) to answer common queries, improving both response times and customer satisfaction. You can use AI for business intelligence to build a knowledge base full of FAQs, capture client feedback and sentiment, or even automate manual data entry tasks.

For example, Sephora’s virtual beauty coach, Ora, answers queries about return policies and product availability. It also recommends beauty products like an in-store assistant. The beauty brand also has a reservation assistant that lets you reserve makeovers at one of Sephora’s stores. This bot has brought around 11% more conversions than any other booking channel!

Key Advantages of AI-Powered Customer Support

• Provides assistance any time of the day, regardless of holidays or time zones
• Responds to queries in real-time, drastically reducing wait times
• Reduces operational costs by handling a high volume of inquiries (without extra staff)
• Gives consistent, error-free responses based on programmed data

2. AI in Healthcare

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can process large data sets quickly and accurately, making them great AI business ideas for the health and wellness industry. AI can analyze a patient’s genetic makeover, lifestyle, and environment to draft a personalized medicine (or nutritional) plan.

IBM Watson for Oncology is a classic example of AI business ideas in healthcare, an AI-based support system that drafts treatment plans for cancer patients. The system analyzes your medical records, including previous treatments and lifestyle factors (diet and exercise), to recommend the most suitable treatment plan. WFO then ranks treatments based on expert training, and the final results are found closest to the ones suggested by leading oncologists.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also used for predictive analysis in healthcare, using historical data to forecast diseases and potential health issues. By predicting health conditions before time, predictive analysis allows healthcare professionals to intervene early. This prevents medical conditions from worsening, potentially saving hospital costs (and lives). Predictive analysis can also be used for mental health to spot early symptoms like depression or anxiety.

Key Advantages of AI in Healthcare

• Analyzes medical images (X-rays and MRIs) with high precision; faster diagnosis
• Wearable devices continuously monitor signs like heart rate and blood pressure
• Streamlines admin-related tasks, reducing the burden on healthcare staff
• Predicts medical equipment failures, which facilitates timely maintenance

3. AI for Employee Experience

If you’re a forward-thinking entrepreneur who cares about the well-being and satisfaction of your employees, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a must in your workspace. Through AI-based training programs, you can ensure that your employees always have a knowledge base to improve their skills. This reduces employee training costs and boosts the productivity of your workers.

The AI-driven learning management system (LMS) can be trained to analyze an employee's performance, identify skill gaps, and recommend specific modules to cover those gaps. For example, if an HR manager struggles with writing emails, Cornerstone OnDemand could say, “Hey Steve, here’s a personalized email-writing course to help you!”.

AI-powered chatbots can also be programmed to handle routine HR and IT queries, providing on-the-go support to employees. For example, an IBM Watsonx HR assistant can assist your team with all their HR-related questions, which reduces employee frustration and improves engagement. Plus, the bot saves 75% of time spent on HR tasks, freeing up teams to focus on other core operations.

Key Advantages of AI in Employee Experience

• Offers personalized mental health and wellness resources on demand
• Decreases training and support expenses by automating routine tasks
• Recommends training programs as per individual employee needs for skill development

4. AI in Retail

The e-commerce sector is also adopting artificial intelligence, with its global market share expected to rise from $9.36 billion in 2024 to $85.97 billion by 2032. One of the best AI business ideas in retail is robotic shopping assistants. They boost your store's online sales by analyzing each customer's browsing history, purchase patterns, and social media activity. Through a personal AI shopper, your customer sees ads for the product he’s most likely to buy, improving brand loyalty and user satisfaction.

For example, the retail giant Amazon uses machine learning and deep learning to power its recommendation engine — pitching products the customer has been looking for. Similarly, the Nike Fit app uses an AI-based algorithm to scan the user’s feet and recommend the best shoe size and fit, thereby reducing returns and improving customer satisfaction.

The e-commerce sector has also been benefiting from AI business ideas in inventory management. It helps retailers predict demand better, optimize stock levels, and reduce waste, which minimizes overstock and stockouts. [Walmart], for example, uses AI-driven robots to keep track of inventory levels in real time, streamlining its supply chain and operations.

Key Advantages of AI in Retail

• Tailors product recommendations and marketing messages to individual customers
• Improves customer experience through AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants
• Automates routine tasks, allowing employees to focus on core operations
• Solves problems smartly by analyzing customer service interactions

5. AI-Based Financial Services

Beyond healthcare and retail, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has also found its application in the finance sector. Personalized financial services are one of the top AI business ideas today, providing money-related advice to investors based on their portfolios. You can develop a bot to offer customized loan offers, draft budgeting schedules, or even help with bookkeeping.

For example, Wealthfront, a leading robo-advisor, gives tailored investment advice to its clients. The platform considers the user’s financial goals, risk tolerance, and market conditions to draft customized investment portfolios. It manages all your trading accounts, so you can rest easy knowing you’ll get the highest returns.

Key Advantages of AI-Based Financial Services

• Helps customers make more informed financial choices
• Detects fraud and abnormal transactions immediately
• Provides data-driven insights for money management

How to Get Started With AI in Your Business

The first step in integrating AI business ideas into your company is finding the right solutions that align with your specific goals. Start by thinking about which areas in your company could benefit the most from AI. Do you wish to automate customer service or sales and marketing? Or would AI in data analysis and operations benefit your business the most?

Once you have a clear idea of your goals, choose an AI tool that closely matches your vision.

GBTBots is a tried-and-tested platform for developing AI chatbots without any coding knowledge, making it accessible even to those without any technical know-how. Moreover, the platform has a range of features that can be tailored to your needs, from customer support bots to data analysis tools.

Conclusion

If you’re an entrepreneur who wants to stay competitive in the business world, it's crucial to integrate AI business ideas into your model. Whether it’s improving customer service, streamlining operations, or tapping into new revenue streams, Artificial Intelligence can open up new doors of success for your business.

Ready to migrate to an AI-based solution for your business? GBTBots is here to help you, the powerful no-code application for creating AI business applications. Trusted by over 10,000 companies, GBTBots makes it easy to build and train bots that can improve your operations and drive growth. So sign up with GBTBots today to set your business up for success!

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