How artificial intelligence is driving sales

Every time Amazon recommends a purchase to a customer, that's artificial intelligence at work.

But AI, the ability of computers or robots to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings, is not just limited to huge multinationals.

Increasing numbers of Australian businesses are using AI in their sales processes.

Sales platform Salesforce estimates it is handling a billion queries every day using its AI system, dubbed Einstein, which is used across small and large businesses.

Forecasting with AI

Founder and managing director of the marketing and sales business Marty Nicholas, told Fairfax Media on the sidelines of Salesforce's World Tour in Sydney last week that AI enables Blackdot to formulate a forecast of its future revenues and projections.

Blackdot employs 100 people globally with a turnover of $20 million and Nicholas says AI helps the business identify new opportunities to focus on.

"I think at this stage is largely untapped," he says. "What a lot of people fail to realise is to get value out of AI you need a rich set of data for it to work with."  Read more