AI Trends for 2019: What Should We Expect?

It’s been years since Artificial Intelligence was first introduced to the world. Now, the technology is available not only to businesses but to everyday users as well.

AI has become a priceless helper for all industries worldwide. Its ability to process huge data sets and use this data for multiple purposes allowed businesses to significantly leverage their performance and offer brand-new service to the customers.

We are all familiar with virtual assistants, smart homes, personalized apps, and smart gadgets. So is there a way AI can surprise us in the future? Read about the biggest AI trends below.

Advanced personalization

Users want personalization and that’s a fact. 56% of shoppers are willing to come back to the site if it recommends a product and personalized display ads have a 10X CTR than non-personalized ads.

AI-based tools can collect and process customer data and, based on that, suggest recommended products or services for a specific person. This is incredibly valuable for the e-commerce industry where everything is built around customers and their shopping habits.

However, AI-based personalization is relevant not only for e-commerce. AI powers fitness apps that are so popular today as well. By analyzing the user’s habits, the app can suggest a diet or certain physical exercises. So basically, AI can be used by any business that wishes to incorporate personalization to the customer experience.

Visual search

This trend is not new but is still developing.

Last year, Pinterest rolled out the Pinterest Lens — a “Shazam for objects”, as it was called. The idea behind the Lens is that the user can scan any object with the camera and the service will then search for similar objects across Pinterest.

Other industry giants like Google and Microsoft also introduced the option of visual search and it seems like the trend confidently settled down.

Visual search lets users perform an instant and highly precise search. By already knowing what kind of item they are looking for, users will receive better results that will 100% correspond to their requests. The service is applicable for any industry but will be especially important for e-commerce.

Chatbots and assistants

Virtual assistants and bots will become more widespread and “smart” in the nearest future, freeing employees from mundane work like answering simple questions or performing routine tasks.

The implementation of bots significantly saves time for the user as the answer to the request is given almost immediately. This also contributes to better user experience as the customer does not have to wait and receives highly accurate information.

Bots help people shop, choose different services and products based on individual needs, and are able to take orders and track their status. As for the assistants, Amazon already introduced Alexa Shopping — and we may see more of such virtual helpers, programmed to do a specific range of tasks to make our lives easier.

Predictive analytics

In the modern digital world, everything relies on data. Customer data is a priceless source of important insights, i.e. on customer shopping behavior, future decisions, etc.

However, there is more to predictive analytics than forecasting what your customers will buy next. In the healthcare industry, predictive analytics already helps identify the possibility of disease development and in the financial industry, predictive analytics is used to assess the credibility of the borrowers.

In the nearest future, predictive analytics will be actively developing due to the value that it brings to the industries. This will help businesses build more robust and reliable strategies and increase revenue significantly.

AI and mobile app development: what does the future look like?

Today is the golden age for mobile developers as mobile is gaining incredible popularity. People are used that the majority of services and processes can be conducted via mobile and businesses have to follow along.

As for the AI in mobile development, technology is becoming hugely widespread. Some of the industry leaders think that soon AI will become a must-have technology for any mobile development company and will be as common as cloud services.

It sure seems so, considering the customers’ demand for AI-based services. So the ultimate advice for mobile development companies would be: invest time and resources into implementing AI in your services and find the best way how AI can bring you value.

Extra: CB Insights AI trends in 2019

Written by Natalia Kukushkina

AI Trends for 2019: What Should We Expect? was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.