The AI advantage for Asia's SMEs

As an Artificial Intelligence (AI) veteran, I’ve dedicated my career to building up advanced technology. Whether in my role as the former managing director of Google Taiwan or my current position as a board member at AI solutions firm iKala, I’ve always envisioned a digital landscape where AI deeply impacts business processes and customer experiences. Even so, my mother’s phone call last week came as a complete surprise - she had downloaded the Taobao app and was checking out her first purchase. It’s a clear, if anecdotal, picture of the exponential growth that online platforms have seen, with everyone from digital natives to their grandparents flocking online for all their needs amidst the pandemic.

The consumer shift amidst the pandemic has seen everyone from digital natives to their grandparents flocking online for all their needs. From research, to shopping, banking, or entertainment, these new digital consumers aren’t going anywhere.

In fact, in Southeast Asia alone, 40 million people came online for the first time in 2020, bringing the total number of Internet users in the region to 400 million. In response, businesses of all sizes have had to double down on their digital strategy, intensifying competition in the digital space.

To take on larger enterprises that have the resources and preparedness to cope with the new digital environment, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Asia Pacific need better access to advanced AI technologies to navigate the evolving landscape.

AI gives small businesses the competitive edge they need

A common misconception with AI is that it is expensive, complex, and requires deep technological expertise to put into practice. In reality, a lot of successful SMEs already leverage and benefit from AI without realizing it. If your company runs a physical space that offers facility bookings, chances are that your systems already automatically detect suspicious activity to ban fraudulent users - that’s AI at work. Even the latest blog that went up your website was probably a part of a content strategy that taps on Google’s search AI to to maximize SEO.

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Simply put, AI is in action whenever machines are capable of learning from data and making decisions. And companies that understand its benefits are already investing in the technology - in fact, 50% of businesses across the globe have adopted AI in at least one business function. From data management and organizational efficiency, to risk management and customer experiences, AI is revolutionizing the future of work, and SMEs must come on board.

Combat resources with AI-enabled resourcefulness

While large enterprises may boast extensive financial and human resources, SMEs can leverage AI-enabled technologies to increase productivity and level the playing field. On the front end, technologies such as chatbots can streamline client interactions and direct simple and common customer queries to the right resources. This saves valuable time for agents, allowing them to spend more time on complex customer queries. On the back end, AI can help analyze your data and distill crucial insights to optimize decision making. For example, AI can collect and analyze audience profiles, transforming numbers on a page into actionable insights. For business leaders, this removes the struggle in interpreting raw data and confusing statistics, and instead helps them to focus their time and energy on making better decisions.

Beyond improving business operations, AI can help businesses bridge the gap between industry trends and business outcomes. Take, for example, iconic Thai handbag brand NaRaYa, which hosted Facebook live sessions for selling amidst the pandemic. Our research shows that Southeast Asia has a massive opportunity for the retail industry in social commerce, and NaRaYa actioned this insight by tapping on iKala’s Shoplus Order Management System and KOL Radar. As a result, they saw a 50% increase in purchases and a 90% increase in efficiency in managing orders, showcasing the efficiency of making smart AI solutions work for your business.

Small player advantage: leaders pave the way to agility

As smaller players, SMEs have the advantage of being able to pivot and respond to changes more quickly, but the direction on technology and culture has to come from its leaders. A study by EY of small and medium enterprises in Southeast Asia found that 74.2% of respondents felt that having supportive senior stakeholders is a baseline requirement for a culture of agile innovation, showing how nimble and decisive leadership is crucial to unlocking the small player advantage.

With SME leaders championing agility, businesses can then invest in the advanced technologies that make pivoting with ease possible. For example, AI competitor intelligence tools can monitor various digital channels to gather data about competitor tactics and pricings. With the most updated knowledge about movements in the industry, SMEs can roll out changes across the organization quickly and efficiently, ensuring that they are always at the forefront of any competition.

I remember reading about an EY poll conducted in APAC in which 41% of participants indicated that they were interested in exploring AI, but were not sure where to start. I was surprised - after all, if my mother could get on Taobao at the age of 89, what was stopping these businesses?

The rapidly-expanding new digital generation should be a sure and decisive signal to SMBs to get informed and get started. The market moves fast, and competition will always be fierce, but SMEs have the AI advantage. It’s time to make use of it.

The contributor is the ex-managing director of Google Taiwan and currently sits on the board of AI solutions firm iKala