How to Implement AI in Business: Up Productivity & Reduce Costs
“Many thanks, buddy! Now I see where the weak spots are in our processes and business as a whole. I see the Java team 2 is a bit late, but with the XYZ Inc. project ahead by about a week.” That’s how George Epshtain, CEO of Itexus LLC, wraps up a chat with his AI Assistant.
No long sheets or reports—just a direct Q&A, like talking to a human assistant. Sorry, it can’t make you a coffee!
Before implementing the AI-Assistant, things were different. If not every morning, then every other day, George would spend hours analyzing reports and data on project execution. It wasn’t too boring, but it did take a lot of time—at least 8 hours a week. Sound familiar?
Every top manager faces the necessity of spending hours analyzing data. But now you’ve got your own Genie from Aladdin’s lamp, handling most of your management tasks.
Too good to be true?
Itexus LLC., a software development company, started working with AI four years ago, back when mass AI adoption was just beginning. Visionaries like George could see all the potential AI had, especially in FinTech. Yet somehow, they “never got around to solving their internal issues.”
Trouble was, the growth in orders far outpaced the expansion of the engineering staff. They needed to increase efficiency by optimizing processes and improving productivity. Top management also struggled to control task execution, ensure quality, and analyze results.
And so In January 2024, we had a breakthrough. We decided to try new approaches. Test them on our own processes. “No sooner said than done!” That’s how Itexus LLC.’s AI Assistant was born.
Challenge:
The main challenges:
- Top management spent too much time on routine tasks, preventing them
from focusing more on strategic initiatives and business development. - There was also pressure to enhance productivity and reduce development costs to remain competitive.
- Specific challenges in mobile app development processes required
innovative solutions.
In essence, it was necessary to enhance staff productivity, reduce development
costs, and optimize mobile app development processes using cutting-edge artificial intelligence techniques at Itexus LLC., a company with over 150 members, including programming engineers, marketing staff, and administration.
AI Assistant Implementation:
Overview of the AI-Assistant’s Capabilities: How It Solves Issues
Based on the tasks at hand, and then more universally, the following task functionality was developed:
- Assesses the quality of task setting. AI-Assistant automatically checks each task entered into the task manager for completeness and quality, and provides recommendations for its improvement. The AI-Assistant also analyzes systems for task similarity.
- Predicts employee productivity. Able to estimate the time of task completion, analyzes employee efficiency, identifies employee weaknesses for management influence and additional training.
- Monitors the execution of tasks and their quality. 24/7 tracks the deadlines for each task, evaluates quality, performs an auto-review of the code, and also records the number of errors by type. Collects the status of tasks from each employee and generates a report for the manager.
- Monitors compliance with standards. Monitors compliance with standards for each process down to the last decimal point and, if necessary, takes steps to return the process to compliance.
- Predicts and prevents problems. Analyzes data for each project and subtask to predict deadline misses and budget overruns. Escalates issues to management when necessary.
- Analyzes team interactions and communications. Monitors corporate communications to assess team interactions, identifying bottlenecks and providing recommendations for improvement.
Stages of implementation:
Overall, the company followed a traditional implementation strategy.
- Analysis of existing project management procedures
- Data quality assessment
- Implementation and configuration of the system
Steps taken to integrate the AI Assistant into existing workflows.
The Itexus team integrated corporate platforms like Jira, Confluence, GitHub, Slack, etc. for automatic monitoring of all activities.
Key indicators are tracked: The AI Assistant provides dashboards with assessments and forecasts, enabling quick responses to changes.
Key stakeholders involved in the implementation.
In general, Itexus LLC. stakeholders are the entire top management as well as team leads. In any other company, it is approximately the same. Based on the experience of Itexus LLC., we can say that the average implementation and adaptation period is 2 months.
Impact and Results
Overall, the results at Itexus LLC (150+ employees) surpassed expectations. The AI Assistant spots hidden problems buried in numbers and reports. It also offers solutions.
Routine Task Reduction:
By automating routine tasks previously managed by managers, the AI Assistant effectively reduced the workload on managers by 80%. It freed up time for strategic planning and decisions. Project management got smoother. Fewer delays. Improved team productivity.
Interacting with AI-Assistant. The manager can ask questions in a free form and receive quick answers. The assistant also informs about tasks that require attention.
Recording activities. The AI-Assistant records all its actions and key employee activities, ensuring complete transparency.
Implementation of AI-Assistant result to:
- Removes 80% of routine tasks on control and management from the manager.
- Identifies and shows problems that are usually hidden under many numbers and reports, and also offers options for solving them.
- Increase productivity by 24%.
- Reduce development costs by 19%.
Challenges Faced During Implementation
During the implementation of AI-Assistant, two main challenges were identified: initial resistance and technical issues.
Initial Resistance. Resistance from employees or managers to adopt AI.
Not at all surprising that the integration of artificial intelligence into work processes often faces resistance from employees and managers. This resistance can be caused by several factors, including:
- Fear of job loss: Some employees feared that automating their routine tasks would lead to job cuts or diminish their value to the company.
- Distrust of technology: Managers may have been skeptical of AI’s capabilities, doubting its reliability and effectiveness compared to traditional management methods.
- Habituation to old processes: For many employees, the old work processes were familiar and comfortable. Switching to new methods that required the use of AI made them uncomfortable and resistant.
How to overcome resistance
The following steps were taken to successfully overcome resistance to the implementation of AI-Assistant at Itexus LLC:
Training and awareness-raising
- Action: The company organized training sessions and workshops for employees and managers to explain how AI-Assistant works, what tasks it performs, and what benefits it will bring to each of them.
- Outcome: This helped reduce the fear of the unknown and showed that AI-Assistant would not replace employees but would instead make their work easier by allowing them to focus on more meaningful tasks.
Support and adaptation
- Measure: Support groups were set up where employees could go with questions or concerns related to the use of AI. There was also a smooth transition with a step-by-step introduction of AI-Assistant into workflows so that employees had time to get used to it.
- Result: This allowed employees to gradually adapt to the innovation, reducing stress levels and increasing confidence.
Demonstration of successful examples
- Measure: The company presented case studies where the implementation of AI-Assistant has already led to positive results, such as reduced routine tasks and increased productivity.
- Outcome: Successful case studies demonstrated in practice that AI-Assistant does deliver value, which increased trust in the technology and reduced resistance.
Recognition and Awards
- Measure: The company implemented a system to recognize and reward employees who successfully adopted new technologies and actively used the AI-Assistant in their work.
- Result: This encouraged other employees to follow suit as they saw their efforts appreciated and rewarded.
Due to these measures, Itexus LLC significantly reduced employee and manager resistance to AI implementation, enabling the AI Assistant to be effectively integrated into workflows and achieve planned goals.
Technical Challenges: Obstacles encountered during implementation
A number of technical difficulties were identified during the implementation of AI-Assistant. They somewhat slowed down the implementation process. However, the positive factor is that, knowing them, we were able to overcome them effectively in all subsequent projects. Let me voice the main ones:
Issue: Integration with systems. You might be curious about how our systems initially struggled to “make friends” with AI. The integration wasn’t smooth, and changes were needed to get everything working together.
Solution: We updated our IT infrastructure and developed new interfaces. Everything became compatible, and the implementation process sped up.
Issue: Data Quality. Should consider the importance of data quality. We had a lot of data, but it was scattered and not always accurate. AI needed clean, complete information to function effectively.
Solution: We cleaned the data and improved its quality. Now, AI learns better and provides accurate recommendations.
Issue: Performance. AI initially put a lot of strain on our servers, leading to scalability issues, especially during peak times.
Solution: We switched to cloud technologies and implemented optimizations. Now, the system works stably and scales easily.
Results. There were challenges, but we overcame them. Experience the benefits of AI that now works efficiently and helps us move forward. If you’re curious about how this could work for your business, get in touch with us for more details.
Lessons Learned
When implementing AI-Assistant at Itexus LLC, we gained a lot of useful insights. These insights can be useful for other companies thinking about implementing AI-Assistant.
Key Findings:
Planning and preparation: Thorough preparation and planning is key to a successful implementation. It is important to evaluate current systems and prepare them for integration with new technologies.
– Data quality: High quality data is the foundation of successful AI. Without clean and complete data, results may not be accurate.
– Employee support and training: Active employee support and training at all stages is important. This reduces resistance and speeds up adaptation to new technologies.
These lessons can be applied to similar projects to minimize risks and improve implementation efficiency.
Recommendations for other companies:
For other companies planning to implement an AI assistant, we recommend:
– Invest in IT infrastructure: Make sure your infrastructure is ready for AI integration. Update systems and develop interfaces to ease implementation.
– Focus on data quality: Invest in improving data quality so that AI can perform at its best and produce accurate results.
– Train and support employees: Provide training and support at all levels of the organization. This will help avoid resistance and make the implementation process smoother and faster.
By following these tips, you will be able to successfully implement an AI assistant and maximize its benefits.
“Embracing AI is no longer just an option—it’s a necessity for companies looking to thrive in today’s competitive landscape. I encourage you to take that step forward and integrate AI into your business processes. If you’re ready to explore the possibilities, our team is here to offer the expertise and tools you need to succeed. Reach out to us for assistance and let us help you unlock the full potential of AI with our cutting-edge solutions and AI-Assistants.“— George Epshtain, CEO Itexus LLC