In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has been one of the hottest buzzwords in tech—and for good reason. Advanced forms of AI-powered automation can optimize workflows, reduce costs, enhance the user experience, and efficiently analyze large datasets—all at machine speed.
According to the 2019 RELX Emerging Tech Executive Report, 93% of surveyed companies believed AI has had a positive impact on their industry as a whole—a significant increase from 69% just one year earlier. High approval ratings like these might make it look like businesses are, by and large, leaning into AI. Yet, only 29% of companies surveyed by CompTIA said they regularly used AI. So, why the disconnect?
In this article, we’re unpacking the primary reasons why companies have tended to shy away from AI—and explore how no-code can help organizations get the most out of these advanced technologies.
The (Perceived) Challenge of Working with AI
In the RELX survey referenced above, 50% of respondents that were not yet using AI said they were refraining due to budgetary constraints. This coincides with a 2018 report from Microsoft which found that industry leaders associated AI with “prohibitive or unjustifiable expenses,” and were therefore reluctant to invest in these technologies. Another part of the RELX survey found that 36% of respondents said they thought they didn’t have the technical expertise necessary to implement AI effectively.
“Although AI is often featured in futuristic and seemingly unapproachable use-cases, it’s taking on valuable business tasks today across multiple industries.”
When you break it down, the underlying logic behind the reasons why companies shy away from AI is related to errors in perception. CIOs and industry leaders don’t think it’s possible to implement an AI-powered solution without investing in expensive experts or complex solutions.
In our view, the first part of the AI journey starts with correcting this misconception. Although AI is often featured in futuristic and seemingly unapproachable use-cases, it’s taking on valuable business tasks today across multiple industries. And advanced no-code platforms like Unqork can help make it happen.
Using No-Code and Machine Vision to Eliminate Paper-Based Processes
AI solutions can generate value for any organization where processes are overly laden with complex—yet repetitive—tasks. The insurance industry, for example, is still reliant on inefficient and outdated “analog” processes for many of its servicing operations. Indeed, 65% of all life insurance processes today are paper-based and necessarily “flow” through manual checkpoints. This is exactly the type of scenario where no-code and AI can make a huge difference.
A single insurance application can get passed between various agents and the customer nine times before final approval—this is a time-consuming and frustrating process that can take as many as 40 days to complete. What’s more, with so much information changing hands across different departments, there are bound to be errors.
Our team saw a better way.
The Unqork platform features integrated machine vision functionality that can scan paper documents, extract the information, and translate it into machine-readable data points to which business logic can easily be applied. Furthermore, in our solution, intelligent APIs cross-reference extracted application data with trusted sources like Experian or Facebook to confirm details. If something doesn’t match up, the system will automatically text the applicant with a link to the interface, indicate exactly what fields are missing, and ask for assistance or clarification.
Watch the replay of this webinar to see how no-code is transforming insurance processes.
This solution was recently implemented by one of the world’s largest insurance providers to digitize their Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) function, which was a complex series of fax, scans, and manual checkpoints. With traditional code-based development methodologies, this digital transformation project would have taken the company the better part of a year to finish. With Unqork’s configuration-based development platform, it took only 12 weeks.
The company saw an immediate 60% reduction in required labor, which meant employees could spend less time on repetitive tasks, and more time building value for the company in other areas. This sort of digitization has been long-awaited in the insurance industry and can give companies the push they need to gain a competitive advantage and lead industry-wide change.
How AI Can Improve Customer Care
Insurance companies invest a lot of resources into attracting customers, but too-often drop the ball when it comes to actually taking care of clients once they’ve signed on. Crucial client-facing processes can be deprioritized due to lack of insights or lack of resources and mistakes can be made (e.g., a customer to get assigned to an advisor they can’t meet with because they live in the next town), which can negatively impact NPS if not result in lost customers.
This is a perfect place to apply AI.
Using AI, providers can enhance the customer experience while subsequently reducing overhead costs. Unqork offers a solution in which AI can be used to automatically discern insights from customer applications in order to determine, for example, which insurance agent is a best fit for each customer case.
Not only does AI improve the customer experience, this kind of automated recommendation or quote process can also drive sales. Bassam Chaptini, our Chief Technology Officer, notes that Unqork’s no-code insurance solutions can reduce time-to-issuance and cut processing costs by 40%—which means both faster turnaround on commissions and more money for hard-working insurance agents.
With No-Code, the Future Is Now
While AI and machine learning might seem like futuristic concepts to some, they shouldn’t be treated as such. Unqork unlocks the technology to bring automation into core business processes—we just ask you to look beyond code. If you identify key ways in which you want to improve and apply automation with a no-code platform, you won’t have to wait until 2050 to reap the benefits of AI—you can start your AI journey today.
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