How startups can build an AI roadmap for success

Just when you thought you had all your tech stuff sorted, along comes generative AI, another thing to get your head around and make use of – fast.

Time is everything, especially as you try to navigate a myriad of different interactions, all while adapting your processes to meet the market fit for your business.

Your team are often operating outside of their expertise to keep things moving, and you are constantly trying to scale your operating model, without generating unnecessary internal bureaucracy.

It’s a situation that should benefit from new AI tools offering incredible value, if you can use them the right way. Generative AI, in particular, promises to reduce the communications overhead of running a startup.

Whether it’s providing chat-based help for customers curious about product features, FAQs and policies, or by summarising an account or a service call, these tools can help you scale without overloading your people or sacrificing intimacy and personalisation.

A unique opportunity for startups to lead

Startup founders are not alone in grappling with the opportunity presented by generative AI, but they may be best placed to grasp it.

New Salesforce research has looked at how Australia’s C-Suite is prioritising generative AI across their businesses, and found that business leaders are bullish on how its integration will drive productivity, while also providing for more innovative customer and employee experiences.

This combination of productivity and innovation may be why our research found the CEO to be the person most responsible for ensuring generative AI is successfully integrated into a business. Used to wearing many hats, this shouldn’t be a huge stretch for startup founders.

We know that startup success today is often hinged on speed. Virtually everyone surveyed (99%) said they believe generative AI integration will be important to the success of their business in the next three years. This is the window in which startups can exploit their ability to move quickly to leap-frog large competitors.

Creating effective AI roadmaps for startups

Startups can leverage generative AI to drive efficiencies, improve customer satisfaction and fuel growth.

However, most startups are dealing with limited resources compared to enterprises, so a focused approach is needed. You don’t need to build your own large language models or train your staff to become experts on prompt writing to succeed with AI. But you do need clear, task-based generative AI solutions.

Prioritise growth choke points: Generative AI is like a blank canvas, offering limitless opportunities for businesses to adapt to their unique needs. A critical step in developing a generative AI strategy, and ensuring its success, is determining the most relevant use cases, rather than taking an ad hoc approach. Founders should focus on areas or functions where generative AI will have the most significant impact on their company’s growth journey. Think front office processes and operational efficiency.
Build a strong data culture: From our research, 97 per cent of respondents agree that having holistic and complete data is critical for building confidence in AI tools. Building a culture where everyone who touches data about a customer relationship has a sense of stewardship of that data allows you to identify barriers to good data management early. Choose data management systems like Salesforce’s Data Cloud, which empower the business to leverage the data that powers intelligent actions and process innovations.
Leverage AI for more than productivity: Many companies focus on generative AI as a productivity tool but neglect its role in facilitating better communication and collaboration. Generative AI’s greatest impact will be seen in how it transforms the way people work together. The most successful use of generative AI will be to strengthen relationships – by making communication clearer, decision-making faster and collaboration more seamless.

Local startups aren’t without support on this issue – as Startup Daily reported back in June, AWS is running a bootcamp for startups to build with generative AI, while Salesforce will be running its own Agentforce World Tour Sydney event later this year to showcase how business leaders can thrive in a new era of artificial intelligence.

Only trustworthy AI can unlock growth

Salesforce rode the cloud wave when it was a startup, and our experience can be instructive to startup founders navigating AI.

From the beginning, trust has been Salesforce’s number one value. For startups today, a culture of responsible use of AI is critical, and this requires three things: Acceptable use standards for AI; a familiarity with AI tools that enhance quality and safety, and knowing when you need an expert.

If you can do this, not only will you unlock value for your business, but by focusing on responsible innovation, you position yourself as an AI-enabled enterprise.