New Technology – Ohio River IT Solutions https://ohioriverit.com We’ll take care of your IT so you can take care of your business Tue, 26 May 2026 12:36:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://ohioriverit.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-logo_with_website-32x32.jpg New Technology – Ohio River IT Solutions https://ohioriverit.com 32 32 230383637 How to Prepare Microsoft 365 Permissions for a Safe Copilot Rollout https://ohioriverit.com/how-to-prepare-microsoft-365-permissions-for-a-safe-copilot-rollout/ https://ohioriverit.com/how-to-prepare-microsoft-365-permissions-for-a-safe-copilot-rollout/#respond Wed, 15 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://ohioriverit.com/?p=781 A safe Microsoft Copilot rollout starts with a permissions audit before any trial license is enabled. Microsoft 365 Copilot retrieves files, emails, and chats using each user’s existing Microsoft 365 permissions. In most tenants, those permissions are broader than anyone has mapped, because access tends to accumulate across years of projects, ad-hoc sharing, and staff changes. Microsoft itself now recommends a specific cleanup before any trial: map who currently has access to what, fix the permissions that have drifted out of scope, and apply sensitivity labels to confidential content.

This post covers what Microsoft 365 Copilot does with permissions, where oversharing tends to show up in a typical tenant, the kinds of content Copilot can return when permissions are broad, how to run the audit Microsoft recommends, and what to fix before any rollout.

How Microsoft 365 Copilot accesses your data

Copilot answers questions and generates content by retrieving information through Microsoft Graph, which is the API layer that ties together your Microsoft 365 services. When a user asks Copilot a question, it pulls from emails, calendar items, SharePoint documents, OneDrive files, Teams messages, and meeting transcripts that the signed-in user has permission to access.

The critical phrase in Microsoft’s own documentation is short: Copilot can only summarize or reference content that the user is authorized to access.

That statement is accurate, and it is also where the risk sits. The variable is whether each user’s permission set still matches what you assume it covers.

Why permissions tend to be broader than anyone thinks

For a manufacturer or trades business, most of the data sitting in your Microsoft 365 tenant is operational. Inventory records, production schedules, supplier contracts, project files. Some of it is sensitive, but the consequences are usually contained when the wrong employee reads a document.

At a professional services firm, the dynamic is different. The files are the product itself. Client matters, settlement figures, fee arrangements, deal terms, financial data, and employment records make up the deliverable, and the confidentiality of that material is the whole business model. Yet the same files often live in environments that were never properly scoped.

The reason is structural. “Just give them access for the Henderson matter” is how it starts. The matter closes, the access is never removed, and eighteen months later that person has read permissions on a folder they have no current reason to be in. Multiply that across five years of staff changes, project onboarding, ad-hoc Teams channels, and external sharing links that never expired. The result is a permission environment that nobody fully understands.

If the permission exists, Copilot can use it. Whether it was granted with appropriate scope is not part of the calculation.

Microsoft now acknowledges this directly. The company publishes a deployment blueprint for Copilot rollouts that organizes the work around three pillars: remediate oversharing, set up guardrails, and meet AI regulatory requirements. Microsoft’s own guidance puts oversharing remediation first, because it’s the pillar that has to be addressed before any rollout produces a useful result.

What Copilot can return in a tenant with broad permissions

Five examples of what Copilot can return when broad permissions exist and have not been audited:

“What is everyone’s salary?” Returns the compensation spreadsheet HR shared with a hiring manager during a recruitment process eighteen months earlier. The file remained shared after the hiring manager got promoted.

“Summarize the [client] case.” Pulls content from a SharePoint site set up for a different team. A user added during a one-off project two years ago still has the permission that was never removed, and Copilot returns a summary of the case to them.

“What deals are we currently working on?” Aggregates content from M&A data rooms that were never properly closed, pipeline trackers in personal OneDrives that got shared once for a partner meeting, and prospect lists sitting in a Teams channel that grew beyond its original membership. The output is a single consolidated view of the firm’s commercial pipeline.

“Find everything mentioning [former employee].” Surfaces the termination memo, the severance calculation, the performance review that preceded the exit, and any email threads saved to SharePoint. Material that was never intended to be findable below partner level shows up in one query.

“What’s our markup on [client] engagements?” Outputs the internal pricing sheet that was shared during a proposal process so two people could review it. The link was never restricted, the file was never moved, and the numbers come back when Copilot is asked.

The question of who would ask any of these queries is separate from the question of what Copilot can return. Microsoft’s deployment guidance focuses on what Copilot is capable of returning, and recommends a permissions review before Copilot is enabled at any scale.

Why a “small pilot” is rarely as contained as people think

Running a limited pilot feels like a safe middle ground, but the way most firms set them up tends to produce the highest-risk version of the trial.

The three or four people picked for a pilot are almost always senior. Senior staff have the broadest access of anyone in the firm, which means any searches they run have the widest possible scope. A pilot with three senior partners produces a higher-risk preview of Copilot than a pilot with three junior staff.

And pilots drift. Licenses get reassigned when a partner decides they are not using one. The person who ends up with the license is often whoever asked most recently, which is not the same as whoever has the most appropriate access profile.

Microsoft’s audit logs will show you what was asked after the fact, but the asking cannot be reversed. Once a Copilot summary has been returned to a user, that information cannot be recalled.

The cleanup that should happen before any trial

Before you click “start trial,” four pieces of work make the difference between a useful test and a disclosure event.

SharePoint sharing audit. SharePoint Advanced Management includes a content management assessment that surfaces permission issues, oversharing patterns, and inactive sites. If your tenant has never been reviewed, this is the first place to look. The report identifies which sites are shared more broadly than they should be.

OneDrive external share review. Look at files shared outside the organization that were never recalled. These are particularly common in legal and accounting firms where files get sent to clients for review and then forgotten.

Teams membership review. Confirm that channel membership still reflects who should have access to the files stored there. Channels that grew during an active project and were never trimmed are a frequent source of unintended access.

Sensitivity labels for confidential content. Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels are the mechanism that tells Microsoft 365 which content is confidential. Once applied, you can use Data Loss Prevention policies to exclude labeled items from Copilot processing, and use encryption settings that block Copilot from reading the content at all without explicit permission. Without sensitivity labels in place, Copilot has no way to treat a client settlement document differently from a catering invoice.

These four pieces of work generally take four to eight weeks for a firm in the 25-to-100-person range. Some of it can be done by your IT provider. The most sensitive parts, like deciding which document categories deserve which sensitivity label, are best handled with input from the partners or owners who understand the material.

The one question to send your IT provider

Before you make any decision about Copilot, send this to whoever manages your Microsoft 365 environment:

“Can you show me a report of every file in our tenant that’s accessible to more than ten people, and flag the ones containing client names, salary figures, or financial data?”

If they can produce something useful within a few days, your environment has been managed actively. The report will not be a perfect audit, but it will show you the shape of the problem and give you a starting point.

If the answer is “we’d need to enable some things first,” that itself is informative. It means the SharePoint sharing reports have never been run and the tenant has never been reviewed from a permissions perspective. That’s the real answer to your Copilot readiness question, and the audit needs to happen before any trial does.

Frequently asked questions

Does Microsoft 365 Copilot have access to my files by default?

Copilot has access to whatever the signed-in user has access to, scoped by Microsoft Graph and existing SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange permissions. Copilot cannot reach files outside the user’s existing permission set.

Can sensitivity labels stop Copilot from reading certain files?

Yes. Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels with encryption can block Copilot from reading the content. Files require the user to have specific usage rights (EXTRACT and VIEW) for Copilot to interact with them. Data Loss Prevention policies can also exclude labeled items from Copilot processing.

Is a small Copilot pilot a safe way to test it?

A pilot is fine if the pilot users have limited access to sensitive content. The common mistake is running a pilot with senior staff, who tend to have the broadest access in the firm.

How long does it take to prepare a tenant for Copilot?

For a firm with several years of accumulated content, the preparation usually takes four to eight weeks. The work involves a SharePoint sharing audit, an external share review, a Teams membership review, and sensitivity label application.

What does Microsoft say about Copilot oversharing risk?

Microsoft publishes a deployment blueprint that organizes Copilot security work around three pillars: remediating oversharing, setting up guardrails, and meeting AI regulatory requirements. The oversharing pillar is the one that should be addressed before any Copilot trial.

Sources and further reading

If you have not reviewed your Microsoft 365 tenant in a while, that review is worth doing whether or not Copilot is on your roadmap. Your IT provider should be able to run the SharePoint sharing report and walk you through what it shows. And if you don’t have an IT provider, feel free to reach out to us and we’ll help you sort it.

Featured Image Credit

This Article has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.

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What is Passkey Migration and How Can It Help Your Team Eliminate Passwords? https://ohioriverit.com/what-is-passkey-migration-and-how-can-it-help-your-team-eliminate-passwords/ https://ohioriverit.com/what-is-passkey-migration-and-how-can-it-help-your-team-eliminate-passwords/#respond Thu, 25 Jun 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://ohioriverit.com/?p=757 Your team locks everything down with passwords. Some are strong, some are not, and most have been reused somewhere over the years. Every month, IT fields reset requests. Every year, the same breach reports list stolen credentials as the leading cause.

There is now a more effective path, and it does not require users to memorize anything. 

Passkey migration is the process of moving from traditional passwords to passkeys: a form of phishing-resistant authentication that uses your device’s built-in security instead of a shared secret. 

It is practical, it is already supported by most major platforms, and the business case is hard to argue with.

Why Passwords Are Still the Biggest Risk

Passwords have had sixty years to prove themselves. The data tells a consistent story.

More than 80% of data breaches involve compromised credentials, a figure that has remained consistent year after year, according to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report.

The underlying problem has not changed: passwords are shared secrets that must be stored somewhere, and secrets that get stored eventually get stolen.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) reduced that risk significantly and remains an important baseline. But SMS-based codes, still the most common form of MFA, have a known weakness. 

Modern phishing kits can intercept a one-time code in real time: a convincing fake login page captures both the password and the code, and uses them on the real site before the session expires.

Phishing-resistant authentication closes that gap by design. Passkeys make it technically impossible for a fraudulent page to trigger login on your real device, because the credential is cryptographically bound to the legitimate domain.

What a Passkey Actually Is

A passkey is a cryptographic credential. This means that instead of a shared password stored on a server, your device creates a matched pair of digital keys when you register with a service.

The private key stays on your device and never leaves it. The public key goes to the service. 

When you log in, your device uses biometrics (Face ID, a fingerprint, or Windows Hello) or a device PIN to sign a cryptographic challenge from the server. The server verifies the signature using the public key. No password is ever transmitted.

A passkey cannot be phished, because a fraudulent login page cannot trigger authentication on your real device. It cannot be reused, because it is bound to a specific domain. And it cannot be exposed in a server-side breach, because the private key never exists outside your device.

Passkeys are built on the FIDO2 (Fast IDentity Online 2) and WebAuthn open standards, backed jointly by Apple, Google, and Microsoft. The FIDO Alliance reported that more than 15 billion online accounts now support passkey sign-in, double the figure from the year before.

What Passkey Migration Actually Means

Passkey migration is not a single cutover. It is a gradual transition that runs passwords and passkeys in parallel until passkeys are established across the accounts and platforms that matter.

A migration plan typically covers three things: 

  1. Which platforms already support passkeys
  2. Which users to start with
  3. What fallback options exist for tools that are not yet ready

For most business teams running Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, the infrastructure is already in place.

Microsoft enabled passkeys through Entra ID and made them the default sign-in for new accounts in May 2025. Google has supported passkeys for Workspace accounts since 2023. For teams in either ecosystem, passkey migration can begin without new infrastructure.

How to Approach Migration Without Disrupting Your Team

Start where support already exists

Begin with administrators and power users. They reset passwords most often, have the highest-risk access, and will give you honest feedback on friction before rollout reaches the wider team.

Map your current tools against passkey support before communicating any change. 

Platforms like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, GitHub, Shopify, and most major identity providers already support passkeys fully. Start with those. Leave unsupported tools for a later phase.

Run passwords and passkeys in parallel

The most common migration mistake is treating it as a full cutover. 

Users can authenticate with passkeys on enrolled devices and fall back to a password on any device not yet enrolled. Running both methods simultaneously gives time for adoption without locking anyone out mid-project.

Plan for platforms that are not ready yet

Not every tool supports passkeys today. 

For those, a password manager generating unique credentials is the right bridge. It eliminates the password reuse risk now, and when those platforms add passkey support, migration becomes a single enrollment step rather than a behavior change.

The Business Case Beyond Security

Security is the primary driver. But the operational benefits are real and measurable.

Google reports that passkey sign-ins are four times more successful than password-based logins, with sign-in speeds approximately 20% faster.

According to authentication research published by Google, the improvement comes from removing friction. Users no longer mistype passwords, wait for SMS codes, or trigger account lockouts by trying an outdated credential.

Fewer failed logins means fewer helpdesk calls and fewer interruptions. 

NIST’s 2025 update to SP 800-63-4 now requires phishing-resistant authentication as a mandatory option for high-assurance access. This means passkey migration is also a compliance step for teams working toward those standards.

From Password-Dependent to Passwordless

Ready to start your passkey migration? 

Contact us or schedule a consultation to map out which platforms in your environment support passkeys today and build a migration plan that works for your team.

Featured Image Credit

This Article has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.

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How to Use AI for Business Productivity While Staying Cyber-Secure https://ohioriverit.com/how-to-use-ai-for-business-productivity-while-staying-cyber-secure/ https://ohioriverit.com/how-to-use-ai-for-business-productivity-while-staying-cyber-secure/#respond Sat, 15 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0000 https://ohioriverit.com/?p=611 Most organizations have realized that AI is not a sentient system looking to take over the world, but rather an invaluable tool. They have come to utilize it to improve their productivity and efficiency. AI solutions have been installed at an astounding rate. Some are used to automate repetitive tasks and to provide enriched data analysis on a previously unrealized level. While this can certainly boost productivity, it is also troubling from a data security, privacy, and cyber threat perspective.

The crux of this conundrum is how the power of AI can be harnessed to remain competitive while eliminating cybersecurity risks. 

The Rise of AI

AI is no longer just a tool for massive enterprises. It is a tool every organization can use. Cloud-based systems and machine learning APIs have become more affordable and necessary in the modern-day business climate for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

AI has become common in the following ways:

  • Email and meeting scheduling
  • Customer service automation
  • Sales forecasting
  • Document generation and summarization
  • Invoice processing
  • Data analytics
  • Cybersecurity threat detection

AI tools help staff become more efficient, eliminating errors and helping make data-backed decisions. However, organizations need to take steps to limit cybersecurity issues.

AI Adoption Risks

An unfortunate side effect of increasing productivity through the use of AI-based tools is that it also expands the available attack surface for cyber attackers. Organizations must understand that implementing any new technology needs to be done with thoughtful consideration of how it might expose these various threats.

Data Leakage

In order to operate, AI models need data. This can be sensitive customer data, financial information, or proprietary work products. If this information needs to be sent to third-party AI models, there must be a clear understanding of how and when this information will be used. In some cases, AI companies can store it, use it for training, or even leak this information for public consumption.

Shadow AI

Many employees use AI tools for their daily work. This might include generative platforms or online chatbots. Without proper vetting, these can cause compliance risks.

Overreliance and Automation Bias

Even when using AI tools, it is important for companies to continue their due diligence. Many users consider AI-generated content to always be accurate when, in fact, it is not. Relying on this information without checking it for accuracy can lead to poor decision-making.

Secure AI and Productivity

The steps necessary to secure potential security risks when utilizing AI tools are relatively straightforward. 

Establish an AI Usage Policy

It is critical to set limits and guidelines for AI use prior to installing any AI tools.  

Be sure to define:

  • Approved AI tools and vendors
  • Acceptable use cases
  • Prohibited data types
  • Data retention practices

Educate users regarding the importance of AI security practices and how to properly use the tools installed to minimize the risk associated with using AI tools.

Choose Enterprise-Grade AI Platforms

One way to secure AI platforms is by ensuring that they offer the following:

  • GDPR, HIPAA, or SOC 2 compliant
  • Data residency controls
  • Do not use customer data for training
  • Provide encryption for data at rest and in transit

Segment Sensitive Data Access

Adopting role-based access controls (RBAC) provides better restrictions on data access. It allows AI tools access to only specific types of information.

Monitor AI Usage

It is essential to monitor AI usage across the organization to understand what information is being accessed and how it is being utilized, including:

  • Which users are accessing which tools
  • What data is being sent or processed
  • Alerts for unusual or risky behavior

AI for Cybersecurity

Ironically, while concerns exist about AI use regarding security issues, one of the primary uses of AI tools is the detection of cyber threats. Organizations use AI to do the following: 

  • Threat detection
  • Email phishing deterrent
  • Endpoint protection
  • Automated response

Adopting tools like SentinelOne, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, and CrowdStrike all use AI aspects to detect threats in real-time. 

Train Employees About Responsible Use

An unfortunate truth about humans is that they are, without question, the weakest link in the chain of cyber defense. Even the strongest defensive stance on cyber threats can be undone with a single click by a single user.

It is important that they receive training regarding the proper use of AI tools, so they understand:

  • Risks of using AI tools with company data
  • AI-generated phishing
  • Recognizing AI-generated content

AI With Guardrails

AI tools can transform any organization’s technical landscape, expanding what’s possible. But productivity without proper protection is a risk you can’t afford. Contact us today for expert guidance, practical toolkits, and resources to help you harness AI safely and effectively.



Featured Image Credit

This Article has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.

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AI Demystified: What to Know About the Current Tools on the Market in 2025 https://ohioriverit.com/ai-demystified-what-to-know-about-the-current-tools-on-the-market-in-2025/ https://ohioriverit.com/ai-demystified-what-to-know-about-the-current-tools-on-the-market-in-2025/#respond Sun, 05 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0000 https://ohioriverit.com/?p=594 https://ohioriverit.com/ai-demystified-what-to-know-about-the-current-tools-on-the-market-in-2025/feed/ 0 594 Project Chaos to Clarity: How Microsoft Planner Transforms Small Businesses https://ohioriverit.com/project-chaos-to-clarity-how-microsoft-planner-transforms-small-businesses/ https://ohioriverit.com/project-chaos-to-clarity-how-microsoft-planner-transforms-small-businesses/#respond Thu, 25 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +0000 https://ohioriverit.com/?p=561 In the past, teams relied on sticky notes and endless email threads to manage tasks. But with today’s hybrid work environments and fast-moving deadlines, that approach just doesn’t cut it anymore. Effective project management is now essential to stay on track and ahead.

According to McKinsey, the average worker spends 28% of their week managing email and nearly 20% just hunting for information or colleagues to help.

This article introduces Microsoft Planner, a versatile tool that’s just as effective for simple task management as it is for complex enterprise projects. It’s easy to get started with, yet powerful enough to keep multiple projects organized and on track. With a bit of guidance from an IT partner experienced in supporting small teams, Planner can transform the way you organize, collaborate, and deliver results.

Teams Wasting Time on Endless Emails and Missed Tasks

When tasks are not properly organized, it’s hard to monitor your team’s progress:

  • Team members cannot keep up with deadlines
  • Essential details are missed through conversations.
  • Projects stall over small miscommunications
  • Managers struggle to get a complete overview. 

These things get in the way of productivity and make it harder for your team to stay motivated and move forward.

A Simple Way to Manage Tasks

Microsoft Planner brings everything together in one place, making it simple and intuitive for small teams to jump in and start using right away. Here’s how Planner helps you stay productive:

1. Organized Task Boards 

Think of Planner like a shared to-do board where your whole team can carry out the following:

  • Create tasks quickly
  • Assign responsibilities
  • Add due dates, checklists, files, and notes
  • Move tasks through stages like To Do > In Progress > Done

This organized view allows everyone to stay on track without the need for long email threads or disappearing messages.

2. Flexible Views for Better Oversight

Planner offers multiple ways to help you track your work, including:

  • Board View: Tasks are displayed as cards grouped in columns (buckets). You can drag and drop tasks to update their status or move them between buckets. Great for visual task management.
  • Grid View: A list-style layout showing tasks with details like due dates, assignees, and progress. Useful for quick scanning and editing.
  • Schedule View: Displays tasks on a calendar by week or month. You can drag tasks onto the calendar or view unscheduled tasks separately.
  • People View: Displays workload distribution across team members.
  • Timeline View: A Gantt-style chart that shows how tasks connect, and which ones are key to keeping the project on track.
  • Assignments View: Gives you detailed control over how much effort tasks take and when they’re scheduled.

These views help teams at every stage, from daily task completion to big-picture planning.

3. Task Details That Keep Teams on Track

Every task in Planner comes with all the details you need. Just click on a task to:

  • Set start and end dates
  • Assign priorities and include checklists
  • Attach files and assign responsibility
  • Set dependencies to ensure tasks are completed in the correct order
  • Link to relevant Teams channels for context and collaboration

This makes sure nothing important falls through the cracks and keeps conversations right where they belong.

4. Templates Save You Time

Why start from scratch when you don’t have to? Planner offers ready-made templates, some are available in the free version, while more are available in paid plans. Just pick a template, customize it, and you’re ready to go. It’s a quick way to launch projects without reinventing the wheel.

5. Smooth Integration with Microsoft 365

Planner isn’t a standalone app; it’s designed to work seamlessly with the tools you already use. Here’s what it integrates with:

  • Teams: Create and assign tasks right from chat or channels.
  • Outlook: Turn flagged emails into actionable tasks.
  • SharePoint and Loop: Embed Planner tabs in project sites for seamless updates.
  • Power Platform: Automate repetitive workflows with Power Automate.
  • Excel and Power BI: Export data to analyze tasks, timelines, and workloads.
  • Viva Goals: Align tasks with company-wide objectives.

With everything linked together, you gain clarity, reduce friction, and create real momentum.

6. Built-In AI to Supercharge Efficiency

In July of 2024, Microsoft added Copilot to Planner, which helps you with the following:

  • Summarize tasks and plans.
  • Create tasks or subtasks using natural language.
  • Get progress updates and reminders automatically.

Microsoft’s new Project Management Agent goes further, analyzing goals, breaking work into tasks, and even suggesting who should handle them. These helpers free your team to focus on creative work, not mundane task management.

How to Get Started with Planner

Step 1: Open Planner in Teams or the web app.
Step 2: Choose “New Plan” and pick a template.
Step 3: Build your board. Add buckets and tasks and assign people.
Step 4: Customize each task with dates, checklists, attachments, and links.
Step 5: Explore views to track daily work and overall progress.
Step 6: Automate reminders or notifications.
Step 7: Invite your team and walk them through the basics.

It’s an easy, step-by-step setup that helps your team start collaborating quickly and smoothly.

What You’ll Gain 

With Microsoft Planner small businesses gain many benefits including reducing email overload and meeting grind, keeping everyone accountable and aligned, and being able to visualize project progress easily. You’ll also be able to launch new initiatives faster, use AI to save time and reduce manual effort, and connect tasks with the tools your team already uses.

This keeps your projects moving and gives you more time to focus on your customers.

What Happens If You Don’t Act?

When tasks are scattered and tools don’t connect, problems are bound to happen. You’ll be more apt to miss deadlines, employees will be confused about who’s responsible for what, and team members will feel overloaded and overworked. 

Wasted time in meetings and poor visibility on project status will slow your business down and waste money.

Make Planning a Habit, Not a Hassle

Planner is more than just a tool, it keeps your team organized, on track, and connected, without the hassle of scattered tasks or missed updates.

We’re here to help you every step of the way. From setup to confident use, we’ll tailor Microsoft Planner to fit your team’s unique needs. Let’s simplify project management together, schedule your consultation today.

Featured Image Credit

This Article has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.

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9 Smart Ways for Small Businesses to Incorporate Generative AI https://ohioriverit.com/9-smart-ways-for-small-businesses-to-incorporate-generative-ai/ https://ohioriverit.com/9-smart-ways-for-small-businesses-to-incorporate-generative-ai/#respond Sun, 10 Dec 2023 12:00:00 +0000 https://ohioriverit.com/?p=145 There is no escaping the relentless march of AI. Software companies are rapidly incorporating it into many business tools. This includes tools like Microsoft 365, Salesforce, and others.

Many people are still concerned about where AI will go. But there is no denying that it makes certain work more efficient. It can generate custom images on demand. Or write a company device policy draft in seconds.

Staying ahead of the curve often means embracing cutting-edge technologies. Even if you’re a little wary about what the future holds.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is unique from the AI of a few years back. It can create, innovate, and optimize. These functions have become a game-changer for businesses of all sizes.

Leveraging Generative AI, small businesses can unlock a world of possibilities. This includes everything from enhancing customer experiences to streamlining operations.

Have you felt bombarded with AI tool options? Unsure where to begin with leveraging it for your business? Let’s explore some smart and practical ways to incorporate GenAI.

1. Personalized Customer Experiences

Generative AI algorithms can analyze customer data and preferences. Using these, it can create personalized experiences.

48% of customers expect specialized treatment for being loyal to a company.

Some of the ways AI can help you improve customer experience include:

  • Tailored product recommendations
  • Customized marketing messages
  • Custom coupons
  • Proactive engagement

These things help small businesses enhance customer satisfaction, fostering brand loyalty.

2. Presentations & Graphics Creation

Generating a great sales presentation can be time-consuming. AI tools can automate this process. Microsoft Copilot is one of these. It can take meeting notes and prompts and create a presentation. Including images!

Have you ever had trouble finding a promotional image? Tell Bing’s new AI tool what you need. You’ll get several options, tailored to your description.

Bing-AI
Example from Bing powered by DALL-E3 in Edge

AI-driven platforms can produce relevant and engaging graphics. This frees up valuable time and saves money for business owners.

3. Chatbots for Customer Support

AI-powered chatbots on websites and social media platforms are becoming commonplace. This is because they enable small businesses to provide instant customer support. Which is exactly what people expect these days.

These chatbots can handle frequently asked questions. They can also assist with product inquiries and customer transactions.

They help small companies provide round-the-clock help for customers. But without having to pay for extra staff hours.

4. Data Analysis and Insights

Generative AI can process vast datasets to extract meaningful insights. Small businesses can use AI algorithms to analyze important data.

Such as:

  • Market trends
  • Customer behavior
  • Operational data

These insights can inform strategic decision-making. Which helps businesses refine their offerings and marketing strategies.

5. Product Design and Prototyping

AI in product design process allows businesses to explore many design variations rapidly. AI algorithms can generate prototypes and simulations. They do this based on specified parameters. This enables small businesses to visualize products before investing in physical prototypes.

6. Supply Chain Optimization

AI can optimize supply chain operations. It can predict demand, identify inefficiencies, and suggest inventory levels. It takes away the human error component. As well as fees up teams from tedious administrative work.

Small businesses can reduce costs and improve efficiency. AI automates a lot of the supply process. This helps ensure products are readily available when customers need them.

7. Dynamic Pricing Strategies

AI-driven pricing algorithms can help companies make better pricing decisions. Pricing your products and services can be tricky. You don’t want to go too low or too high.

AI helps businesses quickly analyze:

  • Market trends
  • Competitor pricing
  • Customer behavior

These data insights help companies optimize pricing strategies. Small businesses can also dynamically adjust prices based on demand. This maximizes profits while remaining competitive in the market.

8. Human Resources and Recruitment

Generative AI can streamline the recruitment process. The hiring process includes a lot of work reviewing resumes. Many candidates don’t make the interview stage.

AI can help by analyzing resumes and screening candidates for you. It can even help with conducting initial interviews. Small businesses can find the best talent to drive their growth faster.

9. Predictive Maintenance

Downtime on a production line is costly. Proactive maintenance is vital. It’s another area where Generative AI can help.

The technology can predict maintenance needs based on data analysis. It helps businesses avoid costly downtimes. It proactively addresses maintenance requirements. As well as helps to ensure smooth operations.

Unsure How to Get Started with AI at Your Business?

Generative AI opens a world of opportunities for small businesses. It can also add to the complexity of a technology infrastructure.

We can help you use it effectively and affordably. Give us a call today to schedule a chat.


Featured Image Credit

This Article has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.

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