'How AI Helped My Business'- Seven companies share how AI solved their common problems, like recruiting and customer service. You can follow their lead.

There are countless ways to use artificial intelligence at your business-so many, in fact, that the possibilities can be overwhelming. That's why we're starting with the basics. Here's how seven very different companies are using AI to help tackle essential problems that most businesses experience.

- By Rachel Davies - Illustration by Nicolás Ortega

Whether you're guessing which style of bra will sell faster or which job candidate will thrive at your company, AI can help with that. There are countless ways to use artificial intelligence at your business-so many, in fact, that the possibilities can be overwhelming. That's why we're starting with the basics. Here's how seven very different companies are using AI to help tackle essential problems that most businesses experience.

AI helps with recruiting.

Recruiting used to be a major pain point for Barge Design Solutions, an engineering and architecture firm based in Nashville, Tennessee. "There's never been such a thing as a people pipeline," CEO Bob Higgins says. "We don't have 10 people waiting for every job we postwe have to go find them." Then Higgins wondered if AI could help. He and his HR team overhauled the company's entire recruiting process over a few weeks. Using OpenAl's ChatGPT, they made job postings as search-friendly and appealing to job-seekers as possible. They also used ChatGPT to update their interview questions, and used a proprietary AI tool to search for external candidates that shared characteristics with the firm's top-performing employees.

The new process was a resounding success. Consider this comparison: Before the AI overhaul, Barge tried to fill an open role-and after reviewing 111 applicants, just five were referred for interviews. None were hired. After the AI overhaul, they got more than 250 applicants for a role, 118 were referred for interviews, and five were hired. "For the first time in my career, there are 14 other people in the pipeline that we can call back when the next position is posted," Higgins says.

AI improves customer service.