With the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) the software we use has advanced so much over the past few years. AI can save you so much time by automating the little jobs you hate or take up too much of your time. But should you be afraid that automation may completely take over your role all together?

In short, no you really shouldn’t be afraid. AI is only so advanced and one thing it’s missing is the human touch. Being able to react to unexpected situations and showing understanding and empathy towards your clients, this is something which cannot be done by AI. 

It’s a great idea to introduce automation into your everyday processes and anyone who knows me will know how much I love automating processes. Automation when used correctly can not only save you time but it can increase performance and productivity and reduce operating costs.

However, it’s important that you use automation to your advantage and don’t over automate. Like everything, things can go wrong, so whilst you’re leaving jobs to the robots it’s crucial to check in from time to time and make sure everything is running smoothly. There are certain jobs which shouldn’t be automated. For example, we can use automation to produce insightful reports from your bookkeeping data, but what the automation can’t do is sit down with you, have a discussion, explain what the reports mean and put a plan of action in place. 

The human touch cannot possibly be replaced by a robot. Have you ever used a chatbot on a website? It can be frustrating not talking to a real person can’t it? You don’t always get the answer you’re looking for and you have to answer loads of questions to get to the point. You see, talking to a human who understands you is much easier and is much better for customer retention. 

If you’re considering introducing automation into your business to help with efficiency then the best thing to do it write down all the tasks which you could easily automate. Then do your research. What’s the best method? Does the software already have ways to automate or do you need to integrate other apps to help you, such as Zapier for instance? Map out the process of the automation to make sure you don’t miss out any vital steps before you start piecing it together.

Another great way of saving time is to invest in a Stream Deck. A Stream Deck is a great piece of equipment which can kick off jobs with the simple touch of a button. Find out more about Stream Deck here.

And to get ideas about how to use a Stream Deck join our FB group here...