AI And ML Are Assisting Businesses And Users Alike, Says Google Report

AI (artificial intelligence) and ML (machine learning) are assisting businesses to enhance customer experience and improve return on investment (ROI) and is assisting businesses and users alike said Google in its recently released report.

The domestic AI and ML market is expected to grow seven times in the next seven years. It is estimated to become a $20 Bn industry in India by 2025. Riding high on the continued interest of the Indian government to level up AI and ML adoption in the country, both the local and foreign brands are continuously exploring this segment to crack ways to unprecedented growth.

“The rise of ML and AI are opportunities for brands and marketers is enabling them to create relevant experiences to engage and retain customers on a platform that they spend considerable time on,” said Vikas Agnihotri, country director, Google India.

Brands Leveraging AI And ML For Growth With Assistants

The brands worldwide are investing millions of dollars to offer voice assistant services to their customers. Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Samsung Bixby Voice, Microsoft (Cortana) are not leaving any stone unturned to capture a share in this category.

As mentioned by Google report, there has been observed a 7X increase in the number of active users for Google Assistant in India. Also, there is seen a 270% growth in voice searches across India. This has unlocked several opportunities for brands across categories.

For instance, consumer packaged goods (CPG) and travel, have started integrating voice assistants with their customer service to help customers. GSK’s Otrivin doubled sales and achieved 2X CTR as compared to the industry benchmarks by using data-driven solutions to run real-time weather-based campaigns.

Also, brands like Uber, Ola and Meru made cab booking services available on Google Assistant. Even BFSI and telecom companies have also started integrating voice assistants like Google Assistant with their customer service to help customers.

“AI is helping companies acquire and manage customers. Businesses are now making their services available on voice-activated assistants. Furthermore, brands are using automated capabilities in digital marketing to save time and drive higher return on ad spend (ROAS),” the report added.

Using AI And ML In Education

From the consumer perspective, AI and ML is playing a key role in transforming the education segment in India. There has been an increased demand for ML, AI, and software development courses.

The Google study revealed a 54% increase in interest around ML and AI courses as well as a 74% growth in searches related to software development courses in India.

“Google gave over 100K scholarships in India in 2018 to make courses like AI/ML, cloud, data sciences, and others more affordable,” the report said.

The Road Is Still Long

With AI and ML having the potential to add $957 Bn to India’s economy by 2015, the segment has received a significant push from the Indian government in the last two years. In Budget 2018, the government of India had allocated $480 Mn (INR 3,073 Cr) fund to support the country’s AI, machine learning (ML), Robotics and IoT sectors.

Reaffirming its commitment in the recent budget 2019 speech, interim finance minister Piyush Goyal revealed that a national programme on AI has been envisaged by the government. This should be catalysed by the national centre for artificial intelligence as a hub, along with other centres of excellence. Also, the ambitious initiative has identified nine priority areas, and the national portal on AI will be developed soon.

However, the Indian deeptech startups are yet to align their progress to their global counterparts. At present, the Indian deeptech startups not only lack funds but also the investors’ confidence. According to Inc42 Datalabs, in the first quarter of 2019, the deeptech sector in India recorded a total investment of $9.58 Mn, which is much less than its global peers like the US, China and Israel.