While there are many tasks that artificial intelligence can perform, some jobs are best left to humans.

Experts are discovering new tasks that AI can perform every day. However, there’s limited value in using AI to take on certain business tasks — and in many instances, a human touch can significantly improve the customer experience.

As you seek to integrate AI into your business operations, keep in mind that it can’t completely replace your employees. Ultimately, AI is best deployed as a tool for automating mundane, repetitive tasks. Anything more advanced is better suited to human intervention.

Provide five-star customer service
There are parts of customer service that AI can improve. For instance, a chatbot installed on your company’s website can help answer basic questions and troubleshoot simple issues. These bots can learn over time and be set up to escalate more advanced queries to the right team member. And they can be available 24/7 to help customers navigate the website and find the information they need.
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Any time a customer concern goes beyond a bot’s training, it should immediately be routed to a live support agent.
“There’s nothing more frustrating than when a company’s only contact method is a chat box where you’re getting generic responses back that don’t apply to your situation,” wrote Crummy Media Solutions, a digital marketing company. “While you can potentially use AI for some customer service tasks, or generic emails, you also need to recognize when a process or situation requires the human touch.”

Create a marketing strategyAI can generate blog posts, write marketing emails, distribute content on social media, and even create images and videos. But it can’t ensure this content will resonate with your customers.

“​​Generating content and generating leads or sales are two very different job descriptions. And at the end of the day, whether a human or AI creates your content, you need to have a strategy in place to turn that content into results,” wrote Daniel Griggs, Founder of ATX The Brand, in Forbes.
As Griggs noted, AI can help you create content, but it doesn’t automatically create results. It’s up to your team to know your audience inside and out. Only those involved in your business on a deeper level can set goals, interact with your customers day to day, and perform quality control to ensure content is unique to your brand identity.

Human resources and hiringHiring is another area where AI can automate repetitive tasks, such as interview scheduling, skill testing, and posting open positions on different job boards. But AI can’t find the right fit for your unique business culture. It also can’t personify your employer brand and convince a candidate to accept your job offer.
Likewise, you’ll need a real person to help meet your employees’ needs. “It's kind of in the name — but your company's Human Resources department will likely always need a human at the helm to manage interpersonal conflict with the help of non-cognitive and reasoning skills,” wrote HubSpot.

Quality control​
Tools like ChatGPT and Bard can create content fast, but there are quality issues — and possible copyright infringement risks — that can damage a small business’s reputation.
It’s essential to have an editor or copywriter look over AI-generated content before releasing it to the public. AI tools sometimes include errors, bad or repetitive syntax, and poor grammar. It can also lead to questions of plagiarism if you don’t have a human review the content.
“AI doesn’t cite its sources, making it challenging to confirm whether the information it’s providing you is uniquely written, or incredibly similar to the original work that inspired it,” wrote Crummy Media Solutions.
In addition, any content generated by AI should be tailored to your unique brand voice. Only a human can ensure that your content is consistent, cohesive, and compliant.

The Chamber Center for Excellence is a separate 501c3 organization, administered by the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce.  It serves as a fiscal sponsor for short-term projects by individuals or groups without a nonprofit designation to receive funds.  These initiatives promote, educate or enhance the community and align with the mission of the organization.  Coming to fruition this month is the latest by Susanna Tanner Photography with the “50 Over 50 Project”.
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“In the spring of 2021, I decided to launch a photography project aimed to propel and empower women over the age of 50. As I enter this demographic myself, I’ve realized the declining perception of women in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s+ in that they’re no longer beautiful by society’s standards and less capable than their younger peers. Invisibility sets in, as well as transitional times that leave a woman feeling less than; empty nesting, parental caretaking, divorce, overcoming health issues, and job loss name a few of the stories and compelling reasons women have told me they seek this opportunity. On the other hand, some women are taking their careers and lives into their own hands. In doing this, they are creating new businesses or ventures, switching gears or turbo-charging the area of a career, making a difference in their community, industry or the world—and shattering misconceptions about age and gender along the way.”
               – Susanna Tanner

With the goal of creating a supportive community and reminding people that beauty does not diminish with age, the effort that started with a few willing participants quickly developed into a meaningful experience.

“I’ve spent most of my life striving for the approval of others, often at my own expense,” said Darcey Meredith. “Just now, at 55, I’m starting to work on being more authentic—letting go of whom I think I’m supposed to be, or whom others expect me to be, and instead, uncovering and developing my true authenticity.” 

Susanna partnered with Richmond native Kate Jetmore who collaborated on the project.  Kate hosts “The Listen Podcast” and put her story-telling skills to work interviewing many of the women featured in the project.  The recorded podcasts will be able to be accessed on the 50 Over 50 website with the photographs.  “This allows exhibit visitors the opportunity to hear a woman’s own voice tell a piece of her story while studying her image,” Susanna said.

Dr. Lucinda Wright was initially hesitant.  “You see, I do not like being photographed.  However, after talking with (Susanna) about the project, I realized there was more to it than just being photographed.  It was about telling my story to possibly help others.”

The exhibit tells stories of women as young as 50 years old to the oldest of 93 years of age. They all had heartwarming feedback on their experiences.

“Susanna’s gentle reminders to shut off the critique mode we were in when seeing ourselves in the mirror, allowed me truly to see myself as a confident, proud, adventurous grammy with tattoos,” explained Shelley Miller. 

The portraits will be on display at Reid Health beginning August 5 and remaining through October.  Those with 3–5-minute audio interviews will be accessed via a QR code.  Each print will be for sale during the exhibition opening with all proceeds going toward women’s health initiatives at Reid Health. 

Throughout the exhibition, individuals, families and groups of all ages are welcome to peruse the images.  “I envision younger girls or women exposed to the exhibit through school trips or nonprofit groups,” Susanna said.  Each one will leave with a message that resounds the significance of beauty at any age.

Norene Groth summed up the experience, “The 50 over 50 project reminds me that aging is a privilege, and with aging comes wisdom, experience, grace, and gratitude.”

Special thanks to the following:
Reid Health
Womens Fund
Bill and Ruth Carter
Koechlein Family Fund
Warm Glow Candle Co.
Kate Jetmore (In-kind)
Suzanne Allain Designs (In-kind)