Movies like RoboCop, The Matrix and M3GAN have given us a glimpse into the world of artificial intelligence. It is thrilling as a new technological advancement that is already changing the way we do things. But as those movies touched on, should AI fall into the wrong hands without control and regulation, there’s potential for it to be harmful. Despite our mixed emotions and thoughts of robots taking over our jobs, the inevitable is that the future of this tech will continue to evolve whether we decide to accept it or not.
Many of us have taken ChatGPT for a spin, maybe downloaded an app that helps enhance our LinkedIn photos, used intelligence like Alexa and Siri to help us access information faster, order food, shop or locate our favorite playlist—but how far should we really go? Well, I personally am encouraging my marketing team filled with bright, creative and analytical professionals to not only stay on top of the trends of AI, but to also incorporate it in their professional day-to-day.
My view on this is that AI won’t ever take the place of what we do, but it can help us get to our end result quicker and more efficiently. For my creatives and creators, they are tasked with taking a myriad of influences to build, write and design. They need to really understand our target audience, our services & offerings, see the data of what is working and what is not, and consider our internal processes to create. I believe they can use tools with AI to research, gain a starting point, or even use it to benchmark what they already have to determine how to move forward next.
Videographers can create new AI footage based on what they’ve already filmed and execute new ideas or fill gaps even after they shoot. Designers can make edits to their images, add backgrounds, or produce design variations of their original graphics. Writers can expand their knowledge on a subject, explore new ways of articulation on a subject, and summarize themes of data collected from surveys and focus groups.
My team of analytic drivers use AI daily to summarize trends & data. They are constantly tasked to monitor performance and success so they can optimize what isn’t working. Due to the speed of which we have to make decisions, having tools to help us turn the trends & data into something digestible helps us get from point A to point B that much faster. And as AI evolves and learns, we should eventually be able to get from point A to point Z faster as well.
Since we use AI in our everyday work lives at Vagaro and know how helpful it can be, we are now passing that on to our customers so they can reap those same benefits at their own businesses. And we’re giving them tips for how to use AI in a way that saves them much time and effort. I know it can seem daunting, especially if you’re not necessarily tech-savvy. But consider this: AI has been around for years—the big shift now is that it has become accessible & easy-to-use for everyone. AI has become democratized, so why not make it work for your business?
Vagaro has already taken a great step forward in 2024 with Artificial Intelligence as we now have the technology integrated into the fabric of our platform. It is no longer a tool that our hundreds of thousands of users have to hunt down—it is prominently placed as a functionality within the features of the software to assist you when you need it.
All of this to say: Yes, while there are some who are terrified that AI is going to one day get out of control, the wild theories of it taking over and causing catastrophe is still a little far-fetched. It’s true that the fake images of celebrities and made-up occurrences are already alarming, but we also thought everything would shut down on New Year’s Day, 2000. We were skeptical about cell phones and using them as minicomputers that we walk around town with, capable of tracking our every move. Look at us now, sharing our locations and using them as fitness trackers. I can’t imagine trying to drive to a new destination without using my navigation. Can you imagine not knowing the answer to something without having the ability to Google it? What about trying to find businesses and services on an app or online marketplace like Vagaro? (You know I had to throw that in).
In all seriousness, technology has and will continue to lead us, and as professionals, we need to adapt and leverage these new tools to our benefit. I absolutely motivate my team to do this not only to help them in their day-to-day, but to also help them grow in their careers. My sincere hope is that, now that you can, our customers do the same.
