A working mom of three, Alexandria Allison, recently shared how she uses the AI chatbot, ChatGPT, for her professional coaching business. Allison primarily utilizes the chatbot for social media marketing. The AI provides her with content that helps engage her followers for weeks on end, and has even attracted new clients. This highlights how small businesses can leverage technology to enhance their productivity.
Google Cloud Consulting recently launched a new service that offers expertise and guidance on the uses of generative AI. Targeted at C-Suite leaders of larger enterprises, the service provides informative suggestions on how to maximize AI while maintaining careful use of the technology. While Google has the bigger companies in mind, the transition to AI is not limited to them only and smaller businesses can likely take advantage of this service too.
The Messages app on the iPhone is set to receive some major upgrades that could help businesses work more productively. Among the new features set to be introduced are the Check-in feature, which enables users to notify friends and family, or even co-workers, of their safe arrival at destinations. Additionally, iPhone users can view transcribed voice messages and a new catch-up feature enables them to highlight the first unread message in group chats, among other features.
Walmart is adopting AI to enhance its fulfillment operations, using Alphabot, a robotic assistant, to retrieve items from the fulfillment center that expedite grocery orders. The company’s Senior VP of Operations Southeast Region, Berkeley, has confirmed that the introduction of the robot will create job opportunities for personal shoppers and leadership roles as capacity grows. More and more retailers, distributors, and manufacturers are likely to replicate this trend as the cost of AI technologies continues to fall.
NASA has recently announced the recipients of its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program. The selection includes eight Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) from among 300 proposals, with more than 25 percent of applicants being women and veteran-owned entities. The agency is providing funding for over 200 small businesses to research new technologies that can protect the health of astronauts. According to Gynelle Steele, the program’s deputy executive, this initiative enables NASA to nurture pioneering ideas from diverse innovators across the country.
