As companies begin to understand the vast potential of their data, the question they face is: How does our business make the most of it? The answer lies in getting real-time insights that enable better business decisions and accelerated product development. But what if the insights were used not just by humans, but by the systems themselves, leading to ongoing optimization at previously inconceivable speed and accuracy? That's the promise of adaptive intelligence (AI) and machine learning, which are already impacting consumer experience with personalized shopping, self-driving vehicles, online wealth management, and virtual assistants. Here, we'll look at how data is driving the coming AI revolution.

You've heard all the forecasts: Robots are going to take away our jobs (possibly even within five years, according to new PricewaterhouseCoopers research) as artificial intelligence turns the world on its head. Earlier this year, The Economist surveyed 200 executives and found that 75% of them plan to implement AI in their businesses within the next three years. Google and Microsoft have also both announced shifts from mobile-first to AI-first this year and the skillset of Amazon's Alexa has tripled over two quarters. AI will obviously play a huge role in the future, but one thing the technology offers marketers today is a way to offer superior customer experiences. Looking beyond the tech giants, here are five consumer brands utilizing AI in innovative and interesting ways.

Apple has identified that sometimes you can't talk to your phone in a loud, clear voice and that certain situations may require a little more delicacy. A patent has revealed Apple's plans to develop a voice assistant that can detect when you're whispering and know when to whisper back. It is unclear when, or if, Apple plans to launch the technology. A patent has revealed Apple's plans to develop a voice assistant that can detect when you're whispering and know when to whisper back The patent states a need to be able to recognise when people are whispering. Designed to be used in situations where talking at a regular or loud volume is not possible such as in a public library or at work.

The mobile app development industry is growing rapidly, on both development and users side. In fact, it has become a need for the organizations to have a mobile application, in order to sustain and grow in the highly competitive market. As the number of persons using smartphones and mobile apps, has increased exponentially, the demand for mobile app development has also increased at a fast pace. Looking at the pace, with which mobile app development grew, it doesn't look like in a state to take a halt. App development is dominated by social media, Google apps, and many other applications.

I look forward to a world with artificial intelligence (AI). Personally, I see the power of AI being embedded into all of our current technology. We currently live in a world of simple AI. We can ask Siri or Alexa to active our lights, send a message, or read our e-mail. The goal is to be able to query complicated searches, cross-check data, provide insight, and aid with decision-making instantaneously.

Google created a mild amount of confusion when it launched its Home speaker. You could say "hey, Google" to start a command with the living room device, but you still had to use the time-honored "OK, Google" on your Android phone. Needless to say, that could be confusing if you used both platforms. However, Google is finally sorting things out. Many Android phone users have reported that Assistant is asking them to reconfigure the voice modeling, and is giving them a choice between "hey, Google" or "OK, Google" afterward.

Google created a mild amount of confusion when it launched its Home speaker. You could say "hey, Google" to start a command with the living room device, but you still had to use the time-honored "OK, Google" on your Android phone. Needless to say, that could be confusing if you used both platforms. However, Google is finally sorting things out. Many Android phone users have reported that Assistant is asking them to reconfigure the voice modeling, and is giving them a choice between "hey, Google" or "OK, Google" afterward.

We encounter stories and predictions about how artificial intelligence (AI) will fundamentally change a variety of industries on an almost day-to-day basis. In fact, it has become such an important topic that late last year the Council for Society and Technology wrote a letter to the Prime Minister advising how the UK could take advantage of opportunities created by the increasing convergence of robotics, automation and artificial intelligence. As more and more industries, including healthcare and financial services, adopt AI technology, we'll continue to see increased benefits on our society as a whole. Conversations about AI tend to have a sci-fi vibe: robot personal assistants, self-driving cars, you name it. But the real, day-to-day business value of AI is much less futuristic, starting with the hundreds and thousands of contracts that keep business deals up and running every day.

We've spent so long wringing our hands and worrying about artificial and virtual intelligence that we forgot to roll out the welcome mat when they finally arrived. Now, when major tech companies give their annual keynotes, they can't help but pepper the narrative with phrases like "machine learning." What does it all mean, though? Should we crank up the worry now that it looks like every tent-pole feature of self-learning software could also be a critical flaw? The future is here -- and it's equal parts exciting and terrifying.

Microsoft on Wednesday announced new artificial intelligence features and functionality for several of its flagship products and services, including Office 365, Cortana and Bing, at an event in San Francisco. Building on the progress the company has made in integrating AI over the past year, the new enhancements are designed to help users perform increasingly complex and complicated tasks. "AI has come a long way in the ability to find information, but making sense of that information is the real challenge," said Kristina Behr, a partner design and planning program manager with Microsoft's Artificial Intelligence and Research group. One of the advances, machine reading comprehension, will improve an AI-based system's understanding of context -- for example, recognizing that one's cousin is a family member. Bing users will get more personalized answers, Microsoft said, such as restaurant recommendations based on travel destinations, or a greater variety of answers to offer different perspectives on a topic.