How Artificial Intelligence is transforming start-ups, small firms

Artificial Intelligence (AI) -- the technology that tries to mimic human behaviour and thought processes -- has decisively broken the size barrier. No more is it the preserve of big tech firms, as small and medium outfits and start-ups are increasingly using it to great effect. For instance, last month travel-search marketplace ixigo launched an AI-powered chatbot -- ixibaba -- for its users. The chatbot (an automated response system that gives users the feeling of chatting with another human) helps travellers find the cheapest travel deals, hotels, vacation destinations and things to do in a city. "Now AI is better positioned for an uptake, especially in domain-specific contexts, as a lot of Big Data is available. AI, one part of which is machine learning, is the next big thing," said Aloke Bajpai, co-founder and CEO at ixigo.