Accenture's head of artificial intelligence shares the 4-step plan every company should consider before investing in AI

Artificial intelligence is one of the buzziest terms in corporate America, but organizations don't need to pursue a tech upgrade as a solution for every problem, Athina Kanioura said. Instead, Accenture's chief analytics officer says that companies -- and the executives that run them -- should meditate on the internal and external pressures that are forcing them to consider their investment. Together, these pushes and pulls form a firm's "AI narrative," said Kanioura, whose 3,000-data-scientist-strong Applied Intelligence arm at Accenture has consulted for organizations from the Golden State Warriors to Carnival Cruises. A financial institution facing trouble growing its user base, for example, may opt to automate initial customer interactions to cut costs. For Kanioura, the first step in considering investing in AI is determining the appropriate return you are seeking and whether it will complement other tech priorities, like cloud computing or data analytics.