How Artificial Intelligence protected SME businesses from Covid-19 risks

Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled apps helped protect small and medium-sized businesses against many of the risks that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a study, which noted that only a quarter of small firms currently use them. The research, by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and published in the journal Information Systems Frontiers, surveyed 317 small and medium sized firms based in London. The study found the use of AI-powered apps was associated with a 3.1 per cent reduced risk to business during the pandemic. "We found that SMEs' business risks caused by the Covid-19 pandemic declined with the use of AI applications across a ten-item scale including marketing, sales, communication, predictions, pricing and cash flow, fake reviews, cybersecurity, recruitment, and legal services," said lead author Professor Nick Drydakis, Director of the Centre for Pluralist Economics at the University. "The outcomes proved true regardless of enterprise size, turnover, and years of operation, indicating that AI applications have helped SMEs to adapt to unprecedented conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic," he added.