As new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) transform organisations across industries, the potential business benefits are a powerful argument to help a business go through the transition. An example of this would be within the ever-evolving nature of the field service industry; companies can now schedule a technician to come and check a network fault or conduct a service call for their customers almost immediately, thanks to AI. This is worlds away from ten years ago when the only option would have been to call and talk to a dispatcher as they flicked through employee logs and schedules manually to find an available, and properly skilled, technician. And often, the right technician required to resolve the issue was generally not available for a week, or longer. For any business, seven days without a resolution is a definite failure.

For better or worse, technology has taught us that we shouldn't have to wait anymore. We can access the news instantly, wherever we are, on our mobile devices. We can watch a favorite movie on demand via Netflix or another streaming service. "One-click purchase" represents the amount of time it takes to buy. In fact, the ease and speed of e-commerce has gotten to the point that it's practically a national holiday.

That's the question many people ask when discussing implementing artificial intelligence (A.I.) in the workplace, fearing that computers will put them out of a job. Just this past September, Forrester released a report saying that 6 percent of U.S. jobs may be replaced by A.I. and bots by 2021. For employees, this may sound ominous, but it requires an explanation of what jobs, and what aspects of jobs, are evolving as a result of A.I. Companies across industries are beginning to leverage A.I. and virtual assistants to streamline communication with customers and increase productivity. The field service management industry, for example, is beginning to tap into A.I. capabilities to enhance workers' skills and improve efficiency. With A.I.-powered bots emerging as a new channel for customer service and engagement, this presents an opportunity for organizations to automate service and support for customers.