What if this is the wrong question? When it comes to automating customer conversations with chatbots and AI-driven virtual agents, the real value of that automation may well be in generating revenue and growth, not in cutting headcount. Already, there are a few notable examples of chatbots generating significant revenue. For example, the casual dining chain TGI Fridays decided to reach out to millennials with an irreverent, brand-appropriate chatbot available through Facebook Messenger and Twitter . As Fridays' Chief Experience Officer Sherif Mityas explained, "This is an opportunity to think differently about how we engage with guests who talk to us." It has worked spectacularly well.

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What's going on: As researchers keep pushing AI forward, increasing types of businesses are experimenting with basic forms of the technology to cut costs, resolve problems efficiently -- and achieve a little wow factor. The big picture: To hear Friday's tell it, few aspects of its global enterprise haven't been injected with AI. The company is also experimenting with micro-targeting to lure customers more often, Sherif Mityas, chief experience officer at Friday's, tells Axios. The bottom line: This is a far cry from futuristic robot restaurants in Beijing and Tokyo, but the algorithms at Friday's reflect the mundane ways AI will soon pervade business. Go deeper: More on AI-powered micro-targeting at T.G.I. Friday's (WSJ)

The restaurant company says its use of artificial intelligence to field customer questions and send targeted messages to diners has delivered greater engagement and more orders. Fridays doubled its to-go business in the last 12 months, and has increased engagement on social media platforms by more than 500%.

Artificial intelligence hype was pervasive last year and the reality of A.I. is white-hot right now. In fact, 61 percent of enterprises say they implemented A.I. in their organization in 2017 -- up 31 percent from 2016. And, 791 public companies mentioned A.I. in their earnings calls in Q3 2017. It means that A.I. is nearing "big data" or "blockchain" levels of notoriety. Soon, even the most unlikely companies will claim to use the technology (imagine Long Island Iced Tea becoming a blockchain company) to ride the zeitgeist and get some good press.

AI technology is becoming available to any company looking for a competitive edge, and now's the time to level up your marketing strategy with AI and ensure your next infrastructure move helps you exploit the AI advantage. So don't miss this VB Live event! In the past 14 months, overall engagement for restaurant chain TGI Fridays has grown more than 500 percent, says Sherif Mityas, the company's chief experience officer. And with personalized outreach, they've doubled online business in the last year, to the tune of millions of dollars. "AI has created a tremendous impact in driving our off-premise business in the last year," Mityas says.

This month's Tech Tracker takes a closer look at stealth AI tech used by TGI Fridays to personalize marketing Thank God, it's AI at TGI Fridays. While most casual-dining brands are betting big on customer-facing tablet technology, TGI Fridays is investing in artificial intelligence to harvest data that will drive diner frequency. Guests of the Dallas-based chain can now use a variety of social media platforms to place an order. From that customer interaction, TGI Fridays is using AI to identify ordering patterns, and that information is used to personalize marketing. If a guest order ribs through any of the platforms, for example, that data can be used to create future invitations based on that customer's food preferences, said Sherif Mityas, Fridays chief experience officer.

TGI Fridays executives report the company earned $150 million in revenue from marketing tactics centered on artificial intelligence. The company uses a machine learning bot that interacts with customers on social platforms, messaging apps and smart cars, helping them place online orders and giving them personalized offers.

Move over, Sam Malone: Flanagan, the AI mixologist is here to serve up cocktails. Artificial intelligence-solutions company Hypergiant helped develop a new AI bartender/mixologist program for TGI Friday's called Flanagan (named for Tom Cruise's character in the 1988 film Cocktail). Flanagan, which interacts with both TGI Friday's smartphone app and its loyalty accounts, makes drink recommendations based on a customer's food choices or preferences. It can also create an off-menu personalized cocktail based on a flavor profile, a customer's mood or their previous eating and drinking habits. According to Ben Lamm, the CEO of Hypergiant, Flanagan is particularly noteworthy in that it offers an AI solution for two of TGI Friday's core business problems: how to get more people inside the restaurant, and how to learn more about them.

TGI Fridays is using artificial intelligence to do everything from power chatbots to personalize service at locations. The chain is particularly focused on how AI can keep app users. From May to November 2017, TGI Fridays used "predictive churn" tech to predict when a user would leave the app after signing in, then target users that were likely to leave soon with offers based on their past orders. TGI Fridays sent push notifications encouraging these users to make another purchase. When a user tapped on a push notification, they would be brought into the TGI Fridays app, where they could edit their order and pay with one tap.