Published on

November 24, 2023

ML as a Service
eBook

Complete guide to AI As A Service (AIaaS)

AIaaS (AI as a service) is an essential method for businesses that want to implement AI models and machine learning algorithms
Craig Wisneski
Co-Founder & Head of G&A, Akkio
ML as a Service

We’ve all heard of SaaS products. What’s getting more and more popular though is AIaaS—AI as a service. 

With AI as a Service, businesses can take advantage of best-in-class AI technology without needing to invest in hiring expensive data scientists or building their own machine learning models. 

So what exactly is AI as a Service? Simply put, it’s a way to access artificial intelligence capabilities through the cloud. This can be in the form of software, platforms or even infrastructure. 

One of the main benefits of using AI-as-a-Service is that it’s much less risky than developing your own AI system from scratch. It also allows businesses to get up and running with AI quickly and easily, without needing to make a large upfront investment. 

In this article, we’ll explore what AIaaS is, how it works and how to use it.

What is AI as a service?

Traditionally, AI was implemented on-premises, or on a private cloud. This required a lot of technical expertise and expensive infrastructure.

AIaaS means cloud-based AI services that allow you to quickly and easily implement AI solutions. It takes care of all the technical details for you, so you can focus on building your business solution. And because it’s based in the cloud, you don’t need to worry about expensive hardware or software costs.

Unlike a consumer service, AIaaS is designed for businesses. This can be used for a wide range of real-world use cases, such as predictive maintenance for robotics, lead scoring, fraud detection, or natural language processing tasks like sentiment analysis for customer experience optimization. And because it’s in the cloud, businesses benefit from the scalability and flexibility that cloud platforms offer.

AIaaS is an essential method for businesses that want to implement AI models and machine learning algorithms. It’s a cost-effective, time-saving solution that can help you quickly and easily take advantage of these cutting-edge technologies.

What are the benefits of using AIaaS / What are its applications?

For a startup or SME, time is always of the essence. You can't afford to spend months or even years on data science projects with no guarantee of success. That's why artificial intelligence as a service is such a valuable tool.

With AIaaS, you can get an AI solution up and running in minutes, without the need for a team of data scientists. And because AI can leverage data that humans might not be able to interpret, you can use it to make better decisions than ever before, which will help your business grow faster than ever before.

Even if you don't have a lot of data, you can still use AI tools to get insights. For example, if you want to predict customer churn but don't have enough data about customer behavior, you could use AI platforms to analyze social media posts and other unstructured data sources to get more information about your customers.

In short, AIaaS is a powerful tool that can save you time, help you get better results, and provide insights from limited data. If you're not already using AIaaS solutions in your business processes, now is the time to start.

How to use an AIaaS?

There are many different AIaaS tools and platforms available, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Some platforms are more difficult to set up than others, some require more AI expertise, and some cater to different needs better than others.

Legacy AutoML (automated machine learning) platforms still require significant AI expertise to get started. In a comparison between Akkio and other AutoML tools, it was found that Akkio offers 100X faster training times, requires much less expertise to get started, and can be used by both experienced data scientists and business analysts alike. 

Legacy service providers like Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform offer far more complex workflows that require in-house expertise to handle. For businesses that want to take advantage of cloud computing and deep learning to optimize their processes without needing to become experts in technical frameworks, Akkio is key.

In terms of specific tools, Akkio offers many features that are essential for an AIaaS platform, such as: 

  • Ease of set-up and use
  • No external infrastructure required
  • No AI expertise required
  • Many AI techniques and AI algorithms (classification, regression, forecasting, NLP, etc.)
  • Supports a broad range of AI applications
  • Offers APIs (application programming interface) for custom integrations
  • Secure data handling for sensitive apps like healthcare
  • An ecosystem of integrations with tools like Hubspot and Salesforce

All of these factors make Akkio the ideal AIaaS platform for businesses of all sizes. Whether you're a small business with limited resources or a large enterprise with complex needs, Akkio can help you get the most out of your data.

What are the steps and tools involved?

Businesses no longer need to build and maintain their own artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. Thanks to AI as a service platforms like Akkio, businesses can now access state-of-the-art AI capabilities with just a few clicks.

Akkio offers a wide range of AI-powered applications, including lead scoring, churn reduction, fraud detection, and building chatbots that predict appointment no-show. Businesses can use these applications to improve their operations and better serve their customers.

Businesses simply need to connect a dataset with the KPI they want to predict, then select that KPI, and Akkio will handle the data cleaning, machine learning model selection, model training, validation, and more.

Lead scoring

Every business owner knows that some leads are better than others. But what if you could use artificial intelligence to automatically score leads, so you could focus your sales and marketing efforts on the most promising ones, even without any infrastructure?

That's where AIaaS comes in. AIaaS can automatically score leads based on dozens of factors, including firmographics, behaviors, and engagement. The result is a more accurate and actionable lead score that can help you close more deals and drive more revenues.

Augmented lead scoring with Akkio's AIaaS
Augmented lead scoring with Akkio's AIaaS

First, AIaaS can take into account all the data points that go into a typical lead score, including demographics, behaviors, interactions, and engagement. Then, it uses machine learning to identify patterns and relationships in this data. For example, it might realize that leads who live in certain zip codes are more likely to convert, or that leads who visit your pricing page are further along in the buying process.

Based on these findings, AIaaS creates a customized lead scoring model for your business. This model is constantly updated as new data comes in, so it always reflects the latest changes in your market. Finally, AIaaS scores each of your leads using this model, so you can prioritize the ones that are most likely to convert.

Lead scoring with AIaaS is the future of sales and marketing. It's more accurate than traditional lead scoring methods, and it doesn't require any infrastructure or setup. All you need is a data source, and AIaaS will do the rest.

Churn reduction

Customer churn is the bane of every business. Losing even a single customer can cost you thousands of dollars in lost revenues. Just as AIaaS can score leads based on historical pattern data, it can also predict which customers are at risk of churning.

Churn reduction with Akkio's AIaaS
Churn reduction with Akkio's AIaaS

AIaaS can take into account a variety of factors to identify which customers are at risk, including their interactions with your product, their engagement levels, and any support tickets they've submitted. Based on this data, AIaaS builds a model that predicts which customers are likely to churn.

This model can be constantly updated as new data comes in, so it's always accurate. Plus, it doesn't require any infrastructure or setup. All you need is a data source, and AIaaS will do the rest.

Fraud detection

Fraud is a serious problem for businesses of all sizes. But traditional methods of fraud detection, like manual reviews of transactions, are time-consuming and often inaccurate.

When fraudulent transactions slip through the cracks, it can be costly - not just in terms of the amount of money lost, but also in terms of the damage to your reputation.

That's why more and more businesses are turning to AIaaS providers for help with fraud detection. AI can take into account massive amounts of data, identify patterns that humans would miss, and enable  real-time decision-making around whether a transaction is suspicious.

Intelligent chatbots

Customer engagement is critical for businesses, especially in a world where consumers have more choices than ever before.

Appointment-setting can help businesses cut through the noise and build relationships with their customers, but when customers don't show up for their appointments, it's a waste of time and resources.

With AIaaS, you can integrate a no-show prediction model into your booking chatbot. If the customer is at high risk of missing the appointment, the chatbot can offer to reschedule or provide additional information about the appointment.

Loan approval is another important process that businesses can use AIaaS to automate. By integrating an AIaaS loan approval chatbot into your existing systems, you can make decisions about loan applications in real-time. The chatbot can collect information from the customer, run some initial checks, and then route the application to the most appropriate person for a decision, or even provide an approval decision on its own.

Attrition prediction

For tens of millions of Americans, the pandemic shined a spotlight on what truly matters in their lives: family, friends, and health. For many others, it has been a time of upheaval and uncertainty.

As we emerge from the pandemic, businesses must grapple with the new reality of a workforce that is more mobile and less loyal to any one company. Attrition prediction with AIaaS can help businesses anticipate which employees are most likely to leave, and take steps to retain them.

AIaaS can take into account a wide range of data points, from performance reviews to social media posts, to predict which employees are at risk of leaving. With this information, businesses can take proactive steps to address the underlying causes of attrition and keep their best talent.

Absenteeism prediction

Even if an employee doesn't quit, they can still have a damaging impact on a business if they frequently take time off - known as absenteeism.

Absenteeism costs businesses billions of dollars every year, and it's only increasing as more employees feel burned out and less engaged with their work. But businesses can't afford to simply dismiss absenteeism as "the cost of doing business."

With AIaaS, you can integrate a model that predicts which employees are at risk of absenteeism. This will allow you to take proactive steps to address the underlying causes of absenteeism and keep your workforce healthy and productive.

Predictive maintenance

Downtime is a serious problem for businesses. It can lead to lost production, frustrated customers, and damaged equipment.

Predictive maintenance with AIaaS can help businesses avoid downtime by identifying problems before they happen. AIaaS can take into account big data from a wide range of sensors, as well as other historical data, to predict when equipment is likely to fail.

This information can then be used to schedule maintenance before the equipment fails. By doing predictive maintenance with AIaaS, businesses can avoid the costly downtime and keep their production lines running smoothly.

Conclusion

If you're not using AIaaS, you're falling behind. AIaaS is the new standard for businesses that want to stay competitive and keep up with the latest technology trends. Akkio is the leading provider of AIaaS, and for good reason.

By removing the need for dedicated resources or infrastructure, Akkio makes it easy to get started with AI. There's no need for coding skills or training models on your own data. With Akkio's training models and UI, you can have a working ML model up and running in minutes!

Not only is Akkio easier to implement, but it also provides faster results. You don't have to wait for your data to be processed by your own computer or wait for your team to train models on your data. And because Akkio is cheaper than hiring a dedicated data scientist, you can get started without breaking the bank.

So what are you waiting for? Get started with Akkio today and see how AIaaS can benefit your business.

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