53 Artificial Intelligence Use Cases + How to Get Started

What is an AI use case? 

An AI use case refers to a specific instance when someone uses an AI tool to solve a problem, fulfill a need, enhance a process, or create something new. You can use AI in many different situations, job functions, personal projects, and industries to achieve your goals or improve your business operations. As we’ll explore in this article, artificial intelligence use cases can range from understanding your customers better to optimizing energy distribution based on supply and demand. 

Discover ways companies use AI, different use cases across industries, and how to leverage AI to its capabilities. 

How are companies using AI?

As AI technology expands and becomes mainstream, companies are leveraging AI tools to improve operations on multiple levels, from cybersecurity to customer relationship management (CRM). 

According to a Forbes Advisor survey of 600 business owners in the United States, the following are the percentages of how they use AI [1]:

• Customer service: 56%

• Cybersecurity and fraud management: 51%

• Digital personal assistants: 47%

• Customer relationship management: 46%

• Inventory management: 40%

• Content production: 35%

• Product recommendations: 33%

Forbes Advisor also revealed that almost all surveyed business owners believe ChatGPT will help their business. At the same time, business owners have the following concerns:

• Will AI affect website traffic?

• Will businesses start to depend too heavily on technology? 

AI ethics

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly important to society, experts in the field have identified a need for ethical boundaries when it comes to creating and implementing new AI tools. AI ethics are the moral principles that companies use to guide responsible and fair development and use of AI. Learn more in the article, “AI Ethics: What It Is and Why It Matters.

53 AI use cases: a categorized list

We’ve compiled a list of use cases for AI across industries to show how it can transform businesses and benefit society. Review these use cases to get ideas for your next AI project, implement AI solutions in your current role, and stay ahead in this rapidly changing technology.

Industry-specific AI use cases  

AI use cases in banking and finance

1. Fraud detection: Algorithms can detect fraudulent activity.

2. Decision-making: AI trading algorithms can enable faster and better-informed decision-making.

3. Risk management: AI systems can determine clients’ creditworthiness based on transaction and credit history, market conditions, and income growth, thus improving risk management.

AI use cases in manufacturing

4. Supply chain management: Predictive analytics can optimize inventory management, enhance demand forecasting, and simplify logistics.

5. Collaborative robots: Cobots use AI and machine learning (ML) to increase productivity, expedite orders, streamline logistics, and improve operations in fulfillment centers. 

6. Inventory management: In warehouses, AI helps businesses manage inventory by analyzing data, current stock levels, and market trends to predict demand patterns. 

7. Assembly line optimization: AI can improve assembly lines by analyzing past performance metrics and real-time sensor data to improve workflow, predict maintenance needs, and ensure efficient performance.  

AI use cases in retail

8. Personalized product recommendations: AI can help businesses analyze customer data such as browsing history, purchase behavior, and references to offer personalized product recommendations. 

9. Sales forecasting: AI can help businesses analyze sales data and predict changes in customer demand and market conditions to have the right products available and increase customer satisfaction. 

10. Price optimization: Using data from sales, market demand, competitor pricing, customer behavior, and economic conditions, AI algorithms can adjust prices in real-time and even personalize pricing for individual customers to boost sales and customer satisfaction. 

Read more: What Is a Pricing Strategy? + How to Choose One For Your Business

11. Customer lifetime value forecasting: AI can help businesses forecast the value a customer could generate over time, from the first purchase to the last. With these insights, businesses can segment and market to customers more effectively.

AI use cases in insurance

12. Claims processing: AI systems can automate claims processing, including tasks like data entry, document scanning, and damage assessment, thus reducing the time and cost involved. 

13. Risk management: AI can analyze data from sources like weather forecasts and traffic data to predict the impact of potential hazards. With more accurate forecasts, insurers can make better-informed decisions about policy prices and claims.  

14. Fraud detection: AI can help insurers detect suspicious activities before they become claims and take action to prevent losses from fraudulent claims.

AI use cases in oil and gas

15. Predictive maintenance: AI can analyze operational data and historical maintenance records to predict when equipment will need repairs, thus preventing unexpected breakdowns or unnecessary repairs.  

16. Safety monitoring: AI systems can detect potential safety hazards, signaling the need for preventative action.  

17. Demand forecasting: AI can analyze data from past drilling projects, oil price fluctuations, and global energy demand to predict surges in drilling demand and optimize drilling operations accordingly. 

AI use cases in health care

18. Accurate and faster diagnosis: AI can mitigate deadly human diagnostic errors resulting from issues like incomplete medical histories, large caseloads, and potentially offer faster and more accurate diagnoses.  

19. Drug design: AI can speed up the drug design process by predicting potential side effects and identifying ideal candidates for clinical trials.   

20. Data management: AI can handle large amounts of data, helping speed up administrative processes, diagnoses, and more.  

21. Robotic surgery: AI robots can help surgeons perform operations, leading to faster post-op recovery and less pain.  

AI in sports

23. Injury prevention: AI-powered wearable sensors monitor athletes’ biomechanics, vital signs, play frequency, and past injuries to help prevent future injuries. 

24. Performance analysis: AI-powered wearable sensors can track players’ movements and offer insights on team and individual performance.

25. Recruitment efficiency: Sports teams can use AI to analyze data from multiple sources, including social media and video highlights, to recruit players who are likely to perform well.  

AI in agriculture

26. Crop disease detection: Using neural networks and machine learning algorithms, AI can enable early detection of crop diseases and timely intervention. 

29. Livestock health monitoring: AI sensors and image recognition can detect potential health issues in livestock. 

30. Precise irrigation system: AI can analyze data such as soil moisture, climate conditions, and crop demands to hydrate crops effectively.  

AI in entertainment

31. Predicting film success: AI can analyze film scripts and predict success, match films with target audiences, and gather demographic insights. 

32. Personalized content recommendations: AI uses data like user preferences to make personalized recommendations on what to watch, listen to, or play next. 

33. AI-generated music: AI can analyze existing musical compositions and then generate new, distinct pieces. 

AI use cases by business function

AI use cases in e-commerce 

34. Enhancing shopping experience: AI and facial recognition technologies can analyze customer in-store visits to enhance their shopping experience and even retarget them on their devices with special offers. 

35. Streamlined sales process: AI can enable voice input and use natural language processing to answer customer queries, help customers find products they’re interested in, and more. 

36. Enabling meaningful in-store interactions with customers: AI bots can handle basic interactions with customers, freeing up employees to engage with customers in more meaningful ways. 

Read more: What Is Omnichannel Marketing? Definition, Examples, & Strategy

AI use cases in marketing 

37. Sentiment analysis: AI can sift through social media data to provide insights into users’ attitudes toward a brand and enable that brand to design future campaigns accordingly.  

38. Content creation: AI can generate data-informed content and even recommend content based on user sentiment.  

39. Campaign targeting: ML algorithms can conduct A/B tests on different ad campaign versions to determine which elements will perform best for specific audiences. 

Read more: Social Listening: Definition, Tools, and Strategies for Business Growth

AI use cases in HR 

40. Improving career development: AI can offer personalized recommendations for employees preparing for their next career move, tailoring training to their goals. 

44. Candidate sourcing: AI can help hiring managers nurture potential hires and fill open positions quickly. 

45. Onboarding new employees: AI chatbots can guide new employees through different onboarding tasks, including providing documents or filling out forms, speeding up the time it takes to collect information. 

For hands-on practice using ChatGPT, start with the one-hour course Use Generative AI as Your Thought Partner taught by Coursera CEO, Jeff Maggioncalda.

AI in cybersecurity 

47. Automated incident responses: AI helps businesses respond to cyberattacks faster, while enabling incident response teams to focus on managing the incident. 

48. Enhancing authentication: AI can recognize customer behavior patterns, from keystrokes to touchscreen use to determine if behaviors are normal or a potential threat.  

49. Prevent malware: AI-powered malware analysis can detect and analyze malware like viruses, worms, trojans, and ransomware.  

AI use cases for social impact

Artificial intelligence is useful not only for increasing business efficiency but also for addressing global challenges and improving the quality of life for humans worldwide. Here are some examples: 

50. Health care can reach remote communities with the help of AI-powered telehealth and electronic health record systems. Telemedicine platforms can offer patients in remote areas medical advice and help to monitor their conditions. 

51. In the field of agriculture, AI can help address global food insecurity by predicting crop yields and supply, as well as demand for food, while analyzing supply chain disruption and the effects of climate change.  

52. AI can help analyze crime patterns and dispatch police when and where they are most needed. AI can also help in meta-studies to evaluate the effectiveness of efforts to fight violent crimes and the trafficking of humans, drugs, and weapons. 

53. AI can help make education more accessible by providing diverse student groups—including students with learning disabilities, special needs, and language barriers—with more tools to learn, while enabling teachers to lighten their workload. 

Consider enrolling in DeepLearning.AI’s AI for Good Specialization to engage with more socially-impactful AI use cases.

How to expand your use of AI 

Using AI more extensively can be exciting and rewarding, especially considering the range of use cases across industries and business functions. Here are some ways to expand your use of AI.  

1. Deepen your knowledge of AI. 

Understanding AI tools, how they work, and the principles behind AI is important for leveraging AI capabilities. To deepen your AI skills and knowledge, you can take courses like Google’s Introduction to Generative AI or IBM’s Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, participate in workshops and boot camps, or read the latest research on AI. 

2. Launch AI projects. 

Designing and launching your AI projects is a great way to get hands-on experience with this technology and apply your knowledge to real-world situations. Projects can be for personal or professional use. Examples include building AI applications, developing customer service chatbots, and contributing to open-source projects on GitHub.

You can also complete projects without developing AI models from scratch. For example, you can install a pre-built chatbot on your website, use predictive analytics tools to create sales forecasts, or enhance images with AI-based filters. 

3. Network with other AI professionals or enthusiasts. 

Networking can be a great way to participate in meaningful conversations about AI, get feedback on projects you may be working on, connect with collaborators, or find out about AI-related career opportunities. To network effectively, you can join online forums and communities devoted to all things AI, follow AI experts on social media and reach out to them directly. Consider joining professional AI associations, attending hackathons and workshops, or even starting your own AI Meetup in your area. 

Read more: 9 Networking Tips to Expand and Strengthen Your Network

4. Apply AI in your industry. 

Investigate AI use cases in your industry and consider finding a way to apply AI to your career field. This can be a great way to make a positive impact on others and discover opportunities to advance your career, using the latest technology. 

Explore AI with Coursera

Online courses can be a great way to explore AI use cases and get hands-on experience with different AI tools. Coursera offers several options to meet your needs:

To practice writing effective prompts, developing content, avoiding harmful AI use, and staying up-to-date in an AI world, consider enrolling in the  Google AI Essentials Course.

To dive deeper into generative AI and understand its capabilities and limitations, consider enrolling in the IBM Generative AI Fundamentals Specialization.