Maximizing the benefits of AI: Best practices for MSPs to safely manage its use
ConnectWise remains committed to investing in advanced and emerging technology on behalf of MSPs and sees the benefits of harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) as a reliable model to offer improved services to you and your customers. In February, we announced a new integration with Azure and OpenAI's ChatGPT within ConnectWise Automate™, becoming the first software vendor in the MSP space to release an integration with OpenAI into its existing console of solutions.
After a successful pilot of the AI-assisted PowerShell script in Automate, our team extended this capability across our Unified Monitoring and Management portfolio into ConnectWise Automate and ConnectWise RMM™. AI integration within this product portfolio helps free your team to focus on more strategic initiatives, improve overall productivity and efficiency in your operations, and deliver exceptional service to your clients and to increase their satisfaction.
With unprecedented growth comes risk
We know you're constantly looking for ways to improve your services while minimizing client risk. The rise of conversational AI provides a unique opportunity to force multiply your value. Machine learning touches nearly every part of our world and is transforming the way we live, work, and interact with each other, and it isn't slowing down. However, with its unprecedented growth, it isn't without risk. It's essential to understand the potential risks associated with using AI, so you can take the necessary steps to set up processes and guardrails to minimize the risk to you and your clients.
Know the considerations before integrating AI into your business
Here are some important issues to consider when using AI:
- Data privacy and security: One of the most significant concerns with AI use is the potential data privacy and security risk. AI, such as ChatGPT, is a machine-learning model that sources from the data it receives. If employees or admins accidentally provide sensitive information, the machine-learning model may use that data to generate responses to other users that reveal confidential information.
- The accuracy of responses: AI technology can generate fast responses, but the accuracy of those responses depends on the quality of the data it's trained on. This can be seen in script generation with incorrect commands or marketing text with incorrect information, which can put your business reputation at risk.
- Compliance and regulatory issues: Depending on the industry or country, there may be specific regulations that you must follow to maintain compliance.
5 steps to help mitigate risk to your business and clients
AI can be a powerful tool to enhance your services. Below are five steps to mitigate risks proactively and safely manage using AI.
Step 1: Appoint a single lead or a committee to manage the use of AI
Form a committee with representatives from different teams, such as operations, security, legal, and marketing. This helps ensure all areas of your business are represented, and policies and procedures are comprehensive and effective.
Step 2: Define your initial use cases
Define your initial and follow-on use cases. Are you looking to automate routine tasks, generate scripts to address technical issues, provide faster responses to customer queries, or improve customer satisfaction? Most organizations start with a single initial use case and expand from that success.
Step 3: Where to implement AI
Implement AI. Initially, you may use the browser-based prompt user interface from OpenAI ChatGPT or some of the upcoming Bing tools. Depending on the use case, it might be more advisable to use OpenAI or Azure APIs to integrate AI more directly into your workflows. It's important to note that any AI tool should not entirely replace human customer service representatives. Instead, it should be used to supplement their efforts and provide faster, more efficient customer service.
Step 4: Set up guardrails
Establish guardrails to manage the use of AI. This includes setting up policies and procedures for access to data, training staff to identify potential security threats, and establishing a clear incident response plan. Most importantly, maintain a human in the middle to review, edit, and text any generated script or customer response before it is used.
Step 5: Monitor and refine your processes
Monitor and refine your AI processes continually, including regularly reviewing policies and procedures, evaluating prompt engineering and the effectiveness of your solution, and ensuring that staff members are trained to use it effectively. It's important to remain current with industry trends and developments in conversational AI technology to ensure you're using the most effective solutions available. This will help you stay ahead of potential security threats and provide the best possible service to your clients.
By setting up processes and guardrails to take advantage of AI technology, you can improve customer service capabilities and minimize risk for your clients. With the right policies and procedures in place, you can use AI to automate routine tasks, provide faster and more personalized responses to customer queries and enhance their overall service offerings.
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