Analysis and illustration of the practical impact of Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Personal Assistants on business processes in small- and medium-sized service enterprises

Artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent personal assistants (IPAs) are becoming more and more important. This is no longer limited to private use but also becoming increasingly important in everyday business life. The identification of optimization potentials through the use of AI and IPAs is therefore relevant from both a theoretical and a practical point of view. This paper, therefore, identifies concrete use cases for relevant processes in small- and medium sized enterprises (SME) in the service industry and enhances them with AI and IPA capabilities. Based on a prototype, the use cases were presented to 10 experts who were interviewed regarding their usefulness and influencing factors. Subsequently, the results of the interviews were categorized and validated again by a quantitative survey within the expert panel. As a result, the use cases were evaluated with regard to the specific influencing factors and the potential for optimization was determined. The use cases were evaluated based on this data. It was shown that IPA features in particular are perceived as useful. On average, AI and IPA features have a cost savings potential of over 31%. This shows the importance of these features and the need to consider them when modeling modern business processes.