How Is AI Used for Forecasting and Predictive Analytics?

Whilst AI might not be able to predict the future and tell you what next week’s lottery numbers are, or be 100% accurate about other future events, it can get you close enough to make smarter moves for your business, and more money.

Here’s how:

As a business, you might typically use predictive analytics to analyse past data, and use that to forecast future events. But when you bring AI into the mix, you go from basic trend lines to complex, multi-variable predictions that can automatically adapt as new info rolls in.

Traditional forecasting might look at last year’s sales and say, “Expect something similar this year.”

BUT, AI-powered forecasting looks at your: Sales data, Seasonality, Marketing spend, Economic indicators, Competitor activity and it even goes as far as factoring in the weather or social media trends.

...and then uses all of that to make smarter predictions, making it easier to decide what the best next move is.

It’s still important to keep in mind  that AI can’t predict the future, if that was the case, we’d all be retired and on a Caribbean cruise. You still need human intuition and human input, but needless to say you can still take advantage of AI to give you more detailed estimates, so that you can plan things like inventory, staffing, campaigns, or budgets with ease.