Jan 17, 2024 Equities

AI in use: five industries that are already benefiting

More and more companies are turning to artificial intelligence to improve their services. However, it remains difficult for investors to identify profiteers on the user side. And yet there are pioneers: five industries show how it's done.

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In addition to AI manufacturers, companies that use AI also benefit from the possibilities of artificial intelligence

Many industries are facing fundamental changes thanks to AI. New products, greater efficiency and precise knowledge of customer needs are shaking up established relationships and creating new winners. Given the rapid pace of change, it is difficult to identify individual winners among users.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has made rapid progress in recent years. Self-learning algorithms and systems enable machines to learn, acquire new knowledge and perform tasks independently. Machine learning analyzes data, recognizes patterns and thus improves itself over time.[1]

Today, new technologies are already influencing many industries. In addition to increasing efficiency, their transformative power also promises completely new, innovative solutions that can fundamentally change our lifestyles.

The stock markets have also long recognized the potential of AI. Companies that are among the pioneers of artificial intelligence have recorded rapid increases in value in recent months. However, in addition to manufacturers, many users can also benefit from the new possibilities.

AI is the key factor in automated driving and the combination with automotive technologies also opens up a wide range of opportunities for sustainability.

Automobile: Revolution in the fast lane

Artificial intelligence is already making the way we get around safer, more efficient and more comfortable. In the automotive sector, the race for the best solutions has therefore long since begun.

AI is the key factor in automated driving, - with the help of innovative sensors and machine learning, vehicles recognize their surroundings and can make life-saving decisions in real time, even in risky situations. Thanks to artificial intelligence, state-of-the-art image processing systems recognize traffic signs and automatically integrate them into the further course of the journey. In this way, accidents can be avoided and the driving experience is raised to a new level. The vision of fully autonomous cars in which AI takes the lead seems increasingly achievable.

The combination of AI and automotive technologies also opens up a wide range of opportunities for sustainability: energy and traffic management systems optimize energy consumption, improve traffic flow and thus reduce fuel consumption and emissions.[2] In vehicle production, materials are already being used more efficiently and waste minimized thanks to AI. In short, the car is being reinvented. And even if it is not clear at this stage who will ultimately be among the winners and losers, one thing is clear: the automotive sector can be interesting for investors.

Financial service providers: Automated processes and security

In the financial sector, the use of artificial intelligence opens up enormous opportunities for banks and insurance companies. The main advantage lies in automated processes, from data analysis to risk assessment, which save time and minimize errors. For banks, for example, this means that the processing of loan applications and the risk assessment of companies could be taken over by AI in the future. AI will also be a great help in the areas of consulting and customer service, as advanced algorithms and machine learning can be used to analyze market trends and identify potential risks at an early stage.

Customers can also benefit from the integration of AI in the financial sector: As part of fraud prevention, large amounts of data are already being reliably analyzed for suspicious transactions. This can also be interesting for investors, as it could ensure the security of the financial institution and have a positive impact on the performance of the stock market. At the same time, the integration of AI opens up innovative ways for further financial services. In this way, companies can continue to secure competitive advantages and increases in value on the stock market.

In banks and insurance companies, for example, AI could take over the processing of loan applications and the risk assessment of companies in the future.

Medicine: Artificial intelligence revolutionizes diagnostics and therapy

In medicine, AI opens up many opportunities to take healthcare to a new level. AI is perfect for diagnostics and medical image processing: it analyses large amounts of data and image data at high speed and with great precision, enabling it to recognize patterns that would remain hidden to the human eye. In this way, warning signs can be recognized earlier and possible diseases can be better diagnosed. Through continuous and automated monitoring of patient data, AI can also react quickly and early to changes and request medical assistance at an early stage. Patients also benefit from customized treatment approaches and a forward-looking prognosis.

But that is by no means all: today, self-learning algorithms can, for example, classify skin cancer in a similar or even better way than dermatologists. Experts already assume that in around ten years' time, no X-ray, MRI or CT image will be reviewed by radiologists without first being analyzed by AI.[3]

The opportunities for AI in medicine are immense. Manufacturers of cutting-edge medical technology have long since successfully positioned themselves on the market and will be indispensable in the future in view of the rapid pace of AI innovations. This future-oriented sector and its developments can be interesting for investors.

Media: More room for creativity

Ever since ChatGPT was made available to the public in November 2022, the media and entertainment industry has been undergoing a transformative change. Not only the creation of content, but also the consumption and personalization of media is changing fundamentally. New, self-learning tools enable the automatic creation of content in text, images, music and even video. For creatives in the media and entertainment industry, AI can be particularly helpful when writing articles that need to be fast and up-to-date. Many grammar and spell-checking tools today also work with AI and take a lot of work off the shoulders of creative professionals. Marketing companies benefit from analyzing large amounts of data, recognizing trends and generating compelling content. This should lead to an individualized user experience, greater customer satisfaction and stronger market positioning.

Many grammar and spell-checking tools work with AI today and take a lot of work off the shoulders of creative professionals.

Algorithms analyse customer behaviour in online shops and tailor their offers to the individual needs of each customer.

Retail: How AI increases efficiency, improves the customer experience and redefines competition

AI also offers numerous opportunities for retailers and e-commerce to increase efficiency and improve the customer experience. For example, artificial intelligence can be used to generate ideas for entire marketing campaigns with story lines, photos and ways of presenting new products.

AI is also already being used to personalize offers: algorithms analyze customer behavior in online shops and tailor their offers to the individual needs of each customer. With a focus on the personalization of offers, targeted sales strategies can be derived from this. Chatbots and virtual assistants improve customer service, answer frequently asked questions and offer personalized product advice. They can help with ordering, shipping and refunds, thereby reducing waiting times. The skillful and correct use of AI in retail and e-commerce promises to increase efficiency. This trend has long been recognized in the Asian market and is already bearing fruit. This trend is also likely to reach the European market in the near future. Companies that capitalize on the trend earlier than others can secure a competitive advantage in this way.

Key technology changes everyday life and the stock market

The rapid development of artificial intelligence is already having a profound impact on various industries. However, it is difficult to identify individual winners in the affected sectors. The pace of development is too fast and the competitive pressure is too high. Investors who want to benefit from the positive effects of AI are therefore well advised to avoid speculative investments in individual companies and instead focus on broad trends. In addition, there is always a risk of price falls when investing in equities as well as in broader equity funds. Dynamic markets with good growth opportunities and profit prospects in particular are often very volatile and difficult to predict. Investors who specifically invest in such markets should be aware that share prices can be subject to strong downward or upward fluctuations even within short periods of time.

Further articles

1. Source: European Parliament (2023), https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/de/headlines/society/20200827STO85804/was-istkunstlicheintelligenz-und-wie-wird-sie-genutzt, accessed 13/12/2023.

2. Source: KI Bundesverband (2021), https://ki-verband.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/KIBV-Klima-Positionspapier-1.pdf, abgerufen am 12.12.2023; TÜV Nord (2023),
https://www.tuev-nord.de/de/unternehmen/bildung/wissen-kompakt/energieeffizienz/ki-und-intelligentes-energiemanagement/, abgerufen am 12.12.2023.

3. Source: Human–machine partnership with artificial intelligence for chest radiograph diagnosis: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-019-0189-7; abgerufen am 12.12.2023; Dermatologist-level classification of skin cancer with deep neural networks; https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21056, abgerufen am 12.12.2023.

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