Transforming businesses with AI: Expert insights from Birdeye View 2024

As economic uncertainties and rising operational costs continue to challenge industries, business leaders are increasingly turning to Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a strategic imperative. In fact, 70% of CEOs recognize AI’s potential to revolutionize the way their businesses create, deliver, and capture value within the next three years. This shift is driving companies to harness AI’s power to streamline operations and elevate customer experiences.

At Birdeye View 2024, experts from various industries, including mortgage, healthcare, dental, property management, and storage, shared how AI is helping them navigate these turbulent times while driving operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

To help businesses address these challenges, Birdeye also unveiled two AI products – Insights AI and Competitors AI – to empower local brands with generative AI insights and actionable recommendations to surpass competitors and establish market dominance.

In this blog post, we’ll explore expert comments highlighting how AI is reshaping operations, customer experiences, and competitive strategies, offering a roadmap to building future-proof businesses.

Economic pressures driving AI adoption

Economic instability is forcing companies to adapt quickly. In response to these economic pressures, AI has emerged as a powerful tool for businesses to optimize operations and improve customer experiences across industries. Let’s look at how different industries are leveraging AI to drive resilience, innovation, and growth.

Mortgage industry

The mortgage industry has been hit particularly hard in recent years. ​​There was a surge in refinancing during the pandemic, but rising interest rates have caused a sharp slowdown post-Covid. Companies, having quickly upscaled during the surge, now struggle to maintain flexibility as demand fluctuates.

Erica Goodwin, SVP of Marketing at First Heritage Mortgage, shared how her organization is adapting to the change, saying, “A big focus is on efficiency and scalability. How do we handle all of this business and really serve our customers? So we upscaled our teams greatly, but now as business slows down, we are focusing on scaling our teams in the right way.”

Ericka Smith, VP of Sales Optimization at Waterstone Mortgage, said their focus is on internal process improvements and technological optimization.

“We’re always looking for a way to streamline and cut red tape, focusing heavily on the borrower experience,” said Smith.

The mortgage industry is increasingly leaning on AI to automate key back-end processes.

“We launched bots to help with the appraisal process and document setup. We also empower loan officers with Birdeye’s AI tools to respond to reviews and streamline their communications. We are using AI as a thought partner to create content that engages and wins over new businesses.”

– Erica Goodwin, SVP of Marketing at First Heritage Mortgage

Goodwin added:

“AI is going to completely transform the way we work. I think people, who use AI and companies and teams that embrace AI tools and take the time to start small, think about how to solve a business problem and approach it the right way, are going to replace those who do not embrace AI.”

– Erica Goodwin, SVP of Marketing at First Heritage Mortgage

Healthcare industry 

In the healthcare industry, AI is transforming everything from patient care to administrative tasks. As the industry faces challenges like staff shortages and increased patient loads, AI is stepping in to fill the gaps.

“AI can work with our data and the knowledge our doctors have and summarize the interactions more efficiently. On the business side, AI works across our operations. For example, for initial screenings in clinical research, AI can analyze thousands of responses, summarize them, and deliver keen insights to help the team,” said Steve Estevez, VP of Marketing at DermCare Management.

AI is also transforming how patient feedback is analyzed.

“Last year alone, we generated over 30,000 Net Promoter Score surveys. Analyzing 30,000 surveys that have comments or varying degrees of scores with AI takes a lot of prompting and instruction. Thankfully, Birdeye has already done this. Now, you can boil it down to the five things patients complain about. It’s now about solving the issue. AI can take 30,000 review responses and provide insights on pressing issues and USPs of some locations.”

– Steve Estevez, VP of Marketing at DermCare Management

Imagine having thousands of patient voices distilled into a clear blueprint for improvement. That’s the power of AI in healthcare. By analyzing a sea of feedback, AI identifies the most pressing patient concerns, allowing providers to zero in on what really matters: delivering exceptional care and service.

At NY Spine Institute, AI has been a game-changer in both marketing and patient experience.

“We leverage AI to drive automation and streamline more repetitive tasks. AI has also given us the capability to analyze data efficiently. Data-driven decisions also take much of the guesswork out of our planning, especially in marketing campaigns,” said Glenda Villanueva-Marchetta, Director of Marketing and Patient Experience at NY Spine Institute. 

Effective communication is another area where AI is making a significant impact.

“Communication will be how you win the game in this economic climate. At the end of the day, people want answers to their questions as quickly as possible. So, be it appointments, insurance, to service-related questions on any communication channel, it is crucial to answer quickly and correctly,” emphasized Estevez.

AI is also streamlining day-to-day operations, allowing healthcare professionals to focus more on patient care.

“Birdeye has really allowed us to save time and provide greater efficiency. The web chat allows the call center to take fewer calls, spend less time on the phone, and address real concerns that a patient might have instead of handling the preliminaries. We are now spending more time servicing our patients and our clients, and that’s been amazing.”

– Glenda Villanueva-Marchetta, Director of Marketing and Patient Experience at NY Spine Institute

Additionally, Birdeye’s capabilities in automating communication have proven invaluable for NY Spine Institute.

“Birdeye has also helped us streamline our overall communication. We can now communicate with our patient population when we onboard a new physician with just one stroke of the key. Be it an emergency closing or a new update, Birdeye sends it out instantly… Birdeye has been extremely helpful with our patients, confirming appointments and sending them links to things they might need, such as forms.”

– Glenda Villanueva-Marchetta, Director of Marketing and Patient Experience at NY Spine Institute

Dental Industry

The dental industry, grappling with wage inflation and fluctuating demand for elective services, is increasingly embracing AI for efficiency and accuracy.

According to Jody Martin, CMO at Smile Brands, AI is now integral to their operations.

“Our dental business uses AI in almost every aspect – right from diagnostics, data validation, insurance reimbursement processing, recruitment, and marketing,” said Jody Martin, CMO at Smile Brands. “AI plays a crucial role in our call center operations, helping us identify if the customer reached the right executive, the purpose of the call, and if the information provided was accurate.”

AI is also revolutionizing dental patient experiences by streamlining operations, reducing wait times, and improving overall practice efficiency.

“We are also looking forward to integrating AI with our voiceover IP to evaluate calls, which will greatly improve our understanding of the patient experience,” said Tiffany Godwin, COO at Rocky River Dental Management.

For Mountainside Dental, Birdeye’s automated review responses have been a key differentiator.

“Our AI usage for customer experience mainly starts with Birdeye. Helping our teams with review responses has been a huge time-saver for our managers and administrators.”

– Craig McVey, COO & Practice Acquisition Analyst at Mountainside Dental Group

Property management industry

In the property management industry, AI is proving to be a powerful tool for automating customer interactions and refining review management.

Allison Ross, Sr. Marketing Specialist at Fairlawn Real Estate, highlighted the efficiency gains achieved through Birdeye’s AI tools.

“We use AI through Birdeye. One of my favorite features is using AI to help craft review responses. Using Birdeye’s AI helps me save significant time when crafting those responses.”

– Allison Ross, Sr. Marketing Specialist at Fairlawn Real Estate

Arun Das, Head of Marketing & Technology at CYM Living, echoed these sentiments, emphasizing how AI-driven automation allows staff to focus on more impactful tasks.

“Automation has freed our field staff from routine tasks like follow-ups, allowing them to focus on meaningful activities that enhance resident satisfaction,” said Das. “With AI handling these tasks, staff can engage more personally, organize community events, and offer personalized experiences, greatly improving the overall resident experience.”

Storage industry

In the highly competitive storage industry, where smaller players often struggle against larger corporations, AI is leveling the playing field. Niki Bossonis, Sr. Director of Marketing at Tenant Inc., shared how AI has helped smaller businesses stay competitive.

“Tools like Birdeye’s AI-driven platforms help respond to reviews, write ad copy, and create graphics. This streamlines content creation and improves ad performance by aligning with landing page content. Embracing these efficiencies is crucial as competitors leverage AI to enhance their operations.”

– Niki Bossonis, Sr. Director of Marketing at Tenant Inc.

Balancing AI and human interaction

While AI is proving invaluable in managing operational costs and improving efficiency, leaders across industries have clearly stated that human interaction remains essential, especially in the mortgage and storage sectors.

“While AI and automation are helpful, the personal touch is still number one. Loan officers’ relationships with borrowers and realtors are paramount, so automation supports rather than replaces those interactions.”

– Ericka Smith, VP of Sales Optimization at Waterstone Mortgage

Similarly, Niki Bossonis, Sr. Director of Marketing at Tenant Inc., noted:

“AI and automation tools… can be huge assets for marketing leaders, giving actionable data from customer feedback, reviews, and online sentiment. However, you still need a human touch to interpret it.”

– Niki Bossonis, Sr. Director of Marketing at Tenant Inc.

The path forward: AI as a cornerstone of future success

As industries adapt to economic uncertainties, AI will continue to be a critical factor in shaping their future success. Josh Linkner, Entrepreneur and NYT Bestselling Author, underscored this during the keynote session at Birdeye View 2024.

“AI is the single most profound technical advancement, certainly since the internet itself and perhaps even earlier. It is one of those foundational things like electricity or the wheel that will have far-reaching implications for business and life.”

– Josh Linkner, Entrepreneur and NYT Bestselling Author

The industry roundtable discussions at Birdeye View 2024 underscored how AI has emerged as a necessity to navigate the challenges of today’s economic climate. Businesses that strategically leverage AI are better positioned to thrive in the future.

How Birdeye helps businesses overcome challenges and unlock growth opportunities

Birdeye, the highest-ranked AI platform for local brands, has earned the trust of over 150,000 businesses worldwide, who rely on its cutting-edge technology every day. Birdeye empowers companies with generative AI assistants and AI data scientists to elevate their online reputation, streamline social media, and deliver exceptional customer experiences that drive loyalty and growth.

Here are the key AI features and capabilities that help businesses thrive:

• Generative AI assistants: Automate routine customer interactions like responding to reviews and inquiries, freeing up time for teams and ensuring timely, personalized responses across all channels.
• AI Data scientists: Gain deep insights into customer feedback and behavior patterns to make data-driven decisions to enhance services and operations.
• Reputation management: Monitor and manage online reviews from a single dashboard, with AI tools identifying areas for improvement and crafting thoughtful responses to help maintain a positive brand image.
• Social media management: Schedule, publish, and analyze social media posts with AI-powered tools.
• Customer experience enhancement: Use AI to collect and analyze feedback from surveys and reviews for actionable insights to refine strategies and create exceptional customer experiences.
• Automated communication: Automate messages for appointment reminders, promotions, and updates to maintain consistent communication.
• Lead-generation and conversion: Capture and qualify leads in real time with AI chatbots and forms.

Curious about how Birdeye can elevate your business? Watch our free demo to learn more about our cutting-edge products.