Using ai in the hair industry could save you £35k per year

A new report from Yell that focuses on the growing potential of using AI in business has revealed the impressive time, money and effort companies around the world could stand to make, especially when it comes to using AI in the hair industry. With data showing that AI in some form is already used in 83% of UK businesses, Yell’s report delves into more detail about this rapidly evolving technology. By using insight gained from extensive surveys with consumers and business leaders, the findings help to shine a light on current attitudes towards AI and the benefits to large and small businesses. Namely, the report reveals that by adopting AI such as chatbots and automated financial reporting, businesses can save an average of nearly 40 hours each week, or 2,075 hours per year. This substantial time saving also translates to revenue, with UK business leaders surveyed stating that AI can help them to substantially cut operational costs. Based on the savings outlined by those surveyed, this equates to average savings of more than £29,000 each year. However, AI becomes even more inviting for the hair and beauty industry, with business leaders in the sector stating that adopting more AI-driven processes could save them upwards of £35,000 per year. This, in turn, makes hair and beauty one of the sectors that could benefit the most from AI when it comes to cost savings, ranking among the top five for this, closely behind the finance sector.

The Sectors That Stand To Save The Most Money With AI

Rank	Sector	Monthly savings	Annual savings
1	Automotive	£3,465.35	£41,584.20
2	Commercial Services	£3,379.65	£40,555.80
3	Architecture, Engineering & Building	£3,126.35	£37,516.20
4	Finance	£3,025.48	£36,305.76
5	Hair and Beauty	£2,969.16	£35,629.88

Be it AI-powered booking systems or other automated customer services, the hair and beauty industry is also revealed by the report to be one of the most AI-savvy sectors in the UK. Almost half (49%) of business leaders in the hair and beauty sector stated that they feel ‘confident’ to use AI within their business, again placing the industry among the top five for this in the UK, in comparison to the education sector where confidence with the tech is as low as 19%.

The Hurdles Faced for Widespread AI Use

Despite this great potential, Yell’s report highlights possible barriers to AI being fully integrated into business plans moving forward. For the business leaders surveyed, the main barrier lies with the concern over human job losses. 67% of business leaders surveyed stated that they were concerned advancements in AI would result in job losses, creating a challenging landscape for business owners who want to benefit from cost and time savings, but avoid making redundancies. For consumers, the main barriers centred around trust, with many expressing concerns about using AI such as voice assistants. 75% feel worried that their data will fall into the wrong hands, 68% have concerns about strangers hacking their devices and interestingly, 50% of the UK population are concerned about the government listening in to their conversations, via a voice assistant.

The Future Growth of AI

On the other side of the coin, the full report concludes that AI, with its huge profit potential, is not only here to stay but should see continued growth in the coming years. There is a market that expects even more AI-driven personalisation, with more than one in 10 (13%) of consumers stating they would like to see more personalised adverts, with 8% admitting they would even share details of their family to gain this level of hyper-personalisation. According to the data, the younger demographic will be the key drivers of this growth, as 16–25-year-olds are already willing to spend more than the national average via voice assistants (£150 vs. £92). This age group also actively wants their interactions with businesses to become more automated and less face-to-face, with 87% stating they would prefer the likes of product buying, complaints and appointment scheduling to be more automated. Claire Miles, Chief Executive Officer of Yell commented: “The digital revolution has already changed many aspects of our everyday lives, both at home and at work. “It seems we are on the verge of another revolution with AI, with the time-saving and money-making capabilities of the technology being an absolute game-changer. The responsibility is now on business leaders of the world to ensure that any form of artificial intelligence is implemented properly, with the right security measures to alleviate trust and privacy concerns, as well as using it effectively and sensitively to create more specialised jobs, as the way we all work changes.’’ To read the full report and discover further insights into AI and business, visit: https://business.yell.com/sme-insight/the-artificial-intelligence-report/