The AI revolution is here, and its possible use cases are no longer relegated to the upper echelons of the big tech giants. With the rise of tools called "no-code AI," it's possible for small businesses to benefit from the efficiency and insight provided by high-powered AI.  

With code-free AI solutions, you can create your own highly customizable model, built on data from your own datasets, without having to write a single line of code. These user-friendly and cost-effective tools are inherently intuitive and designed specifically for non-techy types. In short, these tools automate workflows, data analysis, and processes to make your job easier.

So, is it time to apply machine learning and generative AI to your business?

What is no-code AI?

As per George Spandidis, an AI consultant:

“No-code AI tools are software applications that allow users to develop and deploy artificial intelligence models without having to write any code. They enable users to create and customize models that can automate various business processes. These models can be deployed in multiple ways, including web applications, chatbots, voice assistants, and more.”

These tools rely on machine learning algorithms to digest and evaluate large datasets to make predictions. 

Some platforms offer a drag-and-drop style interface, where you can pull what components you want to add to your application and organize it in a user-friendly interface. Others ask you to upload large datasets, say, an extensive customer database, and help you design the model depending on your business goals.

All code-free tools operate similarly to ChatGPT, now the most famous AI tool. ChatGPT is trained on a massive data set and designed to make accurate predictions in response to queries from the user. 

No-code AI tools are trained on customizable datasets specific to the user, like customer lists and employee databases. In almost all cases, these tools integrate directly into CRMs, like Salesforce, Hubspot, and Google Sheets, to facilitate access to relevant datasets.

5 benefits of no-code AI in your business

No-code AI is accessible, cost-effective, and highly customizable. It puts tools into the hands of business owners without the need for specialized technical coding skills but with the same return on data-driven insights.

Here are just a few of the benefits of using code-free AI solutions in your own business:

1. No technical skill required

The fundamental tenant behind all no-code AI tools is that everyone can use them. AI and machine language learning used to be limited to highly skilled computer engineers. Now, with no specialized training, owners, managers, administrators, and anyone else can use AI for data-driven insights to grow their businesses in unprecedented ways.

2. Cost-effective

Because there are little to no specialized skills required to master no-code AI platforms, businesses can invest their resources elsewhere. No need to hire a new highly skilled employee to create the data analysis. No need to invest in specialized training or custom software. Instead, these solutions are available on an affordable monthly subscription basis.  

3. Unparalleled business insights

Unless you hire a data analyst, you'll likely not get the kinds of business insights you'll find through no-code AI tools on your own. For example, how would you ever digest thousands of lines of information to manually assess that information for patterns and predictions without using machine learning? It's simply not possible.

4. Highly customizable

Because no-code AI platforms are trained on user-submitted datasets, they are highly customizable with individualized results specific to the business. Ultimately, they work on your data, your goals, and your insights.

5. Scalable

The best part of machine learning is that it thrives on information. The more data you can feed, the more accurate and insightful it becomes — which means these tools are almost infinitely scalable. 

Use cases for applying machine learning to your business

So, how is this technology applicable to your business? How can it help you develop workflows, process information, better serve customers, and increase profit margins?

Let's look at a few use cases for code-free AI which are already available to you as a business:

1. Understand customer churn

If you struggle to understand why customers leave your business, no-code AI can help you efficiently crunch the data into a usable analysis. 

In this case, the dataset is your customer list from your CRM. Through the chat interface, you can ask the tool to assess the information for churn trends.

It could find trends about what types of customers (for example: subscription level, demographic, etc.) or which customer behaviors (ex: use patterns, overdue invoices, etc.) predict churn. Some platforms will even help you create personas for the customers to better understand which tend to stay and which end up leaving.  

An AI-built persona could help you refine your marketing efforts or improve your offerings for the persona type that ends up leaving.

2. Understand employee retention

For large companies striving to develop better hiring practices, AI can assess the data within a staff database to predict retention, career trajectory, and the value of incentives. 

For example, do stock options or longer vacation days correlate to better retention rates? What are the demographic commonalities among long-term employees?

It's also possible to use AI tools to test assumptions, like "Are younger employees more likely to leave the company sooner?" It is often just as easy as asking the platform AI chat a simple question (ex: "What trends do you see among employees, looking at service years?") and then using the results to refine the query even further. 

3. Evaluate lead generation

Struggle to assess whether leads are useful or just dead ends? You can easily evaluate whether or not a lead has gone cold by teaching a no-code platform on a lead dataset to predict conversion. 

A few examples of fields that could feed into the model include email open rate, survey response rate, website visits, and days since the last interactions. All of these are available through most CRM platforms. 

On an individual lead level, AI tools can create models to predict whether the lead will likely convert. Why not then ask for a more macro-level analysis, graphic visualizations, and common trends? 

What no-code AI tools for business are out there?

Once you start looking, you'll find dozens, perhaps hundreds of options for no-code AI tools, all designed for business. 

Of course, the big names in AI all have their own no-code models, including Amazon Sage Maker, Apple CreateML, Google's Teachable Machine and AutoML, plus Microsoft Lobe. 

But it's not just the big players that have designed easy-access tools. A few of the companies with notable AI solutions include Akkio, DataRobot, and Obviously.ai.

Ready to grow your business with no-code AI?

AI is no longer just a playground for the big tech companies. It's increasingly accessible to small and medium-sized companies, thanks to the growing number of code-free solutions now available. 

No-code AI tools give you the skills to dive deep into the data to make better decisions, execute more targeted marketing, and more. With user-friendly interfaces, drag-and-drop build-outs, and intuitive ChatGPT-style interactions, anyone can apply no-code to their data to grow their business in a cost-effective and efficient way.