Cognitive Analytics And The Man/Machine Frankenstein

Blending the efficiency and learning capabilities of machines with the human ability to course correct when needed allows you to arrive at the best decisions as quickly as possible.

Self-driving automobiles are becoming increasingly ubiquitous. While this provides a lot of value in itself, the risk is having people who are literally asleep at the wheel. There’s not a great business case for machines completely replacing humans—that’s not the goal. But blending the efficiency and learning capabilities of machines with the human ability to course-correct when needed allows you to arrive at the best decisions as quickly as possible.

That’s the basis for cognitive analytics—blending man with machine.

How Cognitive Analytics Is Different

Predictive analytics is incredibly valuable to organizations but can still be somewhat time-consuming. As an iterative process, it not only takes time to dive into the data, but also to then assess the insights and take action on those insights through testing. As data continues to grow, there needs to be a way to speed up this process.

Predictive analytics intends to predict outcomes of various scenarios. Similarly, cognitive analytics strives to scale the process of insight-to-action by combining all relevant data to make predictions on future outcomes and then reasoning to make the best decisions . By understanding the data within context, cognitive analytics creates an intersection between machine learning and cognitive reasoning to deliver relevant, highly personalized experiences for users. In essence, cognitive analytics uses machine learning to scale the predictive-analytics process.

It’s not necessary to be a master in predictive analytics just to dip your toe into the cognitive-analytics waters. In fact, most companies can be successful by running these types of programs in parallel. Depending on the types of goals you have for a particular campaign, you may choose either predictive- or cognitive-analytics solutions. Cognitive analytics acts as another tool in your analytics toolbox.

Why Use Cognitive Analytics?

As technology evolves, there are an almost-infinite number of ways for a customer to interact with your brand. You’re no longer in a face-to-face situation. There isn’t an owner at a mom-and-pop shop who knows your every purchase and can predict your upcoming needs because he knows you so well. There isn’t a single salesperson who can be dedicated to every customer on every platform.

Instead, analysts can work hand-in-hand with cognitive-analytics applications to help meet customers where they are. If 1,000 people hit your website at once, a single person—or even a whole team of people—is unlikely to push a personalized offer to each of them in the time they are on the site. A cognitive-analytics application can help you to push a personalized offer—or tailor the customer experience in other ways—to each of those users.

For instance, when the customers hit the website, a cognitive-analytics application can push the most appropriate banner ad for each user based on his or her past browsing histories. A human would need to drill down through more and more data to figure out which banner works best for each user. By the time he’d determined what was best for all 1,000 website visitors, those customers would be long gone. Cognitive analytics allows you to quickly parse that data, make a decision, and customize your customer experience—all at the drop of a hat.

This leads to increased cost savings as well as increased conversions. Like any strong analytics campaign, the goal is to better understand your customers to increase positive customer experiences and, thus, increase conversions.

We are at an exciting point in history in which we can see how man and machine are working together. Much like the industrial revolution changed the face of business, the partnership of man and machine will revolutionize how we currently do business. Cognitive analytics plays a major part in that process.

As self-driving cars and other automated processes continue to evolve, it’s important to remember that ma the partnership of man and machine will revolutionize how we currently do business. chines do not inherently have all of the information or all of the backgrounds that humans do. While they can definitely advance your agenda and campaigns, it’s important to start using cognitive analytics on the right campaigns while supplementing the findings and decisions with human intelligence as appropriate.