(Photo courtesy of Pepsi/Getty Images)
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These are new case studies on how large companies are implementing AI within their companies. Many of these applications will be introduced to small and medium-sized businesses in the not-too-distant future.
This week in small business technology news
Small Business Technology News #1 – World Economic Forum study shows the use of AI in global research.
The World Economic Forum’s MINDS (Meaningful, Intelligent, Novel and Deployable Solutions) program focuses on companies that are successfully incorporating AI into real-world systems, not just prototypes, to deliver sustainability, resilience, efficiency and social impact. This article presents insights from the second cohort of MINDS (the first will be announced in 2025) and examples of AI applications that are already producing measurable results in areas such as environment, health and well-being, and industry and infrastructure. Several examples are cited, including the China National Power Grid Corporation, which uses AI to manage Shanghai’s power grid. Companies that have successfully implemented AI share the following characteristics across cohorts: Responsible scaling, employee empowerment, and measurable impact. (Source: World Economic Forum)
Why this is important for small businesses:
Interesting use cases from companies around the world that are putting AI to work. An example is a Chinese company that used AI-powered electrochemical modeling to automate electric vehicle battery design, significantly reducing data operations and prototyping cycles. Another is an American company implementing on-device AI to build controllers that learn and adjust settings, improving comfort while reducing energy use and emissions.
Small Business Technology News #2 – How PepsiCo is using AI to improve its operations.
PepsiCo has launched a multi-year partnership with Siemens and Nvidia to overhaul its global manufacturing and supply chain operations using AI and digital twin technology. The company is piloting the technology in some U.S. facilities and has plans to expand globally. According to the report, PepsiCo is creating high-fidelity virtual replicas of its factories and warehouses to simulate and test new setups and pinpoint operational issues before making adjustments to physical sites. The simulation is powered by Siemens’ Digital Twin Composer and Nvidia’s Omniverse platform, a tool for creating real-time 3D simulations. (Source: AI Magazine)
Why this is important for small businesses:
Imagine being able to simulate job sites, construction operations, manufacturing processes, and retail workflows. This type of AI implementation can have a lot of impact on small and medium-sized businesses as it can be replicated and reduce costs.
Small Business Technology News #3 – 15 more business use cases coming in 2026, including Netflix, Amazon, Tesla, and more
Product School, an AI training platform, has outlined 15 key real-world ways to apply AI to your business, providing examples and benefits from companies that are successfully leveraging AI. Areas explored include personalized customer experiences, safety management, workforce optimization, and more. For personalized experiences, AI tailors content, product recommendations, and services to individual customers based on data and behavior, increasing engagement and sales. Examples include virtual tools from Netflix, Amazon, and Sephora. AI is enhancing safety in the automotive and aviation industries. For example, Boeing uses AI to detect anomalies in aircraft sensors and analyze flight data to ensure aircraft are operating at the highest safety level. Tesla uses AI to monitor road conditions and driver behavior to enhance vehicle safety. (Source: Product School)
Why this is important for small businesses:
Many large companies have developed their own internal models for customer service, and that application is now beginning to narrow down to smaller organizations through popular applications such as Zendesk, Service Now, and Salesforce. If you’re wondering how AI could impact your company, a good place to start is by looking at customer service operations. There, new features can automate request completion, measure sentiment, and more.
Small Business Technology News #4 – 8 Ways Wells Fargo is Using AI.
DigitalDefynd shared detailed observations on how the banking industry is adopting AI. Focusing on Wells Fargo, we looked at eight areas where AI is being integrated not only into customer-facing tools, but also internal workflows, risk management, compliance, and governance. (Source: DigitalDefynd Education)
Why this is important for small businesses:
According to the article, Wells Fargo is strategically leveraging AI to increase efficiency, improve customer experience, strengthen security, and ensure ethical and compliant use of advanced technology. We leveraged AI to improve credit decisions, reduce bias, and expand access to credit. Virtual assistant “Fargo” assists with queries, transactions, and account information via chat/voice. The bank implemented AI governance with human oversight and explainability requirements to ensure ethical and transparent AI adoption.
Small Business Technology News #5 – 19 Examples of AI in banking.
Stephen Gossett talks more about AI and banking Built-in We list 19 examples of how artificial intelligence is being used in various financial institutions. An example is Capital One’s virtual assistant Eno, which allows customers to communicate via desktop, app, or text to ask questions and receive fraud alerts. Discover is partnered with Google Cloud, so users can access document summaries and request help resolving issues. AI has also enhanced banks’ security protection and ability to thwart fraud. California-based DataVisor is an AI-powered fraud and risk management platform that helps banks take pre-emptive action with algorithms that discover and counter fraud in applications and transactions. (Source: Internal)
Why this is important for small businesses:
Financial services companies are now turning to AI applications to better assist customers and reduce risk. These tools can help you do your job better, adding impact that your current staffing doesn’t.
Each week, we highlight five small business technology news stories and explain why they’re important to your business. If you have any interesting stories, please post them to my X account @genemarks.
