AI chatbots are a popular business tool for sales and marketing. You’ve already seen those pop-up windows on websites offering to help you place an order or get an answer to a customer service question. This type of specialized AI is an excellent way to boost productivity in sales, marketing and customer service. Today, AI chatbots are bringing speed and efficiency improvements to new areas including IT security.
The IT Security Productivity Challenge
Why should you consider implementing AI chatbots for IT security? The answer is simple. Your IT security department is stretched and overworked.
Let’s take a look at a day in the life of a modern IT security department. There is much work to be done. You might start the day by scanning the news for new zero-day vulnerabilities. Then you will look for new user access and identity change requests. Next, you head off to an IT project meeting where you are asked to provide an IT security perspective. As you attend meetings, more and more user requests for support pile up. If you have a spare minute, you might catch up on your professional reading about new security threats.
In the late afternoon, you head back to your desk and start to work through your email backlog. Half or more of the emails are requests from end users for security help. Some people have password problems. Others ask for help changing permissions and privileges for a newly hired employee. While these tasks are not exactly exciting, they are critical to maintaining robust IT security.
Introducing Narrowband AI Chatbots
There’s much hype in the marketplace about AI in the business world today. Some people are excited by the promise of machine learning. They see news articles about AI defeating world champions at intricate games like GO. Those developments show what the future may hold. However, those technologies are not ready for today’s business needs. If you want AI that can work with your users right now, use narrowband AI.
Specialized at handling certain tasks, narrowband AI strikes a balance between flexibility and specialization. With an IT security AI chatbot, you get a technology that is built for IT security. It is made to anticipate the most common IT security requests so you don’t have to worry about those issues. Now, what are some of the critical features and capabilities you should look for in a narrowband AI chatbot for security?
4 Key Features You Need In A Successful Narrowband AI Chatbot
As you look at the market for specialized IT security AI tools, there are a few features you need to consider. Let’s cover each one so that you can make a smart choice.
- No AI Expertise Is Required. Some AI tools require extensive and expensive configuration and programming. If such an effort is required, you should look for a different solution. True narrowband AI chatbot solutions are designed for non-AI specialists to implement.
- Convenience For End Users. Narrowband AI is meant to make life more comfortable for your end-users. Therefore, look for a solution that has the flexibility necessary to interact with your users as they see fit. For instance, look for an AI chatbot that can interact with users through their phones. Be skeptical of an AI tool that forces end users to learn a complicated new interface.
- Implementation Speed. In the past, you could make a case for taking six months or even two years to implement new technology. Such timelines are rarely acceptable in today’s world. When you look for an IT security narrowband AI chatbot, check how long it takes to fully implement it. The best solutions take a few weeks or less to introduce.
- Supported By Security Expertise. For a narrowband AI product to be effective, it needs a strong team behind it. In the case of an IT security chatbot, look for a robust IT security company to stand behind it. After all, IT security constantly sees the emergence of new threats – viruses, zero-day vulnerabilities, and well-resourced threat actors. Therefore, you need to work with a company that can build and update narrowband AI to keep up.
As you review these criteria, you may decide you need to develop a business case. The above selection criteria will help you create a shortlist of solutions. However, you also need to demonstrate the benefits to your senior management. Let’s take a closer look at the productivity benefits next.
How Your Productivity Will Improve After You Start Using Narrowband AI Chatbots
After you implement a narrowband AI chatbot like Apollo, you will start to see an immediate improvement in IT security productivity. Let’s look at the benefits from a short-term and long-term perspective.
The Short Term Boost To IT Security Productivity
In the first few weeks following implementation, your end-users will notice an immediate difference. They will no longer have to stay on hold for long periods for simple requests. No more coming back from vacation, forgetting your passwords, and then sitting on hold. Instead, you can get simple help right away.
This short-term improvement means your end users will complain less and may even start to sing the praises of IT. By delegating this type of necessary work to the AI chatbot, your IT security staff will have more free time. That means less overtime and stress for IT!
The Long Term Increase To IT Security Productivity
In the long run, your IT security productivity will yield significant improvements. Your IT security staff will no longer be “heads down” in the IT security trenches. With a narrowband AI chatbot handling routine tasks, you will be able to work on other projects. For instance, you could implement a single sign-on (SSO) software solution. With SSO, your users will no longer have to remember multiple passwords at work. Since users will only need one password, IT can then enforce a more complex password policy. Over time, implementing more security tools will systematize your security protection. The best part? You get that improved level of security protection without doubling the size of the IT security department.
