Have you thought about using Artificial Intelligence in your business? How would you or do you use AI? Or, why don’t you apply AI?
Recently my boss suggested AI would be a great tool for a website project we’re tackling. Although I attended a good introductory seminar on using AI last fall, I didn’t jump at the opportunity to make this project my first attempt. This led me to wonder what others in our industry are doing about this very hot topic in their own realms. So I asked them.
In this column, adopted from the familiar “Heard on the Street” format, we offer our responders a chance to answer the question posed in the title. These are their replies reported verbatim.
Feared or Favored?
Honestly the AI scares me a bit. Probably a little PTSD from seeing the movie, 2001 Space Odyssey!!! Who doesn’t remember when HAL went rogue on Dave and takes over the space ship. So, yah I’m not really all in yet – lol. I will say the girl who does the Proctor Gas Newsletter for us (the Gasette) uses it from time to time. That’s as far as I’m ready to go just now.
Judy Taranovich
Proctor, Vermont
Salesforce is the CRM platform that we use, and their developers have been integrating AI for quite a while now. Whether or not AI has a place in the design and manufacturing of bobtails is yet to be seen, but we are always open to new ideas.
Jason Soulon
Shawnee, Kansas
YES! As a company rooted in technology, RCC does and will continue to integrate AI into our software offerings. We currently use predictive AI in our forecasting and dispatching software. We are also researching how to use generative AI in a few areas, including support, logistics, and data integrity. It’s a company-wide effort to stay up on technology and implement it when it’s helpful to our products.
Susan Peterson
Bird Island, Minnesota
Though Fairview has not used AI yet, a couple of my employees tried it out, with quite different results. Employee One, who has wonderful ideas but sometimes struggles to relay them via the written word, used AI to help create a presentation. I have to say, this worked out beautifully.
Employee Two used AI to complete their performance review. This did not go well.
When trying to determine the difference between their two approaches, I found out that Employee One continued to modify and reword the AI-generated presentation, whereas Employee Two cut and pasted their AI response into the performance review, without any reworking. I have told Employee One to continue working with AI where appropriate, and Employee Two – please stop. Lol
Leslie Woodward
Oakville, Ontario, CANADA
Yes, absolutely I would. As my software providers incorporate it into our programs it promises to help with real world problems like routing, demand forecasting and letter writing.
Did anything in my answer seem off to you? I had ChatGPT write my response.
Julie Johnson
Baldwin Park, California
I would absolutely use AI for forecasting. I would be interested to see how “accurate” AI would be in forecasting compared to how I usually do it. It seems like everyone is still out for that magic 8 ball that can predict the next 12 months of revenue exactly.
Sam Fung
McKinney, Texas
I feel like the overwhelming majority of us are already using AI. The shortened definition of AI is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. I grew up with a system where old shoeboxes sat in the passenger seat of the cab and held the degree day cards for each customer. I remember how the loud click, click, click from the degree day clock would echo off of the wood panel wall and how each morning we would give the salesmen the number of degree days that had passed from the day before over the radio. Every night that shoebox (remember how much duct tape was used to hold them together?) was brought into the office or the salesman’s kitchen table to update the deliveries made and determine when they should make the next delivery to their customer’s tank. Over years, we’ve transferred those hours of human intelligence work to degree day computer systems that have been doing the same thing for us more efficiently. If we flip the script, we could say that our industry is one of the early adapters of AI! Recently, I’ve found great value in using AI to summarize customer responses in surveys. It’s definitely a fun toy to play with! I can’t wait to read the other responses to find new ways to use it!
Tonya Crow
Bloomington, Illinois
I’m intrigued by the possibilities that AI presents for society and particularly for managing information and data. To be able to train a “personal assistant” to gather and catalog information from the internet in real time while notifying me of significant discoveries (based on my definition of “significant”) seems like it could be a game changer. One concern would be to make sure I am monitoring the impact AI is having on my overall health and well-being.
Bruce Swiecicki
National Propane Gas Association
Tinley Park, Illinois
I have just started using AI over the last couple of months, only because the younger people in our organization gave me some clear guidance and direction. I certainly am a newcomer, but by just asking some very basic questions it is clear to me that this will be a new tool that could revolutionize the way that we do business as well as a lot of different tasks. I learned this morning on a call with one of my customers that they are currently investigating using AI as a resource that will utilize cameras and photos to help with visual inspections for cylinders and underground tanks. I’m sure this is an excellent opportunity for the Propane Industry to utilize this new technology in many innovative ways. The Jetsons are finally here!
Jerry Schimmel
Cumberland, Rhode Island
We are in the exploration stage of determining where AI will be beneficial to our business as well as where we want to be cautious of potential consequences of using AI. The goal is to use AI to help with mundane or time-consuming tasks to allow our team to do work they find more fulfilling. We are excited to see what the future of AI is for our industry.
Lauren Clark
Toledo, Ohio
A better question would be: have I ever thought of going back to the rotary phone? That answer would be yes. Unfortunately, it will never happen. I guess the answering machine is artificial intelligence, so I believe the answer is yes. Is any computer artificial intelligence? If so, I am guilty of having it. Not the easiest question to answer, but I would rather talk to a person, rather than a robot.
Richard Strycharz, Jr.
Walter’s Propane
Sunderland, Massachusetts
Ready to take the plunge?
If you’re in the doubting school of thought, some of these responses may nudge you toward an AI trial. It kind of depends on the strength of your doubts. For those already experimenting and using AI, the results seem to be well worth the effort to learn a new technology. My understanding is that the key to successful AI implementation is to use specific prompts and inform AI as you would in talking to a person. AI will learn from its experience and continually improve over time. Perhaps the next Verbatim column will be AI generated…no way
This column was first published in Butane-Propane News in April 2024.