Is Artificial Intelligence Worth the Hype?
First published in CSP September Issue.
Alan Meyer, CEO of convenience- store chain Mach 1 Stores, takes pride in being a progressive retailer who only expands the business when it makes sense. Another part of being progressive is embracing new technology, including the most buzzworthy software right now: artificial intelligence (AI).
“I always question the people that judge that it’s not for them without trying it,” he says. “To me, software as a service is what is going to allow us to compete as these consolidators continue to grow and build their own software and allow scale to swallow us whole.” He also points out that AI is only going to grow. “You’re going to want to get acclimated to it now, because eventually this is going to be the elephant in the room. If you want to turn a blind eye to it and say, ‘That’s not for me,’ your competitors are going to use it. There’s no doubt in my mind about that. I think it’s going to be an absolutely critical part of operational execution.”
