5 Challenges in Implementing AI in Mobile Apps

by Karl P. Mobile App Developer

Artificial Intelligence, popularly known as AI, is one of the few modern technologies which the companies throughout the world are excited about. The technology has the potential to completely transform how modern businesses operate across their functions, like customer service, finance, and marketing.

Just like any emerging technology, while AI has unlimited potential, it also has a few challenges. This clearly explains why according to an MIT survey, 85% of the business executives believe that AI will transform businesses but only around 20% of the businesses are using the technology in some way and only 5% of them are using it extensively.

Even when it comes to mobile app development, AI is seen as one of the ways through which businesses can offer something unique to their app users. However, there are only a few companies that are actually using the technology.

Why are businesses not implementing AI in their mobile apps? Seems like there are a few challenges in AI adoption for mobile app development. Here are some of them.

1. Concerns Related to the Cost of Integrating AI

While a major benefit of using AI in business is the ability of the technology to automate a host of mundane tasks, a major drawback of the same is the cost of integrating AI technology. As compared to standard apps which have the best of latest features, a mobile app with AI is comparatively costlier.

Not only this, companies would also have to implement upgrades on a frequent basis to keep up with the changing policies, business requirements, and trends. This will further increase the cost of having a mobile app.

Apart from the cost, the time spent on developing an AI app is an important concern too. A mobile application development company is required to put in way more efforts when building an AI app as compared to a non-AI app. With the hyper-competition that is spread across every business sector, time is everything. A business cannot wait for several months just to launch their mobile app.

2. Lack of AI Understanding

While AI has been around for some time now, most businesses do not understand the technology. AI-based apps have a dense framework with the apps using several technologies simultaneously to deliver the expected output. Artificial intelligence is a dynamic technology which innovates itself as people start using it. Due to this, most of the businesses find it difficult to understand how they can accept an AI model that is exclusive.

Business executives should at least understand the basics of the features that their mobile app offers. But with AI, this basic understanding of the technology is missing and thus, most of the businesses hesitate to use it even when they know that it has great potential.

While they can always hire mobile app development services to get themselves an AI app, they will not have any idea how the technology behind the app works. This can severely limit their ability to use their mobile app to its maximum advantage.

3. Limited Control

In the human body, the nerves feel when a muscle executes an action. However, it is the brain that controls both. This relation between the muscles, nerves, and the brain is very much similar to how businesses use technologies. Execution tasks, like the ones executed by the muscles, were the first to be automated with the help of automated operations and robots.

This was followed by the automation of internal marketing systems and feedback, things which work similar to the nerves. Sentiment and feedback analysis in real-time helped make this a possibility. Now, AI helps to automate the decision-making process, a job done by the brain. But while executives were very comfortable when automation helped them manage the activities of the nerves and the muscles, they are not yet ready to give up the power of controlling everything.

With AI, machines take their own decisions; and this takes away the decision-making power of the business executives. They still want to be at the top of the decision-making pyramid, making it an important reason for a lot of businesses to avoid implementing AI, especially in mobile app development.

4. Mechanical and Unimaginative

There is no denying the fact that AI in its current state is no match for the creativity and innovation of a human mind. This makes it highly disadvantageous for something as important as mobile app development where every app now needs to be creative and original to attract the maximum number of users and offer them something unique.

It is only a human mind that is equipped to deal with things like graphics, layouts, aesthetics, and other creative decisions. As the technology lacks human emotions and sensitivity, the only thing that they can do is take the ideas of the designers further. However, there first needs to be a human imagination on which the machines can work and make it better.

5. Collaboration Complexity

Developing a mobile app requires coordination of many different tasks. If AI was to handle the app, it’ll take many different AIs to work together in collaboration. While this might be possible theoretically, things are not as pleasant in reality. If there are multiple AIs in a mobile app, the app would be highly prone to failures as it’ll be very common for the different AIs to come across requests that they are not programmed to handle.

This can significantly affect the user experience of the app, which is an important influencer of success considered by any mobile application development company. In the absence of a great experience, users might end up deleting the app, given the fact that most AI apps consume a lot of memory. Not to forget the fact that this will also increase the cost of maintaining the app and will also make the future updates complex and time-consuming.

Conclusion

While AI is an exciting technology, it is still at a nascent stage for it to be implemented in mobile app development. The technology has improved by leaps and bounds with many of the biggest of companies like Google, IBM, Amazon, etc. involved in it, businesses are right with moving very cautiously with using AI in their mobile apps.

While there are AI-based mobile apps of a few brands already in the app stores, businesses should clearly understand the pros and cons of using the technology if they are planning to build a mobile app. Get in touch with a top app development company to understand how the technology works and how it can help your app to decide whether or not it is time for your mobile app to implement this technology.