Does Your Business Need an AI App? 21 Questions to Ask Before Investing in a New Project

5 areas that may impact project success

Did you know that the AI sector generated as much as $1.8 billion in 2023? And this is just the beginning – it is estimated that by 2028 this amount could increase to as much as $12.8 billion, as Business of Apps says in the AI App Report.

Such numbers look promising, so it’s no wonder that artificial intelligence is a topic that many entrepreneurs are currently interested in.

However, simply using AI is not the key to success. Enthusiasm for AI and the pressure to create innovative solutions sometimes make us forget the goals for which we develop apps.

The implementation of a new solution requires analyzing the situation from various perspectives: business, users, market, technology, and budget.

Within each of these areas, it is worth asking yourself a few questions that facilitate making decisions about the development of AI features in apps (both existing ones and apps whose vision is still in the making).

Workshops with the development team

While you can try to answer all the questions presented here on your own, a better solution would be to discuss them with the development team during UX workshops. Specialists will help you gather and analyze information, without which it is difficult to answer the most important questions.

They will also be able to immediately ask clarifying questions, ones that will be specific to your project.

Especially the part concerning technology is difficult to carry out without the involvement of software developers. Knowing which features you care about, they can formulate questions more precisely to determine what additional information or data is necessary for the project’s implementation.

Business

First, take a look at the situation in your company or institution. This will allow you to understand better the context in which the business operates. In theory, this information should also be the easiest to obtain.

Here are some example questions within this area:

• What business goals do we want to achieve with the app? How are we doing this now (if the app is already running)?

The answer will help determine what the app is needed for in the first place and what kind of features will be essential. It’s best to give detailed answers. They allow for a more precise outline of the expectations for the product. They also enable developing an app vision that brings tangible benefits to the company.

• How can the use of AI translate into improving these goals, increasing success metrics, or key results?

This refers to the metrics defined in KPIs or the results indicated in OKRs. They show whether the actions taken by the company are yielding the expected results.

For example, if a key result for the business is to increase the number of orders by 30% within a month of the app’s release, it’s worth considering how AI could help with this. What features or mechanisms would be significant in such a process?

Example answer: AI-powered personalization of the offer can increase product interest, which should translate into a higher number of orders.

• If artificial intelligence was beyond our reach, how else could these goals be achieved?

Here, you can initially think about alternative solutions and consider other features that also have the potential to bring the desired results. This issue can also be developed later, during the competitor analysis.

Analysis with the team

To best answer the questions related to business benefits, consult the product vision and goals with your team. Find out what challenges they face, learn about the tasks they are working on, and what they expect from the mobile app. It is worth checking what OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) have been set to get the most accurate picture of the situation.

Target users

The next area concerns the people who will use the app. Their satisfaction with the product determines whether the business goals will be achieved.

• Who are the target users? What is their attitude towards AI?

If you think your app is “for everyone,” I have bad news. You need more details. Even if theoretically everyone can use your services, the mobile app should be tailored to the specific needs of the most important target groups.

Therefore, you need to know, for example, what problems they face, what lifestyle they lead, what motivates them to take specific actions, etc. This will help determine the app’s unique value proposition and select functionalities that meet users’ expectations.

It is also worth finding out if the target group uses AI-powered solutions on a daily basis and if they aren’t reluctant to try out tools based on AI.

• What problem do we want to help them solve? What needs should our product meet?

Knowing the users’ problems, you can determine which of them the app could solve.

For example, suppose you have an app for booking services of plumbers, electricians, and other people who repair home installations, and the users’ problem is contacting service providers who do not speak English. In that case, a solution could be automatically translating messages into the app’s language.

• What experiences need improvement?

Sometimes the task is not to add new features but to improve existing ones. Perhaps you have feedback from surveys or comments about your app, and you know that there are processes that do not work as expected.

For example, you see in Google Analytics 4 that users rarely tap the suggested products. After conducting several usability tests with customers, you determined that they seldom consider these suggestions interesting. It may be a signal that the recommendation system needs changes.

• How can AI help us with this? Is there something AI can offer that cannot be done differently?

It’s worth focusing not on AI but on the effect you want to achieve. For example, if the product or service recommendation system is poor, you may want to improve it so that it considers the user’s purchase history, preferences, or searches.

You can then consult this idea with software developers who will suggest how it can be implemented and whether AI is necessary.

Competition and market situation

No app functions in a vacuum, even if it’s based on an original concept.

Knowing the competition’s solutions will allow you to understand what your app will compete with for users’ attention.

Thanks to this, you will also better understand the standards in app design in your industry and find inspiration for app features.

Competitor analysis

To thoroughly understand the competitive landscape, conduct a competitor analysis. Determine which apps target similar audiences or offer products from the same category.

Then, identify key areas you will analyze in each app, such as the unique value proposition or UX design. AI solutions can be a separate category.

It is also worth checking industry reports to learn additional information, such as how companies evaluate the implementation of AI in their apps and what experts predict about the impact of artificial intelligence on the industry’s development.

Questions

With the results of the competitor analysis at hand, try to answer the following questions.

• What does the competition offer in the context of AI that would also suit our target audience?

Thanks to competitor analysis, you may discover that some AI solutions are becoming standard in your industry. You will also probably come across some innovative features.

In the case of the former, you must consider whether your users will also soon expect them. As for innovations, think about whether you can draw inspiration from them to develop features tailored to your target groups. It’s not about copying others’ solutions but finding your unique way to use AI.

• What solutions (not just AI-powered ones) will give us a market advantage?

With a full picture of what users need, what they expect, and what others offer, you can brainstorm ideas for features that have potential from both a business and a target audience perspective. Group your ideas and take a close look at those that relate to artificial intelligence.

• What are the chances that AI will allow us to stand out?

When you know the market situation, you are more likely to determine whether your app vision with AI-powered features has a chance of success. Consider whether new ideas will allow you to achieve the goals set earlier, when discussing the business.

Technology

Knowing what resources are needed to create the solutions you and your team have marked as worth implementing is essential. You must also find out how long their development might take.

• Do we have the data and other resources to implement the solutions we are interested in? If not, how can we obtain them?

The software developers who will be building the app can advise you on what resources you need. Your job will be to contact specialists within your company and determine if these resources are available.

The goal is to evaluate the current situation and determine what needs to be done to enable the development of an app with the selected features.

A software developer should help you identify the technical challenges in this project and suggest how to deal with them, taking into account different levels of project complexity and available tools.

It may also be necessary to bring another company into the project or a new person with the specified skills.

• How complex is the implementation of AI in the app?

If no software developer was involved in brainstorming feature ideas, you first need to determine if implementing the selected features is even feasible.

Then, a specialist should analyze how long it will take to build such solutions and how difficult it will be. With this knowledge, you can decide whether it is worth undertaking.

• Can we limit the scope of implementation while still offering value to users?

Sometimes, you can simplify certain features or limit their capabilities to publish the app faster and give users scaled-down solutions to help them achieve their goals on a basic level.

Although this is not always possible, you can consider how you think the selected features can be limited so that the app could fulfill its purpose and offer something unique.

The people involved in the project from the technical side will undoubtedly have many more questions. However, the above examples provide a good start and will allow you to understand better what is needed to create an app with AI-powered features.

Budget and implementation costs

How much will it cost to build the app or implement a new feature? It is a question for a software development company. However, before you ask it, it’s best to get a good understanding of the budget allocation in your company. Take both short-term and long-term perspectives into account.

• What budget can we allocate to the app project within a set period (e.g., over the next 8 months or a year)?

The goal is to define specific timeframes. In the short term, this question concerns app development or the implementation of features. However, you can’t overlook the long-term costs associated with maintaining the app and AI features. Mind that unforeseen expenses may arise, which you should be prepare for.

• How important is it for us to implement the AI feature, and can we add it later in the project?

Mobile apps can be developed in iterations, so you can gradually add more advanced, time-consuming, and costly features. Such an approach allows for the spreading of expenses over time and the verification of the effectiveness of individual solutions. It is worth considering when the cost of AI implementation turns out to be too high in the project’s initial phase.

• In the long term, how high can savings or revenues be from implementing AI?

This question encourages you to think about the expected return on investment (ROI) and estimate the project’s profitability.

Risks: What to watch out for?

You can add a subcategory related to risk for each of the above categories. Even though the specific questions will depend on the type of app and features, some issues remain universal, such as:

• Do we understand how AI works and its limitations in the context of the problem we want to solve?
• Is our understanding of users based mainly on intuition, or do we have data that indicates their interest in the solutions we want to introduce?
• Can we ensure data security, and does our solution not violate user privacy?
• How can we protect ourselves if the introduction of AI will not significantly improve financial results?
• Do our solutions not raise ethical concerns, and are they legal?

It is worth consulting some of these questions with legal regulation specialists and software developers who will explain how they intend to protect data and what they will require from your team in this regard.

Summary

It’s no wonder that companies feel pressure to introduce AI-based solutions.

However, remember that the decision to use AI should stem from user needs. It should also be verified whether the new solution has the potential to support the development of your business in a measurable way. Much also depends on what kind of app you want and in what form you plan to use artificial intelligence.

The questions provided are just examples, but they are a good starting point if you are thinking about creating an app and considering the use of AI.

Do you think artificial intelligence could be a good step for your business? Consult it with our experts. We will be happy to help you develop an action plan for your app.