AI in Interior Design – From the Common to the Uncommon
Artificial intelligence in interior design has become a fact of life. In other words, AI applications are a common tool for designing and creating virtual and augmented reality experiences for clients, allowing them to visualize their space before any physical work is done.
Less common is the use of AI among designers to tackle the day-to-day minutiae of running their business. Despite the broad use of such applications among the business community at large, it is uncommon for designers and dealers to employ AI-based solutions for more mundane tasks that devour so much time and effort from a business owner.
From payroll to client follow-up and even from client acquisition to forecasting to help plan for the future, artificial intelligence administration applications enable a designer to spend more time working with clients, and even more time to… design beautiful spaces.
How AI can Help Small Business Owners
A September article at FurnitureToday.com states, “The furniture industry has gotten on board with A.I. and its content-creating subset, generative A.I.”
Further, they declare, “Whether retailers are deploying virtual reality technology to show how home furnishings will look within a room, adding chatbots to their online customer service applications, using A.I. for business forecasting and data analysis, or using it to write copy for press releases or product descriptions on their websites, interest has been growing.”
And, clever people that they are, they inquired of the free-to-use AI-generated chatbot ChatGPT itself to explain to them what the future of AI will look like for the furniture and design industries:
Advanced AR/VR experiences: Future applications could include more immersive AR/VR experiences, allowing customers to virtually rearrange furniture in their spaces or explore entire room designs.
AI-powered design assistance: Retailers could offer A.I. tools that help customers design their spaces by suggesting furniture layouts, color schemes, and complementary items.
Sentiment analysis: A.I. could analyze customer reviews and feedback to gauge sentiment and identify areas for product improvement or customer service enhancement.
Smart showrooms: Physical stores could incorporate A.I. to create smart showrooms, where A.I.-powered devices interact with customers, provide information, and even simulate different lighting conditions.
Sustainability and material sourcing: AI could be used to trace the origin of materials, assess their sustainability, and provide customers with detailed information about the environmental impact of products.
Emotional A.I.: A.I. could be used to understand customers’ emotional responses to different designs, helping retailers create emotionally resonant marketing and product strategies.
Predictive maintenance for furniture: A.I. could be used to predict when furniture items might need maintenance or replacement based on usage patterns and material degradation.
Collaborative design platforms: AI-driven platforms could facilitate collaboration between customers, designers, and retailers, enabling real-time design modifications and adjustments.
Automated personal shopping assistants: A.I.-powered virtual assistants could help customers navigate through the purchasing process, offering personalized recommendations and facilitating the buying journey.
Interactive in-store experiences: Physical stores could use A.I. to create interactive displays and experiences that engage and educate customers about furniture features, materials, and design options.
Does anyone else think that list is a little intimidating?
Using AI is Inevitable
Granted, We may have seen a few too many sci-fi movies but, asking an AI-generated app what the future looks like for AI-generated apps sounds a bit creepy to us. Seems like they’re just asking the darned bot to take control of things from them. (Have these folks never seen 2001 A Space Odyssey?)
Seriously, the burdens that can be lifted from a business owner’s shoulders are almost too numerous to count. And, it’s only going to grow: “Few segments [of the economy and business] are growing at the rate of the artificial intelligence market. What was estimated to be a $140 billion industry in 2022 is expected to grow to nearly $2 trillion by 2030, according to Next Move Strategy Consulting.”
(After reading this, you may want to watch something like “White Christmas” before bed tonight so you can avoid dreams of various artificial intelligences attacking you.)
Ted remains available for business consulting to the trade and as a potential guide for the use of AI in design as well as for furniture dealers. (Unfortunately, he has yet to learn dream therapy.) But, if you’d like to chat with him about your design business nightmares, simply… Contact TD Fall today.