Applications of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is the ability of computers and machines to do tasks that usually need human thinking, like learning new things, solving problems, and making choices. Artificial intelligence is used in many places, both in businesses and schools.

One important part of artificial intelligence is called machine learning. Machine learning helps computers get better at jobs like understanding languages, recognizing pictures, making decisions, checking how good someone is at paying back money, and helping people buy things online. Language translation, image recognition, decision-making, credit scoring, and e-commerce are just a few examples of how this works.

Recently, there have been big steps forward in a new kind of artificial intelligence called generative artificial intelligence. Generative artificial intelligence can create things like writing, pictures, and videos by learning from lots of information. This kind of technology is changing how we use computers in many different ways.

Agriculture

See also: Precision agriculture and Digital agriculture

In farming, smart computers help farmers find parts of their land that need water, food for plants, or special treatments to grow more crops. These tools also help recognize when animals are upset, run farms automatically, spot sickness in plants, and decide the best times to water crops.

Architecture and design

Artificial intelligence is about making computers do things that usually need a person's mind, like learning new information, solving puzzles, or making choices. People build these computer systems in many ways, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. These different designs help computers understand and work with data in many useful ways.

Business

See also: § Services

A study from 2023 showed that a type of artificial intelligence called generative AI helped workers in call centers do their jobs 15% faster. In another study that same year, it helped people write things up to 40% faster. However, a review in August 2025 found that most companies did not see more money coming in just by using AI. An article from September 2025 explained that using AI does not always make work better or help companies earn more money. It can sometimes create work that looks good but does not really help finish tasks properly.

In health services over the internet, AI is helping create big business ideas with just a few workers. One example is a company that helps people lose weight, which had only two workers but made a lot of money each year.

Computer science

AI can help make writing computer programs easier. It can suggest lines of code as you type, chat with you about your project, and even create tests to check if the program works. These tools work inside the programs you already use, like code editors and special workspaces for programmers. However, code created by AI might not always be right or efficient. Using AI to write code can speed things up, but it can also cause delays when you need to fix mistakes. It’s important to be careful because AI learns from many different examples of code, some of which might not be very good.

AI is also being used to build other AI systems. For example, in 2017, Google used AI to design a new kind of system that is very good at recognizing images.

Researchers working with AI have created many important tools used in computer science today. These tools include ways to share computer time among many users, easy-to-use interfaces with mice, special programming styles, and methods for organizing data and solving problems.

Customer service

Main article: Artificial intelligence in hiring

AI helps companies find and choose workers by looking at job applications and guessing who might do well in a job. It can also send quick messages to answer common questions. However, some AI can treat people unfairly, favoring some groups over others.

AI also helps people who call or visit websites for help. It can talk to customers, understand when they are upset, and give answers to questions like checking order status or cancelling orders. In hotels, AI can chat with guests, help with tasks, and guess what guests might need.

Education

See also: AI in education and Computational education

In schools, smart computer tools help with everyday jobs like checking who's present and giving grades. These tools also watch how students are learning and can help teachers notice when a student needs extra support. This way, students who are struggling can get help faster.

Energy and environment

Artificial intelligence can help manage energy better. It can predict how much energy we will need and when, helping plan things like charging electric cars. It can also help make sense of data about weather and renewable energy sources like wind and sun power.

AI is also useful for watching the environment. It helps track things like plastic pollution in our oceans using satellites. AI can also give early warnings about natural disasters, like big storms or droughts, by spotting signs before they happen. Researchers are also using AI to study areas where people are struggling with poverty.

Entertainment and media

Media

AI helps analyze movies, TV shows, ads, and videos made by people. It uses special tools to recognize objects, faces, and scenes in images and videos. This can help find similar content, describe videos for those who can't see, check if content is suitable, turn speech into text, and even find logos or famous people for advertising.

Some tools include motion smoothing, image scaling, restoring old photos, colorizing pictures, and creating art from text descriptions.

Deep-fakes

Deepfakes can be used for fun but are also known for creating fake news and tricks. They can show people in bad situations, which can hurt their reputation and feelings. Laws try to help, but it’s hard to prove these fakes.

Video surveillance analysis and manipulated media detection

AI can find deepfake videos, which are fake videos made to look real.

Video production

AI is now used to make and change videos. Tools help create new videos or change old ones. For example, a studio used AI to make a full movie, and others are trying AI to make ads quickly.

Music

AI can write music in many styles. One famous AI, Emily Howell, became well known for creating music. Another AI made the first full classical music album. Some AI helps write music for movies, and others create music to help relax.

Writing and reporting

AI can write news stories, reports, and even stories. It can turn numbers into stories about sports or money. Some companies use AI to write articles automatically, like for sports games or school football scores.

Wikipedia

AI isn’t usually used to edit Wikipedia, but many AI tools learn from Wikipedia’s articles. Researchers are trying to use AI to find old information, spot mistakes, and help new editors.

Video games

In video games, AI helps control characters that are not players and decides where they should go. AI has also been used to beat top players in games like chess and Go.

Visual images

AI can create art, like drawings and paintings, from text or other images. Some tools can change pictures to show products in new places or copy famous artists’ styles.

Computer animation

In 2023, some people did not like when a company used AI to make background pictures for a show.

Finance

Financial institutions have used special computer systems to find unusual charges or claims for human review. Banks began using AI in 1987 to stop unauthorized use of debit cards.

Banks use AI to help with bookkeeping, investing, and property management. AI can work even when the bank is closed. It helps catch fraud by looking for unusual patterns in behavior.

Large banks use AI to help make investment decisions. For example, BlackRock uses an AI tool called Aladdin to read news and social media and understand how people feel about different companies. Other banks use special tools to learn about customers and suggest the best products for them.

AI also helps with checking loan applications and reviewing financial records continuously. This can make audits safer and faster.

In the 1980s, AI began to be used more in finance. One early system could predict big changes in stock market prices. Another helped people create personal financial plans.

In the European Union, new rules make sure that AI tools used in finance are safe and clear. These tools must follow certain guidelines to protect people’s information and allow humans to check decisions.

Health

Healthcare

Main article: Artificial intelligence in healthcare

AI helps doctors by looking at things like CT scans and heart tests to spot health problems early. It can also help figure out the right amount of medicine for patients, saving money and making treatments better. AI can study lots of health information to help diagnose diseases, like cancer, and even pick the best treatments for each person.

Doctors use AI to watch over patients who might get sick and to help during surgeries. AI can also learn from past information to spot problems in the eyes or skin, just like a doctor would. There are many ways AI is being tested to help in hospitals, like finding new medicines and learning more about genes.

Workplace health and safety

Main article: Workplace impact of artificial intelligence § Health and safety applications

AI can make work easier by handling simple tasks, like answering phone calls, so people don’t get too tired. It can also help spot when workers might be getting too tired to avoid accidents. AI can help plan safer ways to do jobs and make it easier to handle emergencies.

Biochemistry

Machine learning helps create new medicines and find ways to use old medicines in new ways. It can even help plan how to make these medicines. AI has been used to understand how proteins, which are important parts of our bodies, are shaped. This helps scientists learn more about diseases and find new treatments.

Language processing

Language translation

Main article: Machine translation

Speech translation technology tries to change spoken words from one language into another. This can help people who speak different languages understand each other better, especially in business and when cultures meet.

AI is used to automatically translate both spoken words and written text in tools like Microsoft Translator, Google Translate, and DeepL Translator. Scientists are also working on projects to understand and translate animal communication.

Meaning comes from not just the words themselves, but also how and where they are used (see semantics and pragmatics). There are two main ways to do machine translation: statistical machine translation and neural machine translations. The older method used math rules to guess the best translation. Now, a newer method uses flexible rules that look at the situation to give better translations.

Law and government

Government

Main article: Artificial intelligence in government

AI facial recognition systems help governments watch large groups of people. In 2019, Bengaluru, India used AI to manage traffic. Cameras watched how busy the roads were and changed traffic lights to keep things moving smoothly.

Law

Main article: Legal informatics § Artificial intelligence

Legal analysis

AI helps people who work in law. It can do some jobs that new lawyers used to do, like searching through lots of information. But it won’t replace most lawyers anytime soon.

The electronic discovery field uses AI to make searching easier and faster.

Law enforcement and legal proceedings

Law enforcement uses facial recognition systems (FRS) to find people who may have done something wrong. These systems are often more accurate than people looking at pictures, especially when the pictures aren’t very clear.

COMPAS is a tool used by U.S. courts to guess how likely someone is to do something wrong again in the future.

One worry is that AI can sometimes make mistakes because of algorithmic bias. This means the AI might treat people differently based on things like their background.

In 2019, the city of Hangzhou, China started using AI in a special court to solve problems about buying and selling things online and protecting ideas. People join the court meetings online, and AI helps decide what’s fair based on the facts. ^{: 124   : 124}

Manufacturing

Main articles: Artificial intelligence in industry and Artificial intelligence in heavy industry

Artificial intelligence helps machines in factories work smarter. It can be used with tools that test water quality at home, making it easier to keep water safe.

In the past, AI was used in fun toys like Tamagotchis, Giga Pets, and Furby. These toys could learn and respond like real pets. Today, companies like Mattel make toys that can talk, understand what you say, and learn from you.

AI is also used in oil and gas companies to make work easier, predict when machines might break, and get more oil and gas.

Mathematics

AI tools help us check math problems by turning them into special steps that computers can understand and test.

Some smart computer programs, like one made by Google DeepMind called FunSearch, look for ways to solve tricky math puzzles. They have helped with problems about arranging things and packing items online. Other AI programs, such as AlphaTensor, AlphaDev, and AlphaEvolve, search for better ways to do math tasks like multiplying grids of numbers and putting things in order.

Military

Main article: Military applications of artificial intelligence

Many countries are using artificial intelligence to help with military tasks. This includes collecting and understanding information, planning supplies, working in cyberspace, sharing messages, and controlling vehicles that can operate on their own or with some help from humans.

AI has helped in military actions in places like Iraq, Syria, Israel, and Ukraine.

Internet and e-commerce

Main article: Marketing and artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence helps computers make smart choices, like deciding what to show you online. It can pick which posts appear in your social media feeds and help companies decide what products to offer you. Some services, like Siri on Apple phones, use AI to understand and answer your questions.

AI can also help keep things safe online. It learns to spot unwanted messages and tricks that try to steal information. For example, it can tell if an email might be dangerous by looking at things like who sent it and what it contains. This helps protect people from scams.

AI is also used to recognize faces in photos and videos. Phones like Apple’s iPhone use this to unlock your device. Some places use it to help with security, but it’s important to use these tools carefully to protect everyone’s privacy.

Scientific research

Evidence of general impacts

In April 2024, the Scientific Advice Mechanism to the European Commission shared advice on how artificial intelligence can help and challenge scientific research.

Benefits of artificial intelligence in research include making research faster, automating tasks, and sharing scientific work more easily.

Challenges include making sure results are clear and reliable, avoiding mistakes, preventing misuse, and addressing concerns like misinformation and unfairness.

Archaeology, history and imaging of sites

Machine learning can help restore and organize old texts, making them easier to study. It can also help explore genetic history, such as discovering links between ancient and modern humans. Artificial intelligence can also examine archaeological objects without damaging them.

Physics

Deep learning systems can learn about physics from visual data, similar to how babies learn. Researchers have created algorithms that can predict how physical systems will behave based on video recordings. In the future, this might help discover new physical laws.

Materials science

In November 2023, researchers announced that an AI system called GNoME discovered over 2 million new materials. GNoME uses deep learning to explore possible material structures and confirm them with experiments. The data about these new materials is available to the public.

Reverse engineering

Machine learning is used to understand how things are made, such as recreating parts of materials or studying harmful software. It can also design new molecules and proteins for specific purposes, and model biological systems in ways humans can understand.

Astronomy, space activities and ufology

Artificial intelligence helps astronomers analyze large amounts of data. It can classify objects, predict solar activity, and identify new planets. AI is also used in space missions to make decisions and avoid space debris.

In the search for signs of other civilizations, machine learning helps identify unusual signals in data. Projects like SkyCAM-5 and the Galileo Project use AI to study unexplained objects in the sky. AI can also help identify molecules in the atmospheres of planets.

Chemistry and biology

Research explores how machine learning can improve chemistry. AI can design new proteins, predict properties of molecules, and explore chemical reactions. AI has also helped in understanding human biology, such as mapping gene activity. It is used in areas like synthetic biology, disease research, and creating new materials.

Security and surveillance

Cyber security

Cyber security companies are using smart computer programs to make their systems stronger. These programs can learn and think in new ways to spot problems.

AI helps protect computers in several ways:

• Network protection: Smart programs can find new types of attacks that were not known before.
• Endpoint protection: They can stop harmful software, like programs that lock your files, by learning what bad software usually does.
• Application security: AI can stop attacks that try to trick websites or overload them with too many requests.
• Suspect user behavior: Machine learning can notice when someone might be doing something wrong right as it happens.

Features like Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) and Extended Endpoint Detection and Response (XDR) are very helpful for businesses but need careful setup.

Transportation and logistics

Aviation

Artificial intelligence is being used more in aviation to help predict when planes need repairs. This helps avoid delays. Big companies like Boeing and Airbus use AI to make repairs better while keeping planes flying.

Automotive and public transit

Main articles: Vehicular automation, Self-driving car, and Smart traffic light

Because driving can be very complicated, AI systems are often trained using computer games instead of real roads. These AI systems can control things like braking, changing lanes, avoiding crashes, and finding routes.

Some self-driving cars don’t even have steering wheels or pedals because they don’t need a human driver.

There are test versions of self-driving public transport, like trains, small electric buses, and delivery robots.

Self-driving trucks are being tested. In 2018, the UK government allowed tests with groups of self-driving trucks driving close together. A German company, Daimler, is testing its Freightliner Inspiration truck.

AI also helps manage traffic better, which can make waiting times shorter, use less energy, and pollute less.

Military

Airplane training programs use AI to create practice situations for pilots. This lets pilots practice without risking real planes or themselves. AI can also control drones, which can fly alone or in groups.

There are systems that help mechanics fix airplane engines by giving advice and checking for problems.

Voice commands let traffic controllers talk to drones.

AI programs help airplane designers create new plane ideas by handling the complicated steps of design.

NASA

In 2003, NASA made software that could help damaged airplanes keep flying safely until they could land. The software used the parts of the plane that were still working.

In 2016, NASA created a smart autopilot system that learned by watching how pilots control airplanes and then used that knowledge to fly itself.

Maritime

Ships and boats use AI to understand their surroundings. There are also boats that can sail without a human captain.