Applications of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is when computers and machines can do tasks that usually need human thinking, like learning, 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. They can find parts of the land that need water or food for plants. These tools also help spot when animals are upset, run farms automatically, and find sickness in plants. They even help decide the best times to water crops.

Architecture and design

Artificial intelligence helps computers do things that usually need a person's mind. This includes learning new information, solving puzzles, or making choices. People build these computer systems in many ways. Each way has 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 faster. In another study that same year, it helped people write things faster, too. 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 and chat with you about your project. These tools work inside the programs you already use, like code editors. However, code created by AI might not always be right. Using AI to write code can speed things up, but it can also cause delays when you need to fix mistakes.

AI is also being used to build other AI systems. 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 and easy-to-use interfaces with mice.

Customer service

Main article: Artificial intelligence in hiring

AI helps companies find workers by looking at job applications. It can also send quick messages to answer common questions.

AI also helps people who call or visit websites for help. It can talk to customers and give answers to questions like checking order status or cancelling orders. In hotels, AI can chat with guests and help with tasks.

Education

See also: AI in education and Computational education

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

Energy and environment

Artificial intelligence can help us use energy more wisely. It can guess how much energy we will need and when, which helps with things like charging electric cars. It can also understand data about weather and clean energy from the wind and sun.

AI is good at watching our planet. It helps track plastic pollution in the oceans using satellites. AI can also warn us early about big storms or times when there is not enough rain. Scientists use AI to study places where people need help.

Entertainment and media

Media

AI helps look at movies, TV shows, ads, and videos. It can find objects, faces, and scenes in pictures and videos. This helps find similar videos, describe videos for people who can’t see, check if content is right for everyone, turn speech into text, and find logos or famous people for ads.

Some tools can smooth motion, make images bigger, fix old photos, add color to pictures, and make art from words.

Deep-fakes

Deepfakes can be for fun but can also make fake news. They can show people in bad situations, which can hurt them. Laws try to help, but it’s hard to tell these fakes apart.

Video surveillance analysis and manipulated media detection

AI can find deepfake videos, which are videos made to look real but are not.

Video production

AI is used to make and change videos. Tools help create new videos or change old ones. For example, a studio used AI to make an entire movie, and others try to use AI to make ads faster.

Music

AI can write music in many styles. One famous AI, Emily Howell, made music. Another AI made the first full classical music album. Some AI writes music for movies, and others make music to help people relax.

Writing and reporting

AI can write news stories, reports, and other 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 words or other pictures. 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 use special computer systems to find unusual charges for human review. Banks started 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 spotting unusual patterns.

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

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

In the 1980s, AI began to be used more in finance. One early system could predict 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 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 tests like CT scans to find health problems early. It can also help decide the right amount of medicine for patients, which saves money and improves treatments. AI studies health information to help diagnose diseases, like cancer, and choose the best treatments for each person.

Doctors use AI to watch over patients and help during surgeries. AI can also learn to spot problems in the eyes or skin, just like a doctor would. AI is being tested to help find new medicines and learn more about genes.

Workplace health and safety

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

AI can make work easier by doing 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 prevent 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 new uses for old medicines. It can also 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 helps change spoken words from one language to another. This makes it easier for people who speak different languages to understand each other, especially in business and when different cultures meet.

AI can translate both spoken words and written text automatically. Tools like Microsoft Translator, Google Translate, and DeepL Translator use AI for this. Scientists are also trying to understand and translate how animals communicate.

Meaning comes from the words and 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 way used math rules to guess the best translation. The newer way 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 over large groups of people. In 2019, Bengaluru, India used AI to manage traffic. Cameras checked how busy the roads were and changed traffic lights to keep traffic 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 better. It can also be used with tools that check water quality at home, helping 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 help get more oil and gas.

Mathematics

AI tools help us check math problems. They turn problems into steps that computers can follow.

Some smart computer programs, like one made by Google DeepMind called FunSearch, find new ways to solve tricky math puzzles. They help 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. These tasks include multiplying grids of numbers and organizing things.

Military

Main article: Military applications of artificial intelligence

Many countries use artificial intelligence to help with tasks for the military. This includes gathering and understanding information, planning supplies, working online, sharing messages, and controlling vehicles that can move by themselves or with some help from people.

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

Internet and e-commerce

Main article: Marketing and artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence helps computers make smart choices. It can decide which posts to show you on social media and help companies choose what products to offer. 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 who sent it and what it contains. This helps protect people from scams.

AI is used to recognize faces in photos and videos. Phones like Apple’s iPhone use this to unlock your device. Some places use it for 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 gave advice on how artificial intelligence can help and challenge scientific research.

Benefits of artificial intelligence in research include making work faster, doing tasks automatically, and sharing science 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 finding 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 use smart computer programs to make their systems safer. These programs can learn and think in new ways to find problems.

AI helps protect computers in several ways:

• Network protection: Smart programs can find new kinds of attacks that no one knew about 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 useful for businesses but need careful setup.

Transportation and logistics

Aviation

Artificial intelligence helps in aviation by predicting when planes need repairs. This helps avoid delays. Big companies like Boeing and Airbus use AI to improve repairs while keeping planes flying.

Automotive and public transit

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

Driving can be very complicated, so 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. 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

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.

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.