9 Practical Use Cases for AR in Business
What comes to mind when you think of Augmented Reality (AR)? A game? A virtual try-on booth? Perhaps a technical training simulation? In fact, all of these are correct, but AR is so much more than that!
Before making a purchase, customers can try out a product virtually, while engineers can simplify complex assembly tasks with AR-assisted instructions. In healthcare, AR helps locate veins, and in tourism, it can turn streets into maps or travel blogs. This technology offers tailored solutions for each sector and every need.
So, how is augmented reality being used across various industries? Let’s explore the most striking and innovative 9 use cases of AR in business!
Key Insights
Augmented reality is expanding the boundaries of the business world. From retail to manufacturing, education to healthcare, it provides unique solutions across every industry.
It’s redefining the customer experience. Virtual try-ons in online shopping, AR guides in physical stores, and interactive product reviews are now becoming the norm.
AR accelerates business processes and reduces error margins. Companies like Boeing and Thyssenkrupp use AR in technical training and maintenance to enhance efficiency.
AR is becoming a powerful tool to support decision-making. Virtual tours in real estate, advanced diagnostic methods in healthcare, and AR-assisted quality control in manufacturing are making a significant difference.
Pioneering brands are gaining a competitive edge with AR. Companies like IKEA, Sephora, and Google are integrating AR into their business models to increase customer loyalty.
AR will play a critical role in the future of business. As the technology evolves rapidly, it will continue to offer innovative solutions at both consumer and corporate levels.
9 Practical Use Cases for AR in Business
Now, it’s time to find technology-driven solutions to real-world challenges. Technological advancements are making AR marketing more flexible and cost-effective, allowing businesses to offer exceptional experiences to customers.
Let’s now take a closer look at the 9 Practical Use Cases for AR in Business, presented in a compact, fun, and easy-to-follow format to help you better understand the potential of AR!
1. Retail - Virtual Try-On and Personalized Experiences
Augmented reality is revolutionizing the retail sector and completely changing the shopping experience. Virtual try-ons allow customers to experience products before they physically visit a store. This makes a huge difference, especially in categories like furniture, clothing, and makeup. Customers can test products virtually to see how they look or how well they fit.
AR also enables personalized shopping experiences. Consumers receive tailored recommendations based on their preferences and needs, such as makeup products that match their skin tone or furniture that fits their rooms. These kinds of experiences offer shoppers more accurate and unique shopping journeys than ever before.
Brands that use this technology speed up consumers' decision-making processes while increasing in-store interaction, making shopping more enjoyable and efficient.
IKEA Place app allows users to place selected furniture virtually in their homes, making it easy to see which products fit best in their rooms.
Sephora's Virtual Artist app offers users the opportunity to try on makeup products virtually and provides recommendations based on their skin tones.
AR technology is also used in retail in the following ways:
- In-store navigation
- High-quality product visualization
- Interactive catalogs
- Virtual shopping assistants
2. Education - Interactive and Immersive Learning Experiences
Augmented reality holds the potential to revolutionize the education sector. It offers a far more interactive and comprehensive experience than traditional learning methods, helping students understand concepts better and gain deeper insights. AR allows learners to directly interact with course materials, making complex topics more understandable.
In subjects like science, history, and geography, AR helps students relate theoretical knowledge to the real world. For example, a student can virtually orbit a planet or "witness" a historical event, making the information more meaningful. Moreover, AR boosts student engagement and makes learning more fun and motivating.
Additionally, AR presents significant opportunities for teachers. With AR, teachers can make lessons more visually appealing and easier to understand. Virtual learning materials, real-time feedback, and interactive elements enhance the effectiveness of education.
Google Expeditions takes students on virtual tours of historical sites and scientific concepts, making the exploration of topics more interactive.
Labster provides virtual labs that offer students the opportunity to conduct experiments in subjects like chemistry and biology, simulating a real lab environment.
zSpace uses 3D educational materials to teach students anatomy and other scientific topics interactively in a virtual setting.
Additionally, AR technology can be used in the educational field in the following ways:
- Virtual laboratories
- Field trips and virtual tours
- Skill-based training
3. Marketing and Advertising - Interactive Ads
Augmented reality (AR) enables brands to create deeper connections with consumers in the marketing world. This technology generates much more interactive and original experiences compared to traditional advertising and marketing strategies. AR personalizes the customer experience, allowing brands to offer more value to their consumers.
Consumers can virtually try out products, receive personalized content, and even special offers. For example, a user could virtually try on clothing or place furniture in their living room. These types of applications not only accelerate purchase decisions but also help brands increase customer loyalty.
AR also allows brands to create attention-grabbing and memorable campaigns. It’s an effective tool to engage consumers in new and creative ways, helping brands gain more interaction and feedback by integrating both the physical and digital worlds.
Pepsi’s AR billboard campaign in New York allowed people to virtually "fight a monster" as they walked by, making the advertisement fun and engaging.
Vodafone's Elf and Seek campaign invited users to a game of catching virtual elves, offering both an entertaining AR experience and promoting brand loyalty.
Taco Bell’s AR Taco campaign enabled users to explore the food menu virtually, creating a fun shopping experience.
In marketing and advertising, AR technology can also be used in:
- Immersive brand experiences
- Advanced product visualization
4. Gaming - Realistic and Deep Gaming Experiences
AR is transforming the gaming industry by offering more realistic, interactive, and immersive experiences. Both mobile games and larger gaming platforms are utilizing AR to create an environment where players can fully lose themselves in virtual worlds, interacting without fully separating from the physical world. This makes gaming experiences much more profound and lifelike.
AR technology increases participation and real-time interaction in games, allowing players to experience virtual elements in the real world. For example, seeing game characters in real-world environments and developing new strategies while exploring the world creates both fun and engaging experiences.
Additionally, AR makes games more social. It enables interaction with friends and playing virtual games together in real life, combining both online and offline experiences.
Pokémon GO uses augmented reality to let players search for Pokémon characters in real-world settings, turning AR into a worldwide phenomenon.
Ingress, another AR-based game, directs players to form teams based on real-world maps and participate in virtual battles.
The Walking Dead: Our World offers a more immersive experience, blending the real world with AR as players hunt zombies.
AR in gaming can also be used for:
- Real-world integration
- Interactive and multiplayer experiences
5. Manufacturing - Improving Efficiency and Reducing Errors with AR
AR is becoming an essential tool in the manufacturing industry to boost efficiency and streamline production processes. It reduces errors in assembly and manufacturing, shortens training times, and accelerates completion rates by providing real-time guidance and support to workers.
With AR, operators can access real-time information, view step-by-step instructions, and minimize the risk of mistakes. This is especially helpful in complex assembly and maintenance processes, allowing the workforce to perform tasks correctly.
AR also supports remote assistance, enabling experts to solve problems quickly without being physically present, saving time and costs.
Boeing uses AR glasses to provide virtual guidance to assembly line operators, increasing production efficiency and reducing error rates.
Siemens uses AR to remotely address maintenance issues and machine failures, speeding up maintenance processes.
Porsche uses AR to provide instant instructions to assembly workers during car manufacturing, ensuring faster and more accurate production.
In manufacturing, AR technology can also be used for:
- Efficiency in quality control
- Warehouse operations optimization
- Collaborative work with virtual models
6. Healthcare - Diagnosing Diseases and Assisting in Surgery
AR is revolutionizing the healthcare industry, helping doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals make faster, more accurate diagnoses, develop treatment plans, and even conduct safer surgical procedures. By providing real-time data and virtual guidance, AR improves treatment processes and leads to more effective outcomes for patients.
In surgeries, AR allows doctors to virtually observe organs and body parts, helping to reduce errors and make the process safer. AR also enables medical students and new healthcare workers to practice with virtual patients and procedures, allowing them to apply theoretical knowledge effectively.
AccuVein uses AR technology to help healthcare workers visualize veins when they are difficult to see, making injections and IV placements more precise.
Microsoft HoloLens allows surgeons to visualize organs and body parts in virtual reality, providing better preparation for surgery.
Osso VR is an AR-based training platform that allows surgeons to practice on virtual patients, improving their skills by experiencing different procedures in a realistic environment.
AR in healthcare can also be used for:
- Interactive screens for patient-doctor communication
- Remote diagnosis
- Medical imaging visualization
7. Sports - Enhancing Training Performance and Fan Experience
AR is increasingly being used in the sports world to improve training processes and make the fan experience more exciting. Athletes can use AR technology to improve their skills, make training more efficient, and track their performance in real-time. AR also helps reduce injury risks and aids faster recovery.
AR is an excellent tool for providing real-time feedback during training, showing the correct form, and correcting technical errors. It also tracks biometric data, allowing athletes to assess their progress objectively. For fans, AR offers interactive experiences during live events, turning them from mere spectators to active participants.
Nike uses AR technology during athlete training to provide real-time feedback on speed, strength, and endurance, helping them improve performance.
Manchester City offers special AR experiences to fans in the stadium, allowing them to interact with virtual reflections of players and watch training details.
Red Bull uses AR in extreme sports events like mountain biking to display athlete performance data, offering fans a more interactive way to follow races.
In sports, AR can also be used for:
- Esports training simulations
- Sports analysis and visualization
8. Design and Architecture - Real-Time Project Review and Interactive Design
AR enhances the design and architecture fields by providing a better understanding of projects, speeding up creative processes, and collecting customer feedback more effectively. Designers and architects can use AR to view their projects in three-dimensional and real-time formats, making the design process more interactive and efficient.
In architecture, AR visualizes the placement and impact of projects in the intended space, allowing for better evaluation of project designs and quick adjustments before construction begins. AR also allows architects to test buildings in a virtual environment, ensuring more accurate design decisions.
Foster + Partners and Arup use AR to visualize designs in large projects, projecting virtual building designs onto construction sites for real-time review by workers and clients.
Trimble and Microsoft HoloLens allow architects and construction engineers to test projects on-site, spotting errors early in the project process.
Zaha Hadid Architects uses AR and VR technologies to present projects interactively, enabling faster and more effective customer feedback.
In design and architecture, AR can also be used for:
- On-site construction guidance
- Client presentations and collaboration
9. Defense and Aerospace - Training, Maintenance, and Operational Support
The defense and aerospace industries are using AR to improve operational efficiency, training, and maintenance. Especially for personnel working under challenging conditions, AR provides real-time data that speeds up operational decisions and reduces the margin for error.
In training, AR offers virtual scenarios where military and aviation personnel can practice and prepare for hazardous situations.
In maintenance and repair, AR helps technicians visualize the internal structures of devices and vehicles, enabling faster and more accurate interventions.
Boeing uses AR technology in aircraft maintenance, visualizing internal structures to assist technicians in performing accurate repairs.
Lockheed Martin uses AR in military training, allowing soldiers to practice in virtual combat scenarios.
General Electric uses AR glasses to visualize engine components during aircraft engine maintenance, speeding up processes and ensuring more efficient results.
Explore the Most Efficient AR Solutions for Your Business with artlabs
AR technology has the power to take your business to the next level! At Artlabs, we offer the most innovative and effective augmented reality solutions to bring your projects to life. Contact our professional team, and let’s embark on a fantastic journey together to explore the future today!
