Conversational AI is Here to Stay and it’s Going to Transform the Way we Work

New technology has emerged rapidly within the past 20 years to completely transform the way we work. Workforces are more efficient than ever before, thanks to technology reducing costs and the time spent on tasks. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being deemed as the next big innovation for the workplace, so what actually is Conversational AI and how can it benefit businesses?

What is Conversational AI?

Conversational AI consists of a set of technologies, such as Natural Language Understanding (NLU), Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) to offer human-like interactions. Not only recognising speech, Conversational AI’s have the ability to understand intent, which means you don’t have to follow a script or stick to certain terms when interacting, instead you can speak freely, as you would with another human.

Automation is Being More Widely Accepted by Workforces

According to the Gartner, Inc. 2019 CIO Survey, the number of enterprises implementing AI grew 270% within 4 years and tripled in just that year. This shows that automation is being more widely accepted as businesses continue to adapt to digital transformation. 

As voice technology gets smarter, its ability to improve workplace operations is becoming apparent. It has moved beyond primitive transcription tools and chatbots, to develop advanced natural language capabilities that recognise normal speech and can be used for many use cases, including filling out forms, logging issues and completing tasks. Let’s take a deeper dive into what this looks like in practise. 

Smarter, Faster, Cheaper 

Being able to simply speak into a device rather than manually filling forms or completing a site inspection is extremely time saving, plus it’s safer for the worker and provides a more detailed and accurate log. How often have we seen forms completed with a lack of detail or enough information to resolve the issue at hand? By talking as they go, the worker can document everything they see, in real time. Not only does it increase productivity by capturing information in a fraction of time, but it also allows inputting more detail when it’s through speaking, as they don’t need to stop what they’re doing to write something down, or worry about freeing up their hands.

Conversational AI’s are also smart enough to recognise if further action is needed. For example, if a worker reports a problem and assigns it to a colleague or department, this will be automatically included on the form based on the voice input given. The scenario below provides more detail.

Scenario: Matt is a Facilities Manager doing an inspection of the heating and water in a new office block. He notices an issue with one of the taps in the kitchen. 

Solution: Matt uses a Conversational AI powered app to record the issue with the tap and advises a plumber needs to visit the site by the end of the week. The app recognises the description of the problem, the timeframe for the work that needs to be done and that a plumber is needed. 

By providing the problem, who needs to fix it and details of when, the issue can be easily escalated to the right person, rather than waiting for forms to be returned, or phone calls to be made to organise repairs. 

As well as understanding and breaking down the user's input, the system is also smart enough to recognise if a key piece of information is missing. For example, if a user says “there’s a leaking tap”, the Conversational AI will recognise there’s a problem with the tap, but since there’s no information given regarding the location of the issue, the system can prompt the user to provide more information, all in an interactive way.

Introducing Wluper’s TrueUnderstanding™ API

Wluper’s TrueUnderstanding™ API gives you access to powerful voice and language understanding technology on any device. Using advanced NLU, we allow users to speak more naturally than ever before. No scripts or patterns, simply speak as you normally would and our voice-based technology will understand. 

You don’t need to be a tech wizard to use our API. With just a couple lines of code you have access to powerful voice and language understanding technology that can be used on any device. We understand deploying bespoke and large-scale NLU models is hard, expensive, and time-consuming. That’s why we take care of this for you, so you can focus on rolling out quickly and easily.‍

Learn more about our TrueUnderstanding™ API or book a live demo to see Wluper in action.

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