Beyond chatbots, AI is giving companies a major efficiency boost
The technology can facilitate workflows and save firms time
[LAS VEGAS] Companies’ uses of artificial intelligence (AI) are going beyond chatbots and into the areas of automation and agents.
For instance, since deploying agentic AI to respond to customer queries in real time, Japanese appliance manufacturer Rinnai Corporation has noted a 30 to 35 per cent improvement in efficiency.
“(This) is huge when you are talking about processing procedures that were predominantly driven by humans,” said Greg Pavlik, executive vice-president for AI and data management services at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
While all sectors are keen to use AI in some form or factor, regulated ones are more cautious, as AI adoption requires a balance between speed and trust. If too much emphasis is placed on one, the two qualities can diverge.
Therefore, businesses in regulated sectors such as finance and banking are utilising AI for internal processes first, before deploying it to external-facing operations.
Oracle customer Singlife is one of the organisations doing so – the insurer is using the technology internally, with the aim of rolling it out to external parties like its insurance agents, noted Chris Chelliah, senior vice-president of technology at Oracle Japan and Asia Pacific.
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Such AI deployment is “no longer a one-year, two-year, five-year proposition – it’s a weeks-to-months proposition”, he added.
Over in Japan, the Nomura Research Institute (NRI) – a consultancy that is part of the Nomura financial services group – has developed an AI platform specifically for financial institutions. It addresses issues that such organisations in the country face when AI models are based in different geographies.
The platform’s initial solutions centre around helping junior financial advisers reach out to clients and prepare for meetings with them. AI’s key use here is facilitating business workflows, allowing users to tap into the company’s client data and support.
Although launched just recently, the platform is already garnering customer interest. Ryota Yoda, a senior software engineer at NRI, noted: “We have started some proofs of concept with multiple clients.”
One of the biggest advantages of using AI is that it reduces the time needed to make decisions, said Ravi Simhambhatla, chief digital and innovation officer at car rental company Avis Budget Group.
The technology has shortened the duration between identifying an issue and addressing it in front of customers and employees. In other words, AI is giving time back to organisations – the most important commodity that no one can control.
“Imagine: something that took you five hours to do in a day now takes you less than two minutes,” Simhambhatla added.
Now, even customers are demanding that companies use AI – and firms need to move at their customers’ pace, said Ty Breland, executive vice-president of global operations services at Marriott International.
AI use at the hospitality group is targeted at simplifying the work of associates, as well as reducing costs and complexity for hotel owners.
But it is vital to understand that when it comes to AI use, it is the people doing the jobs who know best what kind of help they need from the technology.
“I don’t try to go to a hotel and tell them how to operate. I ask what we can do to help them because they know more about what they are doing than anyone else,” said Breland.
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