[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]Artificial Intelligence can be vital in banking as well, businesses in other sectors such as retail have started to adopt emerging and disruptive technologies into their practices, however the banking industry seems to be lagging behind.
With the paradigm shift in regards to delivering optimized services, incorporating chatbots in mobile apps is an emerging technological trend that brings sophistication and engagement to the table. It comes to no surprise that in this generation influenced by technology, chatbots has made great strides towards utility.
How can chatbots take on the role as a bank teller and as an advisor/role of Artificial Intelligence in banking?
Primarily, they can be capitalized through the interaction with customers pertaining transactions, money management, and financial assistance. As chatbots are also notable for problem solving, they also have the ability to sort out predicaments to bank related issues.
As a potential banking solution, chatbots can be highly engaging in a way that can assist users with their finances highlighted through beneficial ways:
Implementing 24/7 availability, chatbots can readily respond to financial inquiries such as guidelines on how to apply for insurance, how to invest money, and how to pay off bills. In terms of insurance, chatbots can provide several options that are best suited for a user’s coverage needs.
Notifies users about their spending habits and provides effective guidelines on how to save money. Financial chatbots also monitors their expenses for a better understanding about a user’s financial status.
Enables users to sign up for insurance plans as well as setting up a savings account.
Automates budget plans so users can manage their money more efficiently.
Displays transaction history and allows users to initiate money transactions. When transferring money, chatbots will be implemented with a protocol that ensures state-of-the-art security measures.
Provides educational content that could help users reach better financial decisions.
Delivers effective problem solving skills by providing solutions to common issues such as a missing debit/credit card, unexplained fee payments, or fraud. Financial chatbots can develop an ability to cancel any transactions, therefore giving back the money you deserve.
How modern banking will utilize AI/chatbots
Chatbots in the financial sector requires more attention to keep the margin of error zero. The risks are much higher as people’s money is at stake. Furthermore, AI powered app development companies should focus on creating chatbots with a solid infrastructure with emphasis on user experience to efficiently meet the user’s’ needs.
The financial market never sleeps. With the addition of Artificial Intelligence in banking industry, institutions will seamlessly provide enriched service to their customers.
With 6 global offices including New York, TheAppLabb can help you incorporate chatbots into your mobile app today. Contact us at info@theapplabb.com for more information.
Any process that requires human intervention will see process improvements with the use of artificial intelligence (AI). It’s not meant to replace humans but to minimize inefficiencies and redundancies. It shouldn’t be viewed as dehumanizing, but a tool to assist with advancement.
It’s natural to be fearful of the unknown. Anytime in history where automation and/or technology was introduced, there’s always the nay-sayers who followed.
With every new advancement, such as the washing machine, dishwasher, vacuum, it has enabled humans to enjoy a higher standard of life – reducing the time spent on tasks that otherwise would take an entire day.
A great example of machine advancement took place in 1714. Henry Mill, patented the typewriter calling it “an artificial machine…”! The typewriter enabled business communications to evolve – it increased the pace of information from one department to another.
The workplace changed. Businesses invested in people – Typist in particular. With a great Typist you were able to get more information out to stakeholders, departments and customers, than with the written word.
A typed letter was easy to read and it didn’t depend on a Writer’s penmanship. Beautiful handwriting is an art – however not very effective for mass communications.
The evolution of a personal computer with the power of a word processor, soon outpaced the typewriter – Spell Check minimized human errors. Computing power transformed the way people worked forever!
Fast forward and artificial intelligence is embarking on the same revolution. The advancement of smartphones has pushed the boundaries of information sharing and data consumption and creation.
Out of all the data in the world, It’s crazy to think that 90% of data was only created two years ago. Our data output is approximately, 2.5 quintillion bytes a day. That’s equivalent to going around the Earth 5 times!
A computer program would have a hard time to keep up with all this data! That’s why the adoption of artificial intelligence has started to go mainstream.
Why are companies turning to AI instead of the traditional software?
A computer program needs a Programmer to tell it, if, and, what to do…
The software is dependent on the development skill of the mobile app developer. In contrast with deep learning, it takes away the dependancy. The AI algorithm analyzes a user’s interactions.
As the artificial intelligence robot becomes smarter, it personalizes the right type of content for the user. It makes finding information easier – minimizing time spent on search. AI is a tool to optimize inefficient processes.
AI in Media
In media, AI is used for personalization. If you use Netflix and/or YouTube for video streaming you’ve experienced it. Content is personalized based on your viewing habits, preferences, etc.
AI isn’t just providing a personalized experience for subscribers. On the backend, artificial intelligence is able to minimize editing and production time.
With the massive amounts of data out on the World Wide Web, unstructured content such as video is nearly impossible to find – unless someone has manually meta tagged and wrote the descriptions for each video.
Now with video captioning, descriptions must also be written for every frame.
AI for Media automates this task. Through the use of facial recognition, sentiment, groupings and genres it categories the video efficiently – with natural language processing (NLP) it transcribes the spoken word from each frame to written word.
By having every frame tagged and with proper descriptions, it’ll enable the content to be found on search engines more readily.
Cognitive/artificial intelligence can also help with getting content on the screens faster. What an audience views as a 90 minute movie, would of taken a studio months of planning and work – writing, storyboarding, filming, editing, testing and revising.
AI can shorten editing and testing times. With deep learning, the AI engine understands an audience’s sentiment and it can restructure the storyline in the right sequences to make it more enjoyable. It doesn’t mean that an Editor or a Writer isn’t needed anymore. If anything, it’ll free them up to work for other projects.
AI for Pharma Research
AI can benefit the research field. Artificial intelligence for Pharma can help maximize research dollars. When it comes to drug discovery, it can take years of research, resources and clinical trials. All this can result in nothing.
AI gives pharmaceutical companies an advantage – the race against time! Instead of looking at a pile of needles in a haystack (for a cure), an AI engine can hone in on specific needles – the ones with the highest probability of becoming a cure.
AI can cut down research time – by eliminating the need to spread their research dollars across areas. It can focus it’s research dollars on specific areas with the intent to optimize a drug’s time to market and lower costs for drug discovery.
Conversational Chatbots
AI is already interacting with us in our daily lives on social media and with chatbots. Chatbots can be through messaging interface or voice such as with Google Duplex.
A conversation bot can be so natural. It understands inflections and even the right pauses and tempo.
Many would say it’s unethical and even deceptive. But in a digital age where consumers expect everything at their fingertips, the only way to provide that level of service requires augmented assistance.
Whether you like or not, artificial intelligence is here to stay. For humans to control it, we need to set tight parameters of what it can do. Unleashing too much power to a machine or even a human can cause negative implications.
You wouldn’t give a new driver, keys to a Lamborghini and hope that he/she drives within the speed limit. Ahh…that’s not going to happen?!?! They’ll be flooring the gas pedal! Just like you wouldn’t unleash an artificial intelligent bot to do as it wishes.
A good example of a bot going off the rails, is in 2016 with Microsoft’s Tay AI. In just half a day it was taught by Twitter users to become offensive and vulgar. When a bot has no filters or parameters, things can go amok.
Just like a child, a parent’s moral compass must be instilled into the next generation – with a good foundation and strong principals. This will mitigate future risks if someone attempts to compromise them.
Since bots eat what they’re fed, it’s vital that Cognitive/Artificial Intelligence Developers be impartial – not to instil their opinions or judgements on the machine. The goal is to use AI to help humans not to hinder them.
As long as humans use data (based on IDC’s research it will continue to grow), artificial intelligence robots will be around to help make sense of it!
Written By: Colleen Rodericks[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Businesses CAN’T afford to have disengaged employees! According to Gallup, a disengaged employee costs a company 34% of their total annual salary. On aggregate 17.2% of a workforce is disengaged.
Since the Dotcom boom of the 90’s, companies have been trying to obtain high standards of employee satisfaction through: company perks, wellness incentives and even subsidized food plans to satisfy the foodies.
Has any of these strategies really helped with employee engagement? How do organizations get their employees engaged and find their swagger?
Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is very tied to the MAGIC of the company. To capture the magic, employees must have five key elements to help them become successful.
In the MAGIC of Employee Engagement white paper from our app development company in Canada, it’ll will break down each element and map out the benefits of each one.
Written By: Colleen Rodericks[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
There’s a lot of terms being thrown around in the market – artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, chatbots and with all the confusion, people are having a hard time understanding the differences. Here’s a 101 on chatbots and the top common misconceptions people have of them!
What’s the Difference?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) was developed in the 1960’s with the vision to have computers solve tasks.
Natural Language Processing (NLP) is the layer that communicates between computers and humans – think of it as a Google Translator for computer to human communication. It needs to understand the nuances and context of human speech and the written word.
Machine Learning (ML) is a algorithm that uses NLP to figure out how to use the data and put it into action. For instance, if you’re a smart watch user, you can use your watch to automate several tasks. It can count your footsteps so you don’t need to record the amount of physical activity you did in one day and set your alarm clock so you’re never late for work. Pair your watch with smart appliances, now your bathroom floors are heated to the right temperature before you jump in the shower and your coffee is brewing and ready for you. Taking data and automating tasks in the real world to provide results!
Deep Learning (DL) takes it one level down. It does more then just automating tasks. It’s actually building a brain or neutral networks, to learn and improve on itself. Take the self-driving car for example, with the use of sensors and analytics it is able to learn the obstacles on the road and make intelligent decisions to keep the passengers safe.
Where do Chatbots Fit In?
Chatbot is the messenger interface/platform for human to computer interactions. Depending on the type of chatbot, it can have AI working in the background or not.
A basic rule based chatbot can answer questions based on the parameters that are set, such as what time are you opened, does your restaurant use nuts, etc. If the FAQs haven’t been scripted into the rule based chatbot then the bot wouldn’t provide a definitive answer.
A contextual based chatbot, uses AI in the background to understand what the user is asking – the chatbot is able to understand if, and, or, but, questions so it can handle complex tasks.
Common Misconception of Chatbots
During a launch your chatbot must be perfect.
No your chatbot doesn’t need to know everything under the sun. You can teach it to learn and incorporate more data to your bot over time. However, it should be able to answer the top 10 question you get regularly.
Chatbots will replace apps.
No chatbots won’t replace apps. Businesses today need both tools. The chatbot provides a text based interactions whereas an app provides visual content.
Chatbots can run on any messenger app.
Yes you can run your bot on any messenger app that is suitable for your business, however it must be preconfigured for each platform. In essence if you’re looking for a chatbot for Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc, you would need a bot built for each version.
Chatbots will replace humans.
No not that soon! Chatbots are there to supplement and augment your staff coverage. It’s next to impossible to have 24/7 coverage. You may have an auto-response set up for after hour customer inquires. However the auto-responses are limited in functionality – it may not provide a relevant response and it could turn your customers off! A chatbot will provide a relevant answer based on the question it received. But in no way, will it replace human-to-human interaction.
Chatbots are not synonymous with AI and vice versa. Chatbots is a messenger platform for your customers to contact you. It can be used for lead capture, for answering FAQs, and/or be sophisticated enough, to make recommendations (provided that AI is working the background). It’s a technology investment that can give you a quick ROI. If you’re looking to replace a basic auto-responder with more sophisticated technology, then consider using a chatbot. Learn how the Toronto app developers at TheAppLabb can help you with your chatbots.
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]Whenever a traveler is looking for an inexpensive ticket, a decent place to stay or searching for popular tourist attractions, the researching process can be time-consuming and tedious. Oftentimes, travellers encounter hindrances such as unmet travel essentials, safety concerns, flight delays, and anything in between.
By introducing chatbots in mobile apps to the travel industry, they can take on the role as a convenient guide. Ultimately, travel bots can improve the company outlook by delivering automated responses and performing everyday tasks. Additionally, they can handle a bombardment of phone calls pertaining to booking arrangements or travel inquiries. Travel bots can deliver optimal results for not only airlines but for hotel companies by tackling these demands:
How Can a Travel Chatbot Deliver Optimal Results?
● Meets the needs of the traveller in terms of e-booking the ticket, searching and comparing fares, and viewing confirmation of the ticket purchase.
● Being able to save searches pertaining to round-trips, one-way, or multi-city.
● The ability to view flight details including flight fare, flight duration, departure and arrival time, as well as in-flight experiences.
● Show comparisons of airlines, flight duration, and price.
● Integrate payment and confirming the payment.
● Accommodate travelers with hotel bookings and room pricing which add on the enriching experience of a travelbot.
● Offers multilingual language for international travellers, therefore removing the barriers between the user and the interface. This feature will allow hotels and airlines communicate travellers in a clear and efficient manner.
● Provides answers to frequently asked questions such as facilities, permitting pets in hotel rooms, or vacancy.
2 online travel agencies that are already implementing chatbots:
Expedia.com recently created its Facebook Messenger bot. The bot is designed to search and book hotels for travelers. Customers just enter their destination, travel dates and the number of nights. The bot then provides five possible options which all can be viewed inside the Facebook Messenger app. Users can then choose and confirm their booking all in the Messenger app.
Skyscanner like Expedia also has a Facebook Messenger bot. The bot is programmed to search and book flights. Customers enter their start point and destination and are provided with the cheapest fares available. From there travelers can click on the one they want to confirm, and will be taken out of Messenger and into the Skyscanner site to complete their booking.
Online travel agencies have now become the standard of the travel industry. Travel agents are slowly diminishing as customers have access to more information than ever before. However, many customers still prefer the human interaction and someone to talk to if they have questions or concerns. Now, chatbots can provide that service for which online travel agencies have been lacking by providing help similar to a travel agent’s and still reducing costs by actually having these agents on payroll.
The travel industry will be undergoing a major shift in customer experience with the introduction of chatbots. But with the help existing messaging app platforms, Airlines and travel agencies will be able to reach out to more customers and provide an exquisite user experience.
TheAppLabb‘s white-label platform TheTravelApp is an ideal solution for travel agencies. As leaders of innovation and technology, we are here to help you maximize your business!
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]What is better than a quick and hassle-free service with just a tap? Utilizing chatbots in e-commercebusinesses can unlock many possibilities with a promise of an optimized experience! Technology has the power to not only engage consumers but can also help grow a business significantly. A chatbot fits in the puzzle towards an increase of sales as well as convenience.
Benefits of Implementing a Chatbot
The ability to deliver answers and manage issues promptly, therefore improving customer service and the overall outlook of the company.
Re-engage customers with up-to-date promotions and product launch notifications
Promote 24/7 availability that welcomes all consumers throughout the day, forming meaningful relationships.
Tailor to a consumer’s needs and services by being unique to anyone.
Guarantee customer satisfaction with an automated order process.
Companies are recommended to implement chatbots if they have yet to. In fact, in 2016, Microsoft created a chatbot developer tool that provides support programmers to create bots for their current apps. Likewise, Facebook is providing toolkits for developers to create chatbots with automated features such as structured messaging, call-to-action prompts, and URL links, all in hopes to improve the relationship between ecommerce and chatbots.
Consumers hoping to receive information and updates from the store while shopping is becoming more common. Luckily chatbots can provide this feature as they are integrated directly into the channels where customers shop, ultimately improving their experience as shopping time is reduced. Businesses also benefit as they save time searching for a customer care representative, leading to an increase in ROI as costs reduce.
Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence is still an emerging technology but pressure is on for e-commerce businesses. If they do not start implementing and finding methods to improve customer experiences on their sales channels, their customers will move somewhere else. Therefore, taking into consideration the benefits of implementing chatbots, businesses should start looking into applying this into their sales channels.
Through our R&D division – InnovationLabb, our mobile app development company in Canada builds solutions with emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, IOT, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Blockchain. Emerging technology is the current trend and it’s time for you and your business to get on board!
