Artificial intelligence could help call centers answer calls, make clerical work more efficient, and help executives make decisions. Startups and businesses around Fort Worth and North Texas are already using the technology.
As AI expands its reach, so do concerns about unemployment, piracy and plagiarism. However, while the technology has evolved, the use of AI is not entirely new. Receive suggested responses as you type your email or utilize our auto-responder service when calling our hotline. A handful of companies in North Texas are working to improve their technology.
Some local startups that have been in the AI industry for years are getting more investment as the technology improves. Others are jumping on the bandwagon, too.
SmartAction, a Fort Worth company, has been developing robo answering machines and text chat for 12 years. Roadside assistance company AAA and shoe store DSW use SmartAction phone or text bots to guide customers to the right place. In May, he raised $38 million in the latest funding round to grow SmartAction’s conversational AI platform.
The company has two primary investors from private equity, West Coast-based TVC Capital and East Coast-based Staley Capital. SmartAction CEO Kyle Johnson said the resurgence in popularity and interest in AI contributed to the funding.
“They saw what we were doing and this resurgence of AI, which is very important in the market today, as a great opportunity to double the initial investment,” said Johnson. rice field. “So I think it’s pretty important.”
Johnson said the funds will be used to strengthen the technology and expand the market team. Over the years, AI’s ability to understand language has improved dramatically, he said. The company is working on improving the response speed and making the robot’s voice sound more realistic.
Since the launch of ChatGPT, there has been widespread concern that AI tools will steal jobs. One Goldman Sachs estimate says 300 million jobs could be affected worldwide. Mr Johnson takes a different position. Instead of taking jobs away from humans, AI will make room for employees to focus on more complex tasks, he said.
“If you’re a caller, inbound sales or service agent, there are parts of your job that you don’t enjoy because they’re boring, mundane, repetitive and routine.” He said. . “These are the kinds of things you can do with a platform like SmartAction.”
Bill Ratliff, vice president of operations at online travel agency Priceline Partner Solutions, said SmartAction’s AI has helped the company avoid up to 15,000 calls a month that its agents would otherwise have had to answer. said it was saving money on
“It’s mostly about industry standards,” says Ratliff.
Kay Yut Chen, professor of information systems and operations management at the University of Texas at Arlington, believes call centers are already a common way companies are using AI. Mr. Chen has worked in Silicon Valley for 20 years and is working with a company to leverage AI in their business. There are two other ways companies can use AI, he said.
AI has been around for decades, but now has more computing power, Chen said. AI has traditionally been used to recognize patterns, such as image recognition and data analysis. AI is now even more powerful and works just like the human brain. It can recognize more complex patterns. For example, ChatGPT-3 has 175 billion parameters, equivalent to neurons in the human brain.
Chen said AI tools could help executives make decisions. Executives often use data science his team to create reports to help them make business decisions, such as how to spend money within a budget. Once the data science team produces reports, that’s where ChatGPT comes into play, Chen said.
“Executives can always ask about (data) and summarize it through language modules like ChatGPT,” Chen said. “To make the communication process … more effective.”
A third use of AI is to simplify office work and make tasks like writing and copyediting more efficient. Chen clarified that ChatGPT is not creative and cannot create something that has not been read before.
“Can ChatGPT be a great novelist like John Grisham?” I don’t know, maybe tomorrow, maybe never,” Chen said. “But at least if you’re John Grisham and you have a great idea, it will help you get the job done more efficiently.”
Jim Boswell, founder and CEO of Flower Mound-based OnPoint Healthcare Partners, uses ChatGPT-4 to outline patient visits that must pass legal, financial, and clinical tests. I am transcribing a clinical memo.
OnPoint provides doctors with cell phones with an encrypted app that listens to conversations and transcribes them into notes. You also have the option of having it checked for accuracy by a team of doctors afterward. Boswell believes the healthcare industry will be more cautious about accepting AI tools like his, but he hasn’t ruled them out entirely.
“They will use it as a good resource to help eliminate and drive out administrative processes like the one we have,” Boswell said. “But I think they will remain cautious until they calm down. The risk of making a mistake is very low.”
Seth Bodin is a business and economic development reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact seth.bodine@fortworthreport.org and follow us on Twitter. @sbodine120.
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