Born Digital Guide

Unlocking Business Potential with Born Digital's Generative & Conversational AI

Utilizing Born Digital's powerful hybrid capabilities in your organization

The Born Digital Platform is the industry-leading conversational AI platform which offers a unique blend of conversational AI, Generative AI, and other emerging technologies. The no-code platform provides a secure, scalable, and superior end-to-end solution to design, build, test, deploy and manage AI-powered virtual agents.

Download our guide to educate yourself on the details, including:

• Incorporating Large Language Models (LLMs) and Generative AI capabilities into your projects

 No-code Virtual Assistant development tools

 Multi-model NLU and Intelligence capabilities

 Comprehensive analytics dashboards that offers valuable metrics and insights

 Enterprise-grade integrations and security compliance

Trusted by leading companies worldwide

FAQs

Conversational AI revolves around leveraging technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing, and generative AI to facilitate automated yet engaging conversations between businesses and their customers, thereby enhancing user experience and operational efficiency.

In contrast to standard chatbots/voice bots that provide a simplistic and linear interaction based on basic Q&A, Born Digital’s conversational AI platform delivers bots that engage in human-like interactions, thanks to our cutting edge NLP technology and smooth integration with your business systems. Furthermore, we provide omni-channel solutions, incorporating analytics for chat, voice, email, and social media, enabling you to make data-driven process improvements and automations.

Apart from real time analytics of all customer conversations, our AI-driven solution offers call evaluation, monitoring of adherence to call scripts, identification of improvement opportunities, and transcription of calls including visualization and full text search. On top of that, our advanced analytics is easy to use and offers a customizable dashboard.

Thanks to our advanced analytics, you are able to reduce up to 30% of unnecessary customer interactions. On top of that, the NPS score can increase by 20% and the results from the analytics allows you to automate up to 53% of interactions.

Born Digital’s solution is multilingual, supporting all languages. This ensures that the knowledge base bot can respond accurately in the language of the customer’s request, and our analytics can analyze interactions in any language you choose.

Born Digital allows you to deploy across a wide range of channels. While our platform is inherently designed for chat, voice, and email, we can effortlessly integrate with other channels like Facebook, Whatsapp, iMessage, Viber, Microsoft Teams, etc. The possibilities are endless and are only limited by your use case and preferences.

Born Digital seamlessly integrates with contact center providers such as Cisco, Avaya, Vonage, and many others. On top of that, our platform allows integrations with digital messaging platforms (such as Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, iMessage, Viber and many others.) We have pre-built connectors for CRM and core systems like Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, Hubspot, SAP, and many others. Our extensive library of backend and channel connectors, along with a fast-developing extension network, ensures seamless and tailored integrations.

Yes, Born Digital allows the installation of our solution on-premise, albeit with some exceptions. Generally, we prefer deploying solutions on cloud platforms, primarily Microsoft Azure. However, we are cloud-agnostic and can run seamlessly across any cloud provider.

Digital Humans Predictions for 2024

Digital Humans Predictions for 2024

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In 2024, the boundaries between human and digital interactions continue to blur, with digital humans poised to take a central role in this transformative era. From enhancing customer service to revolutionizing marketing strategies, these virtual beings are not just figments of sci-fi imagination but are becoming integral to our daily digital experiences. This article delves into the top five predictions for digital humans in the forthcoming year, highlighting their potential impacts and the technological advancements propelling them.

Our Top 5 Predictions

1. Commercial Success and Brand Partnerships

Digital humans are expected to achieve unprecedented commercial success in 2024. Figures like Lil Miquela have already demonstrated the potential of digital influencers, having collaborated with high-profile brands and amassed millions of followers. This trend is anticipated to expand as more companies harness digital humans for marketing, customer engagement, and brand representation, driving substantial sales and fostering deeper customer relationships.

2. Integration with AI and Machine Learning

Digital humans are likely to become a key interface for interacting with sophisticated AI platforms, including large language models like ChatGPT. As AI becomes more advanced, these digital personas will provide a more natural and engaging way for users to interact with AI systems, enhancing user experience and efficiency across various applications.

3. Enhanced Role in AR and VR

Augmented and Virtual Reality technologies are set to become more embedded in our daily lives, with digital humans at the forefront of this evolution. These technologies will increasingly utilize AI-powered digital humans to create compelling, immersive experiences in sectors ranging from entertainment to education, thus broadening the scope and appeal of AR and VR applications.

4. Significant Roles in Metaverse and Web3

The metaverse and Web3 are set to offer fertile ground for the growth of digital humans. As these decentralized platforms develop, digital humans will likely be employed to offer more personalized and interactive experiences, contributing significantly to the metaverse’s evolution into a mainstream technology.

5. Multilingual Communication

Addressing the need for global communication, digital humans capable of speaking multiple languages will become more prevalent. For instance, a digital human in Amarillo, Texas, is set to support over 100 languages, vastly improving accessibility and inclusiveness in public services and beyond. This leap in multilingual capabilities could redefine global customer service standards.

Summary

In summary, 2024 looks to be a landmark year for digital humans, with significant advancements across various domains. These AI-powered entities are expected to not only enhance how we interact with digital content but also revolutionize customer service, marketing, and the burgeoning fields of AR, VR, and the metaverse. As technology progresses, digital humans will increasingly become embedded in our digital interactions, making them an indispensable part of the future landscape. Their evolution will likely continue to offer new opportunities for innovation and engagement in an increasingly digital world.

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Experience the power of Enterprise LLM by booking a custom demo today!

What’s new in the Digital Studio: May 2024 release​

What's new in the Digital Studio: May 2024 release

You can now create new nodes within intents!

We have introduced the ability to create new nodes directly in the ‘Answer’ node of intents, enhancing the user experience by providing a more straightforward workflow.

We've enhanced our Knowledge Base!

We’ve upgraded our knowledge base!  You can now edit, delete, or add new chunks in one dialog. 

Project Deletion and Associated Asset Removal

Deleting a project will also remove all connected assets. A new dialog box will confirm that the following related assets will be deleted:

• Knowledge base indexes

• Campaign data

• Announcement settings

Additional enhancements

Application Performance: Enhancements to the performance and logic of the Digital Studio now deliver greater efficiency.

Bug Fixes and Improvements: Model queries have been optimized for increased speed and efficiency.

Knowledge Base Indexer: Document descriptions are now limited to 1024 characters.

Campaign Reports in XLSX: You can now export campaign data directly to XLSX format from the campaign page.

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Experience the power of Enterprise LLM by booking a custom demo today!

Retrieval Augmented Generation: What you need to know

Retrieval Augmented Generation:
What you need to know

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What is Retrieval Augmented Generation?

Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) is an advanced AI framework crafted to refine the output of extensive language models by employing a blend of external and internal information during answer creation.

At its essence, RAG functions in two main phases: initially, it retrieves a selection of pertinent documents or sections from a large database using a retrieval system grounded in dense vector representations. These mechanisms, which encompass text-based semantic search models like Elastic search and numeric-based vector embeddings, facilitate efficient storage and retrieval of information from a vector database. For domain-specific language models, integrating domain-specific knowledge is pivotal in bolstering RAG’s retrieval precision, particularly in tailoring it to various tasks and addressing highly specific questions amidst a dynamic context, differentiating between open-domain and closed-domain settings to enhance security and dependability.

Following the retrieval of relevant information, RAG integrates this data, encompassing proprietary content such as emails, corporate documents, and customer feedback, to generate responses. This amalgamation empowers RAG to yield highly accurate and contextually pertinent answers customized to specific organizational requirements, ensuring real-time updates are incorporated.

For instance, if an employee seeks information on current remote work guidelines, RAG can access the most recent company policies and protocols to furnish a clear, succinct, and up-to-date response.

By circumventing the cut-off-date constraint of conventional models, RAG not only heightens the precision and reliability of generative AI but also unlocks opportunities for leveraging real-time and proprietary data. This positions RAG as an essential system for businesses striving to uphold high standards of information accuracy and relevance in their AI-driven interactions.

Limitations of Traditional NLG Models and the Advantages of RAG

Traditional NLG models rely heavily on predefined patterns or templates, using algorithms and linguistic rules to convert data into readable content. While these models are advanced, they struggle to dynamically retrieve specific information from large datasets, especially in knowledge-intensive NLP tasks needing up-to-date, specialized knowledge. They often give generic responses, hindering their effectiveness in answering conversational queries accurately. In contrast, RAG integrates advanced retrieval mechanisms, leading to more accurate, context-aware outputs.

RAG’s grounded answering, backed by existing knowledge, reduces the high rate of hallucination and misinformation seen in other NLG models. Traditional LLMs rely on often outdated training data, resulting in answers lacking timeliness and relevance. RAG tackles these issues by enriching answer generation with recent, factual data, serving as a robust search tool for both internal and external information. It seamlessly integrates with generative AI, enhancing conversational experiences, especially in handling complex queries requiring current and accurate information. This makes RAG invaluable in advanced natural language processing, particularly for knowledge-intensive tasks.

Overcoming LLM Challenges via Retrieval-Augmented Generation

LLMs possess remarkable and continually advancing capabilities, showcasing tangible benefits such as increased productivity, reduced operational costs, and expanded revenue opportunities.

The effectiveness of LLMs can be largely credited to the transformer model, a recent innovation in AI highlighted in a seminal research paper authored by Google and University of Toronto researchers in 2017.

The introduction of fine-tuning LLMs and the transformer model marked a significant advancement in natural language processing. Unlike traditional sequential processing, this model allowed for parallel language data handling, significantly boosting efficiency, further enhanced by advanced hardware like GPUs.

However, the transformer model faced challenges regarding the timeliness of its output due to specific cut-off dates for training data, leading to a lack of the most current information.

Moreover, the transformer model’s reliance on complex probability calculations sometimes results in inaccurate responses known as hallucination, where content generated is misleading despite appearing convincing.

Substantial research endeavors have aimed to address these challenges, with RAG emerging as a popular enterprise solution. It not only enhances LLM performance but also offers a cost-effective approach.

Key Benefits of Retrieval-Augmented Generation

With the capacity to retrieve and integrate relevant information, RAG models produce more accurate and informative responses compared to traditional NLG models. This ensures that the information retrieval component of generated content is dependable and trustworthy, enhancing the overall user experience.

By offering source links alongside generated answers, users can trace the origin of information utilized by RAG. This transparency enables users to validate the accuracy of provided information and contextualize answers based on the sources provided. Such transparency fosters trust and reliability, enhancing user confidence in the AI system’s ability to deliver credible and accurate information.

RAG models excel in delivering responses finely tuned to the conversation’s context or user queries. Leveraging vast datasets, RAG can generate responses tailored precisely to user-specific needs and interests.

RAG models offer personalized responses based on user preferences, past interactions, and historical data. This heightened level of personalization delivers a more engaging and customized user experience, resulting in increased satisfaction and loyalty. Personalization methods may include access control or inputting user details to tailor responses accordingly.

By automating information retrieval processes, RAG models streamline tasks, reducing the time and effort required to locate relevant information. This efficiency enhancement enables users to access needed information more promptly and effectively, leading to decreased computational and financial expenditures. Additionally, users benefit from receiving answers tailored to their queries with relevant information, rather than mere documents containing content.

Use Cases of RAG

Interactive Communication:

RAG significantly enhances AI virtual assistant applications such as chatbots, virtual assistants, and customer support systems by utilizing a structured knowledge library to provide precise and contextually relevant responses. This advancement has revolutionized conversational interfaces, which historically lacked conversationality and accuracy. RAG-enabled systems in AI customer support offer detailed and context-specific answers, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and reduced workload for human support teams.

Specialized Content Generation:

In media and creative writing, RAG supports more interactive and dynamic content generation, suitable for articles, reports, summaries, and creative writing endeavors. Leveraging vast datasets and knowledge retrieval capabilities, RAG ensures content is not only information-rich but also tailored to specific needs and preferences, mitigating the risk of misinformation.

Professional Services (Healthcare, Legal, and Finance):

– Healthcare: RAG enhances large language models in healthcare, facilitating medical professionals’ access to the latest research, drug information, and clinical guidelines, thereby improving decision-making and patient care.

– Legal and Compliance: RAG assists legal professionals in efficiently retrieving case files, precedents, and regulatory documents, ensuring that legal advice remains up-to-date and compliant.

– Finance and Banking: RAG boosts the performance of generative AI in banking for customer service and advisory functions by offering real-time, data-driven insights such as market trend analysis and personalized investment advice.

Summary

Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) marks a transformative leap in natural language generation, blending robust retrieval mechanisms with augmented prompt generation techniques. This integration empowers RAG to fetch timely and pertinent information, including proprietary data, resulting in contextually precise responses tailored to user needs. With such capabilities, RAG holds vast potential across diverse applications, from enriching customer support systems to revolutionizing content creation processes.

Yet, the adoption of RAG presents unique challenges. Organizations must commit substantial resources to deploy this technology, investing in cutting-edge tools and skilled personnel. Moreover, continuous monitoring and refinement are imperative to fully leverage RAG’s capabilities, allowing businesses to harness generative AI as a pivotal driver of innovation and operational excellence.

As research and development progress, RAG is poised to redefine the landscape of AI-generated content. It heralds an era of intelligent, context-aware language models capable of dynamically adapting to evolving user and industry demands. By addressing key challenges inherent in traditional large language models, RAG pioneers a future where generative AI not only delivers more reliable outputs but also significantly contributes to the strategic objectives of businesses across sectors.

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Conversational AI in IT Support | Benefits and Use Cases

Conversational AI for IT Support | Benefits and Use Cases

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IT personnel spend a lot of time dealing with repetitive tasks like password resetting, asset management, and answering frequent questions. With this wide array of responsibilities, it can be difficult for IT staff and managers to deal with everything they need to in a timely manner. Increased responsibilities can lead to issues like delayed response times and inaccurate reporting, which can cause more problems down the line and impact areas like employee satisfaction and administrative efficiency. 

Using Conversational AI technologies to offload some of their responsibilities reduces the workload for overworked managers, and decreases costs for companies, who no longer need to overstaff their IT department to reach goals. Conversational AI and AI bots provide solutions to common HR-related issues, like asset management, accesses, and password resets, which increases productivity and ensures internal satisfaction within a business. Implementing conversational AI in Internal Desk departments establishes a bridge between management and employees, reinforcing the connection between the two and allowing for a more effective form of communication.

Challenges Faced by IT Departments

For internal IT teams, their role transcends basic tech support to become indispensable strategic allies within the organization. From facilitating seamless operations in every department to driving innovation, IT stands at the forefront of achieving business objectives. However, with this expanded role comes a host of challenges.

One pressing issue confronting internal IT teams, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, is ensuring optimal employee engagement with technology. Many staff members struggle to grasp the significance of their tech-related roles within the broader organizational context, leading to decreased motivation and efficiency. Moreover, there’s a growing divergence of preferences among employees regarding their work arrangements. While some favor remote setups, others advocate for a more traditional office environment. Bridging this gap requires fostering open communication channels between IT leaders and their teams. Leveraging conversational AI technologies can facilitate this process, fostering deeper understanding and collaboration between IT managers and staff, thereby enhancing productivity and fostering a positive work environment.

As IT’s significance continues to expand across all facets of business operations, the workload for internal IT teams continues to grow. From managing software and hardware infrastructure to addressing user queries and troubleshooting, IT professionals often find themselves overwhelmed with a myriad of tasks. Conversational AI emerges as a viable solution, capable of automating routine processes and handling user inquiries, thereby freeing up valuable time for IT teams to focus on more strategic initiatives and innovation within the organization.

Benefits of Conversational AI

Leveraging conversational AI within internal IT teams can streamline operations, allowing businesses to tackle intricate tasks while reallocating resources to focus on non-automated processes. IT professionals, often at the forefront of understanding user perspectives, can harness AI technologies to conduct surveys and gather feedback on crucial topics such as software usability, preferences for remote or onsite work setups, and individual alignment with the company’s tech goals. This proactive approach not only enhances user engagement but also provides IT managers with valuable insights into their team members’ needs and aspirations.

With access to chat and voice bots, companies can efficiently manage IT tasks such as software deployment, troubleshooting, and system maintenance in a cost-effective manner. Entrusting AI with routine IT functions empowers human agents to dedicate more time to addressing complex issues and driving innovation within the organization. Additionally, conversational AI is adept at assessing situations and determining whether human intervention is necessary, ensuring efficient problem-solving and timely resolution of critical IT matters.

Use Cases of Conversational AI in IT

Using conversational AI to maximize efficiency in IT will benefit businesses in many ways. Below are 5 use cases to illustrate how conversational AI can be used in IT:

User Support and Troubleshooting

Chat and voice bots can serve as the initial point of contact for employees seeking IT assistance. They can efficiently address common user queries, provide step-by-step troubleshooting guides for common technical issues, and offer relevant solutions based on predefined knowledge bases. This frees up IT support staff to focus on more complex and specialized tasks, ultimately improving overall response times and user satisfaction.

Password Resets and Recurring Tasks

Conversational AI can streamline the process of logging and routing IT support tickets. Users can interact with chat bots to report issues, which are then automatically categorized and escalated based on severity and complexity. This ensures that critical issues are promptly addressed by the appropriate IT personnel, while also maintaining a transparent and efficient ticketing system for tracking and resolving issues.

Automated Ticketing and Issue Escalation

Born Digital conversational AI can be programmed to routinely send out forms to employees to gather information about the workplace attitude towards certain things. Regularly checking in with employees helps managers gather feedback on workplace experience and any individual issues/ concerns employees might have. Using AI technology to automate the collection of employee opinions can help managers to deal with any issues expressed in a timely manner, getting ahead of a larger issue before it occurs. Using AI to connect with employees can also help foster a sense of community in the workplace, creating a sense of understanding between employees and their managers. 

Asset Management

Chat and voice bots can facilitate the provisioning of software licenses, hardware assets, and IT resources to employees. Through conversational interfaces, employees can request software installations, hardware upgrades, or access to specific IT tools and applications. The bots can then handle the necessary approvals, provisioning processes, and follow-up communications, streamlining the entire request fulfillment process and reducing administrative overhead for IT staff.

Knowledge Sharing and Training

Conversational AI platforms can be used to deliver on-demand training and knowledge-sharing sessions for IT-related topics. Employees can interact with chat or voice bots to access instructional materials, documentation, and training modules tailored to their specific needs. Additionally, bots can conduct interactive quizzes, simulations, and guided learning experiences to reinforce IT skills and best practices. This enables continuous learning and skill development within the organization, empowering employees to become more self-sufficient and proficient in handling IT tasks.

The Future of Conversational AI in internal IT support

The future of conversational AI in internal IT support is poised to transform how businesses manage their IT operations. Advanced natural language understanding capabilities will enable more accurate and contextually relevant responses, while integration with knowledge graphs and AI assistants will provide comprehensive and personalized support. Multi-modal interfaces will cater to users’ preferences, and integration with AR and VR technologies will enable immersive support experiences. Continuous learning algorithms will ensure that conversational AI systems continually improve, delivering more intelligent and efficient IT support tailored to the evolving needs of the organization.

Why Born Digital?

Implementing conversational AI into HR departments will prove to be effective for businesses, as it can make many standard processes much easier to complete while opening up time for managers and HR representatives to deal with more complex tasks, which require more attention. As these technologies get more popular in the industry, applicants and employees will start to expect to deal with a chat or voice bot, as they are the easiest and most reliable option for dealing with inquiries at any time. Using Born Digital AI solutions allow for businesses to get ahead of their competitors and streamline their HR processes, increasing efficiency and overall satisfaction.

Key features of Born Digital AI include:

  1. Advanced Integration Capabilities: Seamless integration with any website, as well as CRM, makes Born Digital simple to implement for any IT department. Requiring no coding on the company’s end, Born Digital’s conversational AI software is convenient for businesses to implement into their pre-existing IT systems.
  2. Multilingual Capabilities: Serving companies all over the world, Born Digital bots interact in almost all languages, making businesses accessible to a diverse clientele.
  3. Sophisticated AI Conversations: Born Digital voice and chatbots engage in natural, dynamic conversations, replicating human interaction for clients to feel heard and understood, enhancing their experience; this is critical in IT because of the constant communication between employees and management.

Find out how you can leverage Born Digital's Generative and Conversational AI solutions to drive business results.

Conversational AI: 2024 Market Outlook

Conversational AI: 2024 Market Outlook

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Introduction

The conversational AI sector has seen significant growth into 2024, prompting providers to rethink their approaches to meet client and consumer demands. Initially sparked by the global pandemic, this wave of innovation has now matured, delivering desired outcomes for businesses.

As technology advances, vendors must adapt their development and deployment strategies. Simple Q&A chatbots have evolved into sophisticated virtual agents capable of providing 24/7 support and handling complex transactions.

Improvements in conversational AI have revolutionized customer self-service, surpassing previous standards of efficiency and convenience. Consequently, both businesses and consumers now expect more tailored solutions rather than one-size-fits-all chatbots.

Four key market trends will continue to enhance the business value of conversational AI in the future:

1) AI agent deployment time will be significantly lower

The pandemic has underscored the importance of having robust customer service systems in place, as many businesses found themselves overwhelmed by sudden surges in inquiries. Those with virtual agents were better equipped to handle the increased volume, provided their AI solutions were up to the task. However, many others faced challenges, hastily deploying chatbots that were either incomplete or required significant time and effort to implement.

It’s now crucial for vendors to demonstrate that their solutions offer tangible returns on investment from the outset. When assessing a conversational AI vendor, consider:

1. Does the solution feature scalable Natural Language Understanding (NLU) capable of handling multiple user intents simultaneously?

2. Can self-learning AI help bypass the initial ‘cold-start’ phase and assist with ongoing virtual agent development and maintenance?

3. How quickly can an AI chatbot project move from development to launch? Is it a matter of weeks (preferred) or several months (less ideal)?

2) Data-driven chatbot design is more important than ever

As we look ahead, the landscape of software engineering roles is poised to undergo a significant transformation by 2025, with Gartner forecasting that half of all top positions will necessitate direct oversight of generative AI. The prevalence of conversational platforms among employees highlights the growing importance of AI chatbots in professional settings, a trend that will likely continue to evolve in the coming years.

To ensure that these interactions remain meaningful, conversational AI vendors must elevate their offerings beyond traditional design principles that have been relied upon for years. Merely providing cutting-edge technology will no longer suffice in demonstrating the utility of virtual agents as effective tools for customers.

Moving forward, employing evidence-based design principles will be crucial for virtual agent development, encompassing elements such as personality, avatar design, and website visibility. Solutions equipped with robust analytics tools and comprehensive resources, including best practices, will be essential for companies seeking to leverage conversational AI to its fullest potential.

3) Going 'chat-first' will bring the fastest ROI

According to Gartner, the future of self-service is heading towards customer-led automation. By 2030, Gartner analysts anticipate that a billion service tickets will be automatically generated by chatbots and virtual agents, or their upcoming counterparts.

This projection aligns with the growing trend of chat-based self-service, which offers a cost-effective and accessible means of automating customer interactions on a large scale. As consumers increasingly embrace this approach, businesses are poised to capitalize on its potential.

Embracing a ‘chat-first’ strategy, wherein all customer service traffic is directed through conversational AI solutions, allows businesses to leverage automation effectively. This approach can lead to reduced support costs and higher customer satisfaction scores as it plays to the strengths of automation.

Find out how you can leverage Born Digital's Generative and Conversational AI solutions to drive business results.

Digital Humans: Why give AI a face?

Digital Humans: Why give AI a face?

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What are Digital Humans?

Imagine a customer service agent who can answer your questions, understand your frustration, and even crack a smile to reassure you. That’s the world of digital humans – AI chatbots that shed their disembodied voices and take on a realistic human form. These aren’t just fancy avatars in a video game; digital humans are pushing the boundaries of technology to create interactive beings indistinguishable from real people.

But why give AI a face? While AI-powered chatbots have become commonplace, there’s something undeniably powerful about human connection. In this article we explore the reasons behind giving AI a face and examining the potential impact it will have on our interactions with technology in the future.

Just like with real people, a digital human’s facial expressions can create a sense of trust and understanding.  Imagine a digital therapist who can offer a reassuring smile or a concerned frown during a conversation. These subtle cues can make a big difference in how comfortable users feel opening up about sensitive issues. Studies, like the one with Ellie the digital soldier counsellor, have shown that people are more likely to disclose problems to a system with a face compared to a faceless one. This suggests that a digital human’s ability to express emotions can build a crucial sense of rapport, especially when dealing with sensitive topics.

A face adds a human touch to complex information. Digital humans can use visual cues and nonverbal communication alongside their voices to break down difficult concepts. Imagine a digital financial advisor who can not only explain investment options but also use charts and diagrams on screen while conveying confidence or caution through their facial expressions. This combination of visual and emotional engagement can make complex information easier to understand and navigate, improving the overall user experience.

People crave personal connections with brands.  Think about a time a helpful store clerk or quick customer service made a shopping experience stand out.  Even small gestures, like a barista remembering your order, can leave a lasting impression.  Studies show that customer experience is just as important as the product itself.

Let’s take e-commerce as an example. Online shopping often lacks this personal touch and therefore most online interactions are forgettable transactions.  Digital humans offer a solution.  They combine the convenience of online shopping with the helpfulness of a store employee and this creates a more memorable experience, even if it can’t replace the special connection you might have with a local coffee shop owner.  Digital humans can still bring a human touch to the online world.

A digital human can provide a safe space for users to ask questions and get support in areas they might feel uncomfortable with a human representative.  For example, someone struggling with financial literacy might hesitate to discuss debt with a bank employee. However, a digital financial advisor with a non-judgmental demeanor could create a space for open and honest conversation. This can be particularly valuable for sensitive topics like mental health or financial difficulties, where users may worry about judgment or stigma.

Digital humans with a voice interface can be a welcoming alternative for users with visual impairments.  Imagine a digital assistant who can not only answer questions but also navigate users through complex menus and forms using voice commands. Additionally, the ability to customize the appearance of a digital human can make AI interaction less intimidating and more approachable for a wider audience.  For example, users could choose a digital assistant that reflects their age, ethnicity, or even gender identity. This level of customization can foster a sense of connection and comfort for a more diverse range of users.

What can Digital Humans be used for?

Digital Humans can exist anywhere, from a company website to a physical store kiosk, and they come in a variety of roles, including digital bankers who offer financial advice, insurance advisors who help with claims, and even digital recruiters who streamline the hiring process. To learn more, check out our article on the top 5 use cases of Digital Humans.

The benefits of digital humans are vast. They can provide personalized recommendations and support, answer frequently asked questions, and efficiently handle tasks like scheduling appointments or generating reports. This not only frees up human employees for more complex work, but it also creates a 24/7 customer service experience that caters to individual needs. Data collected by digital humans further enhances their capabilities, allowing them to provide increasingly accurate and helpful interactions.

How to find out more about Digital Humans?

Curious to learn more? Whether you’re just starting your research or want to see real-world examples, we’ve got you covered.  Subscribe to our newsletter below to receive the Digital Humans e-book soon, or get in touch with our team of experts for a non-binding consultation.

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Find out how you can leverage Born Digital's Generative and Conversational AI solutions to drive business results.

How to Use LLMs with Your NLU: The Power of a Hybrid Approach

How to Use LLMs with Your NLU: The Power of a Hybrid Approach

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LLMs have been leaving a notable impact and what was once just a small presence in conversational AI, is now gaining immense attention.

With LLMs capable of engaging convincingly on a wide range of topics, many are questioning the necessity of NLUs. Why invest time and resources in refining intents, training data, and entities when an LLM can chat effortlessly for hours without such specifications? Moreover, weren’t NLU-based bots too limiting, confined to predetermined paths and unable to assist users with unanticipated needs?

The reality isn’t a binary choice between the two and it’s crucial to explore the potential synergy between them. Each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses, and by integrating both, many longstanding challenges in the conversational AI industry can be addressed.

Here are three strategic ways to leverage LLMs alongside your NLU.

#1: Utilizing an LLM-powered bot for better semantic understanding

Unlike NLUs, which require meticulous training to categorize user inputs into specific intents, LLMs leverage their training on extensive datasets to predict language behavior. This allows them to interpret diverse user queries, from straightforward ones like “what’s my balance” to more colloquial expressions such as “have I any dough,” without the need for predefined rules or examples.

The potential of LLMs as front-end assistants in conversational AI is substantial. They excel at analyzing user input to discern their underlying needs and accurately route them to the appropriate intent. Cathal showcased a demo involving an embassy inquiry about visa applications. The LLM correctly identified semantically similar phrases like “how much does it cost for a visa” and “how much does it cost to apply for a visa” as inquiries about pricing. In contrast, the NLU, weighted towards certain keywords, misinterpreted the latter query as an inquiry about the application process instead of focusing on cost.

While NLUs could be updated to accommodate new utterances and refine intent matching, Cathal highlights the dual benefits of employing LLMs. Firstly, they grasp meaning inherently, alleviating the need to explicitly instruct the bot on semantic nuances. Secondly, they minimize reliance on training data; instead, clear language defining intents suffices, with the LLM intuitively triggering relevant actions.

Although creating intents remains essential for guiding user interactions, integrating LLMs in this manner can reduce the necessity for extensive training data, as Cathal suggests.

#2: Establishing guardrails for an LLM with a pre-designed flow

Flowcharts are conventional tools utilized in crafting conversational AI assistants. Essentially, they provide a roadmap for the beginning, middle, and end of a conversation. Initially, you outline the parameters of the interaction (the bot’s identity and capabilities), then the middle phase involves the exchange or collection of crucial information by the bot, and finally, the various outcomes represent resolutions to different user inquiries.

Traditionally, flowcharts dictated the potential conversation paths, with NLUs ensuring functionality during live interactions by capturing user inputs and directing them based on training. An alternative approach is utilizing a flowchart to define the interaction while bypassing the NLU. Instead, user inputs are processed by ChatGPT to generate responses.

This approach incorporates design guardrails to restrict the LLM’s responses, addressing concerns like potential exploitation or “jailbreaking” of LLMs by malicious entities seeking unauthorized information disclosure.

This underscores the shift in mindset required when employing LLMs in conversational AI. Rather than meticulously designing every aspect of the bot’s responses, the focus shifts to providing a comprehensive information base and instructing the bot on what to exclude from its replies.

Despite the potential benefits, such as multilingual response generation, this method entails foregoing NLU training in favor of defining constraints for the LLM. While it may seem time-saving initially, ongoing updates to the guardrails around the LLM are necessary as new issues emerge, raising questions about long-term efficiency gains.

#3: Using LLMs for bot testing and training

NLUs are in a perpetual state of refinement, as they require substantial amounts of data to function effectively, typically hundreds or thousands of utterances per intent. However, as more data is added to address interpretation issues, the risk of model confusion with false positives and negatives increases.

Continuous refinement of NLU training is standard practice but can be labor-intensive. Identifying confusion, augmenting data to address it, training, testing, and analyzing outcomes are iterative tasks prone to unintended consequences. LLMs offer a potential solution by serving as vast repositories of varied language usage. They can assist in testing NLUs with semantically similar utterances to gauge their performance and augmenting training data where weaknesses are identified.

Automating NLU testing and data generation using LLMs could streamline management significantly. As interactions with the bot increase, NLU training data should expand, reflecting observed user interactions. However, managing this growth becomes increasingly complex over time. Leveraging LLMs in this capacity can help maintain oversight of the intricate relationships between intents and training data, ensuring ongoing NLU effectiveness.

Summary

Decades of accumulated expertise in NLU design and maintenance highlight its efficacy in addressing user needs when their intentions and communication patterns are well understood. A proficiently trained NLU is generally robust enough to cater to the majority of user requirements. Hence, discarding a functional system prematurely seems unnecessary.

Despite the extended tenure of some individuals in the LLM domain, the technology remains somewhat enigmatic. As exemplified by Cathal, there exist numerous innovative approaches to integrate LLMs alongside NLUs to harness the advantages of both. LLMs can be particularly valuable in assisting users with unconventional needs or expressions, occurrences that are commonplace in interactions with most bots.

Why limit oneself to a singular option? Combining NLUs and LLMs expands the scope of assistance, accommodating a broader spectrum of users and their diverse requirements. Ultimately, the objective is to serve users optimally. Therefore, it’s important to weigh the benefits of both technologies and consider how they collectively serve the varied needs of users.

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Small Language Models (SLMs): Definition and Benefits

What are Small Language Models (SLMs)?

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Definition of Small Language Models

Small Language Models (SLMs) are a distinct segment in the domain of artificial intelligence, particularly in Natural Language Processing (NLP). They stand out for their concise design and reduced computational requirements.

SLMs are tailored to carry out text-related tasks efficiently and with a focused approach, setting them apart from their Large Language Model (LLM) equivalents.

Small vs Large Language Models

Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT-4 are revolutionizing enterprises by automating intricate tasks such as customer service, providing swift, human-like responses that enrich user interactions. However, their extensive training on varied internet datasets may result in a lack of tailoring to specific enterprise requirements. This broad approach might lead to challenges in handling industry-specific terms and subtleties, potentially reducing response effectiveness.

Conversely, Small Language Models (SLMs) are trained on more targeted datasets customized to individual enterprise needs. This strategy reduces inaccuracies and the risk of generating irrelevant or erroneous information, known as “hallucinations,” thereby improving output relevance and accuracy.

Despite the advanced capabilities of LLMs, they present challenges such as potential biases, generation of factually incorrect outputs, and substantial infrastructure costs. In contrast, SLMs offer advantages like cost-effectiveness and simpler management, providing benefits such as reduced latency and adaptability crucial for real-time applications like chatbots.

Security is another distinguishing factor between SLMs and open-source LLMs. Enterprises utilizing LLMs may face the risk of exposing sensitive data through APIs, whereas SLMs, typically not open source, pose a lower risk of data leakage.

Customizing SLMs necessitates expertise in data science, employing techniques like fine-tuning and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to enhance model performance. These methods not only improve relevance and accuracy but also ensure alignment with specific enterprise objectives.

The Technology of Small Language Models

Small Language Models (SLMs) distinguish themselves by strategically balancing fewer parameters, typically ranging from tens to hundreds of millions, unlike their larger counterparts, which may have billions. This intentional design choice enhances computational efficiency and task-specific performance while preserving linguistic comprehension and generation capabilities.

Key techniques such as model compression, knowledge distillation, and transfer learning play a crucial role in optimizing SLMs. These methods allow SLMs to distill the broad understanding capabilities of larger models into a more focused, domain-specific toolkit. This optimization enables precise and effective applications while maintaining high levels of performance.

The operational efficiency of SLMs stands out as one of their most significant advantages. Their streamlined architecture results in reduced computational requirements, making them suitable for deployment in environments with limited hardware capabilities or lower cloud resource allocations. This is particularly valuable for real-time response applications or settings with strict resource constraints.

Furthermore, the agility provided by SLMs facilitates rapid development cycles, empowering data scientists to iterate improvements swiftly and adapt to new data trends or organizational requirements. This responsiveness is complemented by enhanced model interpretability and debugging, facilitated by the simplified decision pathways and reduced parameter space inherent to SLMs.

Benefits of Small Language Models

Better Precision and Efficiency

In contrast to their larger counterparts, SLMs are specifically crafted to address more focused, often specialized, needs within an enterprise. This specialization enables them to achieve a level of precision and efficiency that general-purpose LLMs struggle to attain. For example, a domain-specific SLM tailored for the legal industry can navigate complex legal terminology and concepts with greater proficiency than a generic LLM, thereby delivering more precise and relevant outputs for legal professionals.

Lower Costs

The smaller scale of SLMs directly translates into reduced computational and financial expenditures. From training data to deployment and maintenance, SLMs require significantly fewer resources, rendering them a feasible choice for smaller enterprises or specific departments within larger organizations. Despite their cost efficiency, SLMs can match or even exceed the performance of larger models within their designated domains.

More Security and Privacy

An essential advantage of Small Language Models lies in their potential for heightened security and privacy. Due to their smaller size and greater controllability, they can be deployed in on-premises environments or private cloud settings, thereby minimizing the risk of data breaches and ensuring that sensitive information remains under the organization’s control. This aspect makes small models particularly attractive for industries handling highly confidential data, such as finance and healthcare.

Adaptability and Lower Latency

Small Language Models offer a level of adaptability and responsiveness crucial for real-time applications. Their reduced size allows for lower latency in processing requests, making them well-suited for tasks like customer service chatbots and real-time data analysis, where speed is paramount. Additionally, their adaptability facilitates easier and swifter updates to model training, ensuring the continued effectiveness of the SLM over time.

Limitations of Small Language Models

Limited Generalization

The specialized focus of SLMs provides a significant advantage but also introduces limitations. These models may excel within their specific training domain but struggle outside of it, lacking the broad knowledge base that enables LLMs to generate relevant content across diverse topics. Consequently, organizations may need to deploy multiple SLMs to cover various areas of need, potentially complicating their AI infrastructure.

Technical Challenges

The landscape of Language Models is evolving swiftly, with new models and methodologies emerging rapidly. This ongoing innovation, while exciting, presents challenges in staying abreast of the latest developments and ensuring deployed models remain cutting-edge. Moreover, customizing and fine-tuning SLMs to fit specific enterprise requirements may demand specialized knowledge and expertise in data science and machine learning, resources not universally accessible to organizations.

Evaluation Difficulties

As interest in SLMs grows, the market becomes inundated with a plethora of models, each claiming superiority in certain aspects. However, evaluating LLMs and selecting the appropriate SLM for a particular application can be daunting. Performance metrics can be misleading, and without a comprehensive understanding of underlying technology and model size, businesses may struggle to identify the most suitable model for their needs.

Conclusion

In summary, contrasting Small Language Models (SLMs), specifically domain-specific SLMs, with their generic counterparts highlights the critical need for customizing AI models to suit specific industries. As enterprises integrate AI-driven solutions like AI Customer Care or Conversational AI platforms into their specialized workflows, prioritizing the development of domain-specific models becomes imperative. These bespoke models not only promise enhanced accuracy and relevance but also offer opportunities to augment human expertise in ways that generic models cannot replicate.

With these advanced, tailored AI tools, industries spanning from healthcare to finance are poised to achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency and innovation. Experience the transformative potential of custom AI solutions tailored to your enterprise’s unique requirements—explore a custom AI demo and consider Born Digital today!

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How do you calculate ROI for an AI chatbot and email bot?

How do you calculate ROI for an AI chatbot and voice bot?

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How to determine if your business would benefit from conversational AI

Considering the implementation of an AI chatbot or voice bot for customer service, sales and marketing, or HR? Evaluating the return on investment (ROI) for chatbots is more straightforward than you might imagine.

Businesses are increasingly deploying AI chatbots to complement human agents, a move that can enhance customer satisfaction while managing workforce growth amid rising demand. AI-driven chatbots address specific and measurable issues such as reducing resolution time and enhancing key performance indicators (KPIs) in customer service. Post-integration of a chatbot or virtual assistant, companies have reported a notable decrease of up to 70% in calls, chats, or emails necessitating human agent intervention, resulting in potential savings of up to 30% in customer service expenses. This efficiency stems from AI-powered chatbots autonomously handling up to 80% of routine inquiries, such as order status queries and refund requests for retailers, early check-ins and flight updates for travel agencies, and troubleshooting and account updates for streaming platforms.

Wondering if the investment in building AI chatbots and voice bots is worthwhile?

Factors that drive customer service costs

Before delving into the calculation of chatbot ROI, it’s crucial to understand the reasons behind the high costs associated with customer service. Annually, an estimated 265 billion customer support requests are handled, amounting to a staggering $1.3 trillion in expenses. According to the Help Desk Institute, the average cost per minute for live chat support is $1.05, with the average cost per chat session standing at $16.80. Several key factors contribute to the elevated costs of customer service:

1. Agent Salaries: While the adoption of bots might not heavily impact rationalizing company headcount, it does assist in curbing additional workforce expansion as ticket volume rises. The average hourly wage for customer service agents is $21, and considering employee benefits, optimizing salary expenditures can lead to significant savings, potentially amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, contingent upon the size of the agent team.

2. Day-to-Day Expenses: These encompass various operational costs such as licensing fees for human agent desk platforms, overhead expenses, hardware maintenance, paid time off, sick leave, and more.

3. Recruitment and Training: Customer service roles frequently experience high turnover rates, averaging at 45% annually. The expenses associated with recruiting, onboarding, and training new employees can reach approximately $4,000.00 per agent.

Utilize our new calculator to assess Your Chatbot ROI

In order to calculate your chatbot’s return on investment (ROI), you’ll only need a few key pieces of information:

1. Number of agents

2. Agent salaries

3. Monthly number of inquiries (chats and calls)

4. Average resolution time per quiery

Let’s illustrate this process with an example. Consider a business that has 10 support agents whose salary is $2,900 a month. $1,300(support requests)/10 agents = 130 requests per agent.

If a chatbot takes on 260 requests per month then this is the equivalent of two agents with a total cost of $5,800 ($2900*2)

That’s $5,800 spent on questions a chatbot could take over in a month. Our AI solution costs just 10-20% of that.

How to maximize AI chatbot ROI

Companies aiming to optimize their return on investment (ROI) through a chatbot platform can employ five key strategies:

1. Address the Right Challenges: Utilize AI to automate high-volume, expensive tickets that can be fully resolved by AI. Instead of guessing, identify the most suitable use cases for automation by analyzing historical tickets and data.

2. Enhance Training: If leveraging a modern AI platform incorporating deep reinforcement learning, expect improvement over time. Monitor conversations to reinforce positive outcomes and provide additional training if the chatbot misinterprets user intent.

3. Choose Appropriate Channels: Avoid the common pitfall of launching a chatbot on the wrong channel. Chatbots can operate across various mediums including email, social media, messaging platforms, and even voice interfaces. Select channels with high volume and resolution times for optimal deployment.

4. Scale Across Channels: After successful deployment on a high-volume channel and subsequent improvement from real interactions, expand the chatbot’s presence to other channels. 

5. Integrate with Backend Systems: Empower the AI chatbot to fully resolve tickets and deflect queries from other channels by integrating with backend systems such as CRM, order management, and e-commerce platforms. Enable the chatbot to access personal data to address issues on a personalized level.

Find out what your ROI will be if you build an AI chatbot or voice bot

Our team at Born Digital understands the unique needs of every business. Our flexible pricing structure is designed to align with your specific goals, ensuring you get results without the one-size-fits-all approach.

Get in touch with our team of experts dedicated to mapping the fastest path to a strong ROI. Ready to transform your conversational AI journey? Fill out this form and we’ll be in touch as soon as possible.

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