Artificial Intelligence for Telecom Operators: Communication First!
Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2024 9:45 am
Artificial Intelligence for Telecom Operators: Communication First!
One of the most priority areas of "intellectualization" for telecom operators in the next few years will be the launch of chatbots. Software robotization is already affecting the work of technical support, the department for working with individuals and many other areas. Moreover, chatbots are ready to "communicate" both in text mode and "voice", both by phone and in the most popular messengers. In an effort to follow market trends, operators have begun to build up the relevant competencies within themselves.
The chatbot market promises to be one of the fastest growing in uruguay phone number library the next few years. Moreover, speech technologies will be in the greatest demand. Thus, according to estimates by the voice solutions developer Just AI (i-Free group of companies), in 2018 the market will grow more than twice as much as the previous year, and will maintain explosive growth rates over the next five years. At the same time, telecommunications companies were the first to launch projects to implement artificial intelligence (AI), including chatbots.
The first attempts to send chatbots to work for the benefit of business on company websites were made back in the 2000s. These were text forms for obtaining reference information, which essentially duplicated the FAQ (frequently asked questions) section. In addition, it quickly became clear that the “smart” programs were not very smart in fact. They often worked incorrectly, did not understand what they were being asked, if the question was misspelled or imprecisely formulated, etc. The scope of application of bots was narrow, for example, answers on equipment settings, tariff plans or marketing campaigns. But even within this framework, chatbots, issuing pre-prepared answers from tables, did not work perfectly. And operators quickly became disillusioned with them.
The next wave of interest in chatbots from telecom is associated with neural network and machine learning technologies, which began to conquer the world by the mid-2010s. By this time, almost all of the Big Three mobile operators announced the launch of smart assistants. For example, in 2014, Megafon, together with the Speech Technology Center (STC), trying to make it easier for clients to work with IVR (interactive voice response, interactive voice menu), launched the talking chatbot Elena. And if at first she handled the simplest calls, then already in 2016, using Yandex's developments in the field of NLU (natural language understanding), she began to communicate almost fully with clients over the phone. And in 2018, after the launch of the Yandex.Dialogues platform, Elena was integrated into the Alice voice assistant environment, creating a complex communication tool for interacting with clients.
In 2017, VimpelCom announced the launch of a chatbot that provides customers with information on tariffs and services. However, the scope of this solution was very limited: it only worked on the operator's website and in the My Beeline application. However, chatbots are created not only to tell customers about tariffs and debts. For example, the same Megafon developed a chatbot to support the Leningrad group's tour.
Today, operators have launched more than one chatbot, teaching them to work in the most popular messengers. Moreover, we are talking about creating platform omnichannel solutions. At the same time, projects are being considered to launch voice chatbots in the interests of HR services, for communication with employees. To implement all this diversity, operators have organized departments in their structures that create and test AI-based systems, including chatbots.
Of course, the operators themselves do not so much develop as adapt solutions from t
One of the most priority areas of "intellectualization" for telecom operators in the next few years will be the launch of chatbots. Software robotization is already affecting the work of technical support, the department for working with individuals and many other areas. Moreover, chatbots are ready to "communicate" both in text mode and "voice", both by phone and in the most popular messengers. In an effort to follow market trends, operators have begun to build up the relevant competencies within themselves.
The chatbot market promises to be one of the fastest growing in uruguay phone number library the next few years. Moreover, speech technologies will be in the greatest demand. Thus, according to estimates by the voice solutions developer Just AI (i-Free group of companies), in 2018 the market will grow more than twice as much as the previous year, and will maintain explosive growth rates over the next five years. At the same time, telecommunications companies were the first to launch projects to implement artificial intelligence (AI), including chatbots.
The first attempts to send chatbots to work for the benefit of business on company websites were made back in the 2000s. These were text forms for obtaining reference information, which essentially duplicated the FAQ (frequently asked questions) section. In addition, it quickly became clear that the “smart” programs were not very smart in fact. They often worked incorrectly, did not understand what they were being asked, if the question was misspelled or imprecisely formulated, etc. The scope of application of bots was narrow, for example, answers on equipment settings, tariff plans or marketing campaigns. But even within this framework, chatbots, issuing pre-prepared answers from tables, did not work perfectly. And operators quickly became disillusioned with them.
The next wave of interest in chatbots from telecom is associated with neural network and machine learning technologies, which began to conquer the world by the mid-2010s. By this time, almost all of the Big Three mobile operators announced the launch of smart assistants. For example, in 2014, Megafon, together with the Speech Technology Center (STC), trying to make it easier for clients to work with IVR (interactive voice response, interactive voice menu), launched the talking chatbot Elena. And if at first she handled the simplest calls, then already in 2016, using Yandex's developments in the field of NLU (natural language understanding), she began to communicate almost fully with clients over the phone. And in 2018, after the launch of the Yandex.Dialogues platform, Elena was integrated into the Alice voice assistant environment, creating a complex communication tool for interacting with clients.
In 2017, VimpelCom announced the launch of a chatbot that provides customers with information on tariffs and services. However, the scope of this solution was very limited: it only worked on the operator's website and in the My Beeline application. However, chatbots are created not only to tell customers about tariffs and debts. For example, the same Megafon developed a chatbot to support the Leningrad group's tour.
Today, operators have launched more than one chatbot, teaching them to work in the most popular messengers. Moreover, we are talking about creating platform omnichannel solutions. At the same time, projects are being considered to launch voice chatbots in the interests of HR services, for communication with employees. To implement all this diversity, operators have organized departments in their structures that create and test AI-based systems, including chatbots.
Of course, the operators themselves do not so much develop as adapt solutions from t