Author: Matt Smith

Matt Smith - February 19, 2019 - 556 views

For many people, the general idea of artificial intelligence still conveys a dark, robot-master future.  Yet simply add the word “conversational” in front of it, and suddenly it’s a whole lot friendlier.  Maybe that’s why conversational AI is this year’s “everywhere topic.” It’s a consensus pick in every technology forecast, a keynote subject at business, […]

Matt Smith - May 9, 2018 - 296 views

More than any time in our industrial history, people today expect always available access to research, advice, commerce and support from any location, device or platform they prefer. As explained in the first of this blog series,  conversational AI provides companies with the technological means for meeting that expectation in a way never before possible. […]

Matt Smith - April 23, 2018 - 396 views

As discussed in the first blog of this series, conversational AI is a breakthrough in human-computer interaction, as it enables a natural language exchange. But for first-timers, there’s a steep learning curve and a lot of trial and error to implementing conversational solutions that ultimately exceed expectations. After more than 1,000 client discussions, hundreds of […]

Matt Smith - April 2, 2018 - 568 views

Conversational AI represents the most significant advancement yet in how people interact with technology. While punchcards, keyboards, GUIs and even touchscreens are all ways that we communicate with computers on their terms, conversational AI changes all that, as it finally enables an innately human form of interaction between people and machines: natural language. More sophisticated […]

Matt Smith - October 2, 2017 - 198 views

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with a senior leader at one of our clients, a global consumer goods company, to talk about how we might help the company with conversational AI. Over the course of our discussion, the business leader continuously stressed three distinct themes of where chatbots, virtual agents and natural language solutions […]

Matt Smith - July 26, 2016 - 242 views

Today’s smart-thinking businesses are looking hard at what’s called intelligent automation.

Matt Smith - March 15, 2016 - 244 views

Everybody loves predictions. Forbes published its educated guesses on politics, mergers, and even self-driving cars (thanks to a venture called Robot Taxi).  How about Gartner’s 2016 predictions for a digital world? Visions of smart machines, robo-bosses, and digital assistants make it seem like we will be working with Wall-E in 2020. Really? The best way to predict the future At Xerox PARC in 1971, Alan Kay […]

Matt Smith - March 10, 2016 - 172 views

Shared services centers struggle to remain relevant I enjoyed seeing many of you shared services, outsourcing, and transformation professionals at SSON’s SS&O Week. I remember in the 90s how shared services centers (SSCs) were the rage in corporate America. The opportunity for a company to eliminate redundant functions, people, and technology systems truly held its promise. Now fast-forward to today. […]

Matt Smith - March 2, 2016 - 222 views

As 2016 has (yet again) been proclaimed “The Year of the Robot ”, the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) story has evolved into even more drama, with at least two opposing sides.  One side predicts Intelligent Automation leads to symbiotic relationships between machines and people and a new era of prosperity, and the other forecasts unrecoverable unemployment, […]

Matt Smith - February 15, 2016 - 135 views

Automation to dominate conversations at best-known outsourcing summit This week, hundreds of outsourcing professionals will make the trip to IAOP’s annual World Summit. Yet again, automation will be the headliner for much debate as leading outsourcing buyers, providers, advisers, and analysts gather to talk about the trends shaping our industry’s future. Two years ago, following the summit’s last trip […]