How AI and Personalization are Transforming Retail

By James Tredwell on November 16, 2019

All signs point to artificial intelligence and machine learning playing an increasingly significant role in commerce now and into the future. 

Consider the following statistics:

  • The growth of virtual assistants is expected to reach $15.79 billion by 2021
  • 63 percent of people prefer messaging an online bot to communicate with a business or brand
  • When AI is present, 49 percent of consumers are willing to shop more frequently while 34 percent will spend more money

Then there’s that other buzzword defining how people shop in the 21st century: Personalization. These days a majority of consumers will only engage with offers if they’ve been personalized. And these same shoppers will then recommend a brand that offers this personalized experience.

AI exists throughout most business sectors, but it’s really redefining the customer experience in retail. We’re seeing it in real-time, in a number of applications, from mobile apps to chatbots to “smart” solutions all geared towards not only easing the customer journey, but personalizing it every step of the way.

If brands that combine these two trends, they’ll come out on top compared to competitors.

Below we share a few exciting ways brands are using AI and personalization together to drive customer engagement and loyalty, and how your brand can start this journey.

AI, chatbots, and messaging apps

Mobile applications already play an integral role in the modern buyer’s life. The next trend is turbo-charging them with artificial intelligence to ease customers’ pain points and personalize the shopping experience. And there are few better ways to achieve this than through the use of chatbots.

Chatbots are handy AI-based customer-service assistants that simulate a human conversation, which allows them to provide personalized customer assistance in real-time. The reason chatbots are so popular is for the simple reason that people now do so much interacting through messaging apps, which is the ideal delivery device for chatbots. In fact, messaging apps are now even more popular than social-media platforms. 

Now we’re seeing more and more retail brands leverage AI and chatbots in their mobile apps. Powerhouse retailers H&M and Sephora, for example, have launched their own chatbots on the Kik app. In H&M’s case, the chatbots on this app become a sort-of personal stylist, presenting the user with different outfit options based on store inventory. 

Then there’s Taco Bell, which via the Slack app and their “Taco bot” allow customers to place an order with a single message. Even Starbucks is getting in on Amazon’s popular Alexa Platform with their My Starbucks Barista, a virtual assistant which allows you to place orders by speaking directly to your phone.

Integrating chatbots into your customer-service strategy is a relatively simple process. First, you need to determine your strategy—whether you want a text/chat platform, video chat, co-browsing (allowing sales reps to interact with a customer’s screen), etc. Then it’s only a matter of getting your platform up and running with the help of chatbot builders.

Mobile app development, on the other hand, is a more time-intensive process that requires a team of technical specialists like UX/UI designers as well as input from various departments within your company. However, if you’re a smaller operation you can look to this survey detailing how small-businesses go about creating quality mobile apps.

Checkout-free technologies

One way the online revolution affected retail was that digital technologies allowed for more e-commerce. As shoppers we were thrilled that we could sit at home and eliminate the time and headache of actually going to a brick-and-mortar locale and waiting in line to purchase a product. With the click of a mouse button, those products simply came to us. 

Now tech companies are wielding advanced AI to help get people out there and do real-world shopping again. One way they’re incentivizing the brick-and-mortar experience is through checkout-free technologies. A Brooklyn-based tech company called Caper, for example, created a “smart” shopping cart that automatically tallies and rings up items places in the cart. It not only eliminates the need for a cashier, it even eliminates the need for those new-self-service checkout kiosks we’re getting accustomed too. 

The way the smart cart achieves this is via computer-vision tech as well as three cameras in the shopping cart. The only work required of the shopper is to scan his or her item once before dropping it in, and then the cart keeps track of those items. When the customer is done, he or she can pay for his items through the card reader also installed on the cart. 

If that were the extent of Caper’s goals, it would still be pretty impressive. But they too acknowledge just how crucial personalization is for the modern shopper. That’s why they’re also developing AI solutions that can display curated recipes ideas for each individual shopper on a tablet device built into the cart. So far Caper is testing these smart carts in New York, but they plan on rolling out this exciting tech nationwide soon.

Now, if you’re a retailer interested in upgrading your brick-and-mortar location for the digital age, you don’t need to search far for your solution. Some 150 companies are currently working on automated, cashierless technologies for retail. These solutions incorporate everything from high-tech smart shopping carts mentioned above to simple mobile applications. So even if you’re a small business you should be able to find a solution that fits your budget.

Smart shelves

Speaking of smart carts, there are other AI-based initiatives geared towards getting today’s home shopper back out into physical locations. One such bit of technology is AWM’s Smart Shelf. They’ve partnered with some major brands including Walmart and Albertsons to place LED displays and optical sensors on store shelves. These displays, powered by AI, deliver targeted product info whenever a customer passes by the aisle.

But it doesn’t display any random old advertisement. Using the facial recognition technology that the company also designs, the smart shelves personalize these messages to the shopper based on demographic info like age, gender, and ethnicity. And like the above-example, AWM’s Smart Shelf uses sensors and computer vision to detect when a product has been removed from the shelf, thus allowing for cashier-less shopping.

One of the other interesting features of this technology—one that can help business processes even in the B2B space—is AWM’s Automated Inventory Intelligence. It allows real-time tracking of all on-the-shelf inventory, helping retail companies to more efficiently manage their stock supply. Impressively, their system boasts an accuracy rate of higher than 95%.

There are a number of exciting high-tech ways businesses of any size can better manage their inventory. Tagging warehouse stock with radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips allows for better tracking of inventory. And combining this tech with the Internet of Things (IoT) is even more efficient. An example would be integrating all electronic devices and technologies so the warehouse manager can monitor all stock from a single location.

Conclusion

These are exciting times to be in business, but they are also fast-moving times. The sad truth is that those who can’t keep up with demands for personalization will struggle to keep and retain customers. 

If yours does, it will be because you offer your customers the seamless shopping experience they’ve come to expect. 

This article is contributed by Ryan Gould – Vice President of Strategy and Marketing Services at Elevation Marketing

7 Ways AI is Being Used for Advanced Cardiovascular Research

By James Tredwell on November 13, 2019

AI or Artificial Intelligence is mainly designed by researchers for doctors to predict heart disease. Basically, they have developed the specific model for the coronary artery disease utilizing Artificial Intelligence and the relevant set of almost 600 variables, which outperformed the model built utilizing 27 variables selected by medical experts. 

In fact, Artificial Intelligence also recognized certain non-obvious factors like “home visit from their GP”, as a good predictor of patient mortality. Although AI research is still in its early years, these early studies already set up how AI is set to transform cardiac care. It is specifically relevant in recent times as the cardiovascular diseases are still the number one killer in the world, resulting in 31% of all global deaths, and this is also the priciest condition to treat.

Here are 7 different ways in which Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing the cardiovascular care:

1. AI aided diagnostics

One of the biggest impacts of Artificial Intelligence in cardiac care will be there in diagnosing cardiovascular diseases. Typical diagnostic pathways involve three stages. The very first stage is measuring the electrocardiogram (ECG) at rest. Anomalies in this stage results in a combination of semi-invasive tests like ECG stress test, stress echocardiography, and also chest CT scan. Anomalies in these tests lead the invasive angiography. Researchers and companies are already utilizing AI so that it can easily predict the anomalies quickly, cheaply and accurately without using the third invasive step.

2. AI aided cardiac imaging

AI is used in cardiovascular research as it enhances the live visualization of the heart in real-time from the low-resolution grayscale echocardiography images. In fact, a couple of years ago, this technology were not really accessible. AI enhances the live visualization only by the color-coding. Philips’ echocardiography uses an AI called HeartModelᴬ⋅ᴵ⋅ to actually build the 3D model of the patient’s heart from echocardiography images. HeartFlow provides the similar AI-powered FDA cleared software solution so that it can recognize coronary artery disease using chest CT scans but provides a more comprehensive 3D output for the cardiologists.

3. AI aided therapy selection

In recent times, Artificial Intelligence is used in medical research in a wide manner. And just like some other medicinal things, it is also used in the therapy selection as well. One of the hardest challenges for the cardiologists, hospital systems, patients and their families is only to decide the cost of care and risk suggested by the experts. KenSci reportedly uses reliable and useful machine learning to predict patient risks of acquiring diseases including heart disease. Babylon Health’s Healthcheck is considered as the chatbot that uses AI to give patients a quick assessment and understand their health. Corti labs perhaps take this a step further and utilize the AI to be familiar with out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and assist emergency dispatchers to make critical life-saving decisions.

4. AI aided continuous monitoring

Nowadays, smart technologies are always available and one can also use this for their health as well. Eventually, wearable technologies like Fitbit and Apple Watch that continuously monitor the consumer’s heart rate, activity and also location, serve as a very good platform for building AI tools, which can simply predict early warning signs of lifestyle diseases including cardiovascular anomalies. Cardiogram’s DeepHeart, which works with Apple Watches, is mainly considered as the semi-supervised AI learning for cardiovascular risk prediction. As consumer medical devices start utilizing more accurate single lead ECG sensors, like Apple Watch 4 and AliveCor’s Kardia Band the output from the AI will hopefully be even more reliable.

5. Treatment stage in diagnostics

When the diagnostics are done, there comes the treatment stage, and data science is a great tool for simplifying it. Using the data of people with an already confirmed diagnosis, this is quite possible to give every new patient with a personalized treatment and care. The experts have also said that using AI in the diagnostics, the methodology becomes extremely smooth and easy and it is also quite time-consuming.

6. Post-Treatment Care

Unfortunately, even the most effectual treatment sometimes can’t guarantee that the patient will not even face recurrence or suffer from pain and diverse complications after leaving the hospital. Along with the assistance of data science, medical experts can simply predict the potential changes and develop suitable post-treatment program. The data is collected from smart technology or you can say wearable devices of patients suffering from the same diseases. This type of strategy improves the usage of hospital resources. For example, this is very simpler for the doctors to understand if any of the patients have to stay in a clinic for a few days longer. In this way, they can decide if this person will need a bed and hospital drugs or no.

7. Computed tomography

Cardiac CT has made the leap forward in the last decade, emphasizing the visualization of stenosis right in the coronary tree, plaque characteristics, coronary calcification, and scoring and more recently the modeling of flow. Promising chances for AI in CT have actually automated noise reduction while retaining optimal imaging quality, and also the avoidance of all-encompassing coronary angiography (ICA) for the determination of significant stenosis.

In recent times, with the arrival of technology, Artificial Intelligence has gained massive popularity amongst the people. In fact, in recent times, Artificial Intelligence is actually on the verge of redefining how cardiovascular care has been delivered to patients. The researchers and companies have implemented AI in every step of the process, from continuous monitoring of the basal heart rate for early warning signs to a quick and efficient noninvasive diagnosis of cardiac conditions. 

Artificial intelligence is also making the later stages of care pathways quite efficient like the real-time visualization of the cardiac anomaly and subsequent therapy selection. Though, the question, which simply stays to be answered is will this advanced technology, in the long run, be able to bring down cost and time of cardiovascular care for patients or not.

How AI, IoT, and Cybersecurity Transform Healthcare Sector in 2020

By James Tredwell on November 5, 2019

Both AI (Artificial Intelligence) and IoT (Internet of Things) are futuristic concepts designed to improve our lives. From online shopping to telemedicine, these concepts have brought more comfort and convenience in our daily routines.

Along with AI and IoT, the focus remains on cybersecurity to ensure safe data sharing across various devices in the network. Together, these three advanced concepts are set to transform various industry sectors and the healthcare sector is no exception!

The healthcare sector is thriving with a growing number of service providers and healthcare professionals. AI, IoT, and Cybersecurity help organizations improve patient care and accomplish necessary procedures speedily.

These concepts facilitate specialists to perform their duties with more efficiency and higher security.

Here are some major aspects of healthcare app development on which AI, IoT, and cybersecurity have a great impact.

These aspects can transform the healthcare sector and take it to the next level where the more patient-focused approach is visible.

Reducing waiting time

The most common characteristic of numerous clinics and healthcare organizations is the long waiting time for the patients. As a result, they have to suffer until the specialist attends them.

Nowadays, thanks to AI, and IoT, we have a healthcare mobile app that can successfully replace a few human jobs like scheduling of appointment. IoT app development can enable healthcare professionals to utilize connected devices for providing improved patient care services.

Also, medication reminders, personal notification, and other patient-related services can be easily offered through a healthcare app.

Mobile app developers can come up with a patient-centric app that can take care of all necessary phases from scheduling an appointment to meet the specialist online for follow up or routine checkup.

Patients can also keep the record of medication, lab tests, and other related information in the app to share everything instantly with the physician.

AI can be utilized for social insurance for healthcare staff. The integration of AI advancements also enables specialists to pay attention to patients who are in dire need.

In a way, patients with acute and serious medical conditions need not wait for a long time.

Effective data collection

AI deals with the patient’s data to provide individual and personalized services. Innovative AI solutions can perform medicinal services by gathering information effectively.

It can reduce the paperwork significantly in the healthcare sector and facilitate specialists to access the patient’s data as and when necessary.

Before the advent of AI in the healthcare sector, physicians made therapeutic chronicles for all the patients and recorded their information in the files.

Now, making such therapeutic records is a time-consuming and troublesome assignment for the physicians, and at times, distract them from a proper diagnosis. In the manual record, there is a chance of human error and a possibility to miss a couple of important points. It can mislead the physicians.

Thanks to the integration of AI in the IoT app development, it is possible for specialists to record the whole discussion and make a flawless therapeutic history on the basis of examination. Also, the online data remains available online on a 24/7 basis for reference.

Secure storage of information

These days, it is of utmost importance to prevent the patient’s confidential data from going into the wrong hands. The cloud-based servers can securely store the information regarding the patient’s ailment that is either humiliating or too sensitive to admit.

Cybersecurity helps in maintaining therapeutic secrecy and the patients can remain assured of their ailments.

AI and IoT can fetch necessary details of the patients and cybersecurity can secure them.

Better analysis

In physical visits, it is possible that the patient may skip or forget any necessary information. Therefore, specialists have to remain alert during the discussion.

Now, thanks to the advent of AI and IoT, healthcare professionals have intelligent gadgets that can easily collect all necessary details of the patient to recommend or give precise prescriptions.

Also, the inclusion of advanced features during the healthcare app development process enables specialists to get rid of attempting to assist every patient to remember their past medicinal history and allergic reactions.

They can get the data online in just a few seconds and give medications after a better analysis. What’s more, healthcare professionals can comply with the prevalent healthcare standards through such healthcare apps.

At the end of the day, the patients can get the right prescription for their condition with a focused approach. It reduces the chances of human errors and various operational costs of healthcare service providers.

Improved devices

IoT and AI have combined to make intelligent gadgets that can make the prognosis simpler and more accurate. For example, diabetic patients with a history of heart conditions need exact medication and periodic visits.

Now, IoT app development can help healthcare professionals to connect the app with smart devices that measure the blood sugar level and keep the record of various lab tests of the patient.

Wearable gadgets also help specialists get real-time data of the patient’s vital parameters. Healthcare institutions can come up with wearable apps with the help of IoT app development services and track internal movements of body fluids. Patients and specialists both can make the most of wearable gadgets by integrating features of AI and IoT.

From measuring pulse rate to insulin levels, and to find the effect of prescribed medication, the healthcare app can benefit patients by bridging the gap between devices and the healthcare system.

Parting Note

It is fair to mention that the IoT, AI, and cybersecurity have made the life of healthcare professionals easy by enabling them to come up with more accurate diagnoses and prescriptions.

The healthcare services can be transformed from a physical to paperless patient-centric approach with the help of these emerging technologies.

Author Bio :- Robert jackson is a content cum digital marketer at Solution Analyst, a leading mobile app development company. He is an avid reader and likes to remain updated for technological advancements in the domains of web, mobility, IoT, and emerging technologies. His articles are informative and interesting at the same time as he expresses insightful thoughts clearly.

 

How Artificial Intelligence Plays an Important role in Chatbot?

By James Tredwell on November 2, 2019

With the ever-changing world, businesses heavily depend on the technologies which result in the competition are getting fierce and changing our lifestyles in many ways we can’t even imagine. Artificial Intelligence and Chatbot are gradually transforming the technologies and boost productivity and business efficiency across the niches. 

Artificial Intelligence and Chatbot are providing an effortlessly smooth user experience that helps the business stand out from the competition. Artificial intelligence and chatbot development services are becoming one of the most important mechanisms.  

Needs of Artificial Intelligence

The artificial intelligence services to provide an enjoyable and enhanced experience for their customers. Like most online sites, they use these technologies to provide their customers with better product selection and suggestions based on their preferences that could lead to increased accuracy and provide greater customer satisfaction.

Many mobile companies enable users to connect effortlessly with apps and communicate with everyday language. Mobile companies offer a wide range of features with not just voice recognition software, such as efficient messaging and computing, with the help of Artificial Intelligence.

What is Chatbot?

A chatbot is a computer program that uses voice or text interaction to simulate human conversation. It is nothing more than a messaging app that provides fixed answers of relevant data on the basis of understanding user intent. 

Chatbox helps in making a business successful by analyzing the customer data and understanding customer behavior according to their requirements. Chatbots has the ability to react to voice commands with the help of smart voice assistants.

According to the latest Gartner prediction by 2021, at least 25% of digital employees all over the world will use virtual assistants and bots communication. With the combination of AI technology, Chatbots will have more impact on the mobile app market than ever before.

How is AI chatbox useful in Business?

AI chatbots are usually meet a specific wide range of services that meet business to consumer and business to business needs. Chatbots are also becoming immensely powerful in professional work environments from which they can analyze conversations and provide relevant facts or statistics at pertinent conversation points.

Call Centre Support: With the help of an AI chatbox, customers can simply perform any task with the help of voice assistants, these tasks include changing of password, scheduling an appointment and many more without interaction with a human. 

Provides Full Enterprise Support: For back-end systems such as inventory management and customer relationship management, chatbots need to be incorporated for smooth results. It helps the company to perform better like fast services and proper utilization by providing full enterprise support. 

Personal Assistant: Chatbots can help consumers navigate their daily lives and accelerate activities such as ordering grocery stores from mobile devices or any other chat platforms. Google and Siri are also providing these to play as a personal assistant. 

Enhanced User Experience: Chatbots provides smart solutions to its users by simply understanding the customer needs. With fast and speedy actions, one can enhance user experience to a great extent. 

Reduce Wastage of Time: With the help of Artificial Chatbot, you can reduce the wastage of time by simply reducing the efforts like standing in long queues, track order status, or waiting for confirmation messages. Now chatbots allow you the option to track all these records with a single tap or with the help of a voice assistant.

How Artificial Intelligence helps Chatbot to Implement the Process

Today, companies are increasingly becoming more comfortable with the idea of incorporating chatbots and smart assistants into their systems. These optimistic approaches will lead to productivity and enhance customer satisfaction. Here are the steps that can help to implement the chatbot process and make a whole new level of possibilities and opportunities to its users. 

Machine Learning

Machine learning works with algorithms that assist the Chatbot in understanding the queries and data with the help of bot training methods. When any question arises, machine learning allows the Chatbot to first monitor the last conversation by using the bot method. After analyzing all the queries and responding accordingly. 

Natural Language Programming

Natural Language Processing (NLP) assists the bot in understanding and interpreting the data. Natural Language Processing will help you train the Chatbot with various queries that the user types during the conversation. With these attempts, a chatbot is easily able to respond to the query.  

Areas Chatbot currently use in 

  • Most of the restaurants are providing a facility where users can order through the Chatbot, such as Swiggy and Ubereats.
  • Companies can run campaigns and quiz competitions, with the help of a chatbot. 
  • Most of the e-commerce apps using a chatbot to let their users purchase a wide range of products. 
  • A chatbot can also respond to customer service queries and help them in performing various tasks.

 Conclusion

Intelligent Chatbots has become the most age-defining software to accelerate automation across mobile apps and deliver unparalleled results to enterprises. The AI Development company is providing chatbots option that improvises the future needs by analyzing the personalized needs of the users. Chatbots have bought a new communication revolution, and the way they connect has changed completely.

How AI is Transforming the Music Streaming Service

By James Tredwell on October 25, 2019

Artificial intelligence is already transforming every area of our lives, and music streaming is no exception. It is amazing how technology has fueled the music industry for growth in the past decades. From vinyl records and cassettes to compact discs and MP3s and the present digital disruptions, the music industry has undergone many technological developments.

It is tough to understand but easy to look at how technology is transforming the music industry right from the creation of music to its end consumption by users. Artificial intelligence is playing a major role in organizing the industry and making music readily available at our fingertips. So, let us dive deeper into how AI is transforming the music streaming services in the present era.

Rise of AI-based DJ system

Spotify’s discovery weekly, JioSaavan mixes, and Pandora’s music suggestions are some AI is helping music streaming services to develop powerful personalized features for their users. Music creators upload more than 300k songs on the internet every day. However, 90 percent of music is not found by the users due to its incorrect placement on the web.

Algorithms can help streaming services to recognize the interest and listening preferences of their users and show them related music in their feed. Applications like Muru music claims to be the first AI DJ brain that takes the personalization of music to a new level for its users.

Such apps enable users to generate customized playlists by connecting their favorite streaming company and selecting the artists and genre of their choice. The art of personalizing music experiences has been the primary goal of AI-driven DJ music services.

Music service to streaming service

In today’s digital world, there are many businesses that offer information in the form of text on their blogs and websites. However, many users don’t have enough time to read text content. Therefore, podcasts and audiobooks are a viable option for such users.

You need a special time to read the text content, but you can listen to podcasts and audiobooks anytime. Users can listen to what they want while commuting to the office, during a gym session, walking their dog, and even doing household chores.

Spotify has acquired Anchor, Parcast, and Gimlet in the podcasting shopping spree. The company has clearly transformed from a standard music service to a streaming service.

AI helps create music

Artificial intelligence helps creators to create and compose music. AI technology helps the creators analyze date from different compositions while creating musical pieces. The algorithm learns the patterns ad characteristics that can create music that mimics a genre and is more enjoyable. The technology also helps combine various elements of music to create innovative musical numbers.

AI-enabled smart machines that use natural language processing and computer vision software to understand and interpret text, images, and videos. This helps musicians and artists to connect their audience with the content they find most compelling. AI also empowers creators to share experiences that matter to a global audience in their daily lives.

AI Audio Mastering

Audio mastering is a process that optimizes the listening experience for users on any device. The AI-based audio mastering services offer the musicians a cost-effective alternative to human-based audio mastering. It is a creative process, and many companies still prefer relying on humans for audio mastering. However, AI makes these services accessible to those who might not be able to master their music otherwise.

AI helps identify new artists

For new artists to come into existence and sell their music, it is essential that users should know them. It is expensive for new artists to get discovered and market themselves before the audience. AI helps in determining which audience will enjoy the music of an artist and present the music before them. The AI-based features like Spotify Discovery Weekly present a refined list of music for every listener. Such features help the audience sort the categories of music to find the one that appeals the most to them.

Artist and Repertoire Discovery

AI also helps the music industry with the Artist and Repertoire (A&R) discovery. It has always been difficult to find the musicians and artists that have not signed to a label. A tech start-up acquired by Warner Music Group uses and algorithm to review touring and social streaming data to find promising talent. Companies supporting the A&R process are having a specialization in music data analytics.

Protects user data while streaming

In addition to improving user experience on streaming platforms, artificial intelligence provides space for industry advertisers. Even new artists, who want to reach a wider audience and get their music before the audience, will benefit from personalized feedback and improved search engines.

The information of users can be used for advertising purposes later. In the worst-case scenario, in the event of a malware attack on the network, the information may be exposed to a threat. Data breaches have, after all, become one of the most common online security threats. A secure VPN can encrypt and hide user data from hackers or third parties. It also prohibits the use of information for advertising purposes by the website.

AI can prevent copyright infringement

Protection of copyright is difficult when it comes to live streaming music. Regulators are searching for AI to stop copyright infringement of a popular song or music. Similar to how AI can boost indexing of music content and flag illegal content, learning-based tools are increasingly being used to search live music for copyrighted material.

Final Words

These were the points that show how Artificial intelligence is transforming music streaming services. AI is not only helping musicians and the music industry but also other types of content businesses. It helps the audio, video creators, product, and service providers to understand customer preferences.

Companies manufacturing products like guitars, kids microphone, drum sets, and other musical instruments also make use of AI to create the best products. Musicians and music streaming services understand the taste and preferences of every visitor and present them with relevant and appealing music for their audience.

Contact Us for Free Consultation

Are You Planning to outsource Digital Tansformation services? Feel free for work-related inquiries, our experts will revert you ASAP,