It’s a year since ChatGPT exploded into the mainstream, grabbing headlines worldwide and bringing AI into mass consciousness. As a conversational AI company, we have been tracking and testing Artificial Intelligence (AI) models, of which there are many, for over three years. Nevertheless, when OpenAI showcased the capabilities of ChatGPT the almost overnight worldwide impact and excitement generated around large language models (LLMs) and AI, came as a bit of a surprise to many in the industry.
Working with some of the world’s largest brands, there are three key themes that dominate many of the conversations that we are having with them today. Whilst the business benefits of conversational AI are well known and accepted, and companies are embracing the use of AI, they are doing so in a considered and cautious way.
Rightly, companies leveraging LLMs are focused on: firstly, ensuring they continue to build trust with their customers; secondly, have control over the messages, answers and interactions they have with customers; and thirdly, work with providers who have extensive experience, given that their reputation, brand and future profitability are paramount considerations when implementing conversational AI solutions. As with any newish technologies there are many organisations that want to ride the wave but may not necessarily have the experience and understanding of the entire conversational AI ecosystem and how ChatGPT or other LLMs fit.
There have been many examples of LLMs hallucinating; given false, misleading or even unrelated answers. We have built controls into our conversational AI platform that provide organisations with the necessary safeguards that they need to protect their reputation whilst taking advantage of the benefits LLMs offer, and thus mitigating the potential risks. In addition to the trustworthiness of content, trust also comes into the equation with regards to a customer’s personal information.
Embedded data security and privacy guiderails for customer data is another important aspect of our conversational AI platform, enabling customer confidence as well as supporting full legislative, governance and risk compliance. The principles of designing the customer experience and ensuring there’s a strong focus on relevant, authentic, personalised content and effective knowledge management are attributes that have become even more important when implementing LLMs as part of a conversational AI solution that will deliver tangible business benefits.
Responsible AI teams are now becoming a core part of the organisation, working closely with the customer experience and compliance teams as well as marketing, sales, HR and customer service departments. Excitingly, we are in the midst of an AI revolution, and the winners will be those organisations that select experienced partners and technology platforms that have transparency and control built in from the ground up.
