We are now living in the times of the great digital revolution led by the new, transformational force – Artificial Intelligence (AI).
AI technologies are altering not only the way we find and analyze information or create content, but also how we run our companies and do business in general.
No doubt, Generative AI is the main buzzword of 2023, especially due to the appearance of the Open AI Platform and ChatGPT as well as many other tools that gained unprecedented popularity all over the world.
Often accompanied by irrational myths and fears, AI technologies are now bravely marching into our everyday lives, and it seems like there is nothing that can stop them. There is little doubt that this brave new technology brings along a multitude of new opportunities, but they have to be introduced to our best advantage within the framework defined by the authorities.
That’s exactly why SuperOffice is embracing AI technologies – to enhance our main features, improve our core functionality, and meet the needs of modern, tech-savvy, progress-appreciating users.
Let’s take a look at what AI functions have been already introduced to SuperOffice CRM. And then, we’ll explore what we plan to implement in the near future.
The AI history of SuperOffice
First and foremost – SuperOffice has a long history and culture of protecting both private and business data. We’re dedicated to respecting all relevant compliance regulations that emerge in the tailwind of the new AI technologies.
We always keep our customers’ data protection in mind, especially when we embrace AI technologies.
We’re dedicated to privacy protection, and always make sure that customer data used by AI-enhanced features is safe and secure.
AI as a Service
We started to tap into AI potential back in 2020, when we launched SuperOffice G9 and introduced the concept of “AI as a service”.
The SuperOffice AI strategy kicked off by incorporating standard, publicly available AI in our existing and upcoming CRM features and processes.
This was done to enable smart user experiences and to help solve emerging business issues. By eliminating the need to invest in costly and complex in-house AI solutions, “AI as a service” was a way to take advantage of AI powers without having to make large investments.
In particular, we allowed our customers to be able to analyze a customer service (CS) request’s text, categorize CS requests, and connect with a chatbot supported by AI and Machine Learning.
In 2020/21 we continued implementing AI features in all new releases of SuperOffice CRM, improving all existing and new functions that our customers needed in their daily work.
The initial AI services introduced to SuperOffice CRM in 2020/21 were:
- AI Request Text Analysis
- AI Request Categorization
- AI Chatbot Connector
- AI features in SuperOffice Mobile CRM
We want AI to help our customers improve their processes, stimulate smarter sales, make data-driven decisions, and most importantly – build strong customer relationships that last and generate revenue.
Generative AI exploration
At SuperOffice, we strongly believe in the power of change. Naturally, since the launch of our first-generation AI features, we haven’t stopped.
Inspired by the advancements made by Azure Open AI Services and ChatGPT, our 2nd generation AI platform has been evolving during the last 6 months.
Still in the process of research and development, our AI roadmap is starting to take shape.
Outlining future AI initiatives
The AI development initiatives that we have outlined for the immediate future are set to evolve around four different ways of using new AI technologies.
1. ChatGPT Sidebar
We will embed ChatGPT user experience into the SuperOffice user interface (UI). This is a generic approach where the purpose is to place the technology directly in a CRM context and inspire our users to take advantage of the general power of ChatGPT. Our main goal here is to bring ChatGPT inside SuperOffice CRM, and not something you have to access as an external app when you are already working with the SuperOffice application.
2. Direct CRM Data
When asking ChatGPT for information and advice – we need to give it the data it can use to formulate replies. If you feed it with your own business data, it will improve the quality and reliability of the answers. It may also provide a direct source for the data used.
Let me give you a simple example of how you can extract data from your SuperOffice CRM database and provide ChatGPT with relevant business data. If you ask ChatGPT to make a summary of a specific sales opportunity, you must obviously also provide quality data related to the sales opportunity in your own CRM database.
Another example is when you ask ChatGPT to give you a summary of a certain customer request (support ticket) and a proposal for solving and closing the request.
3. SuperOffice Copilot
For some other use cases, your CRM data must be sorted, filtered and prepared for use in a more complex situation.
Just retrieving them in a “direct, raw format” does not really serve the purpose. The data needs to be refined, prepared and adapted to how ChatGPT works.
Again, let me give you an example.
Let’s assume you want ChatGPT to suggest a solution to a customer request (support case). To be able to do this, you must provide the historical data from similar requests and the actual solution you found to the customer’s problem at that time.
Think about it this way: your products are unique, and so are the way your customers use them. There is no way any technology can find a generic solution to any (unique) situation. You need to provide that information to the GPT. The good thing is that we, powered by the new AI technology, can help you do just that. The keywords are Open AI, Plugins, vectorized databases (RAG), and the SuperOffice CRM data in the right context.
There are many examples of use cases that will benefit from this model. And all these examples would work inside SuperOffice CRM – as your SuperOffice Copilot.
⚠️ This all depends on the quality of your data and the way you are using SuperOffice CRM. If there is no data or activities related to your sales opportunity or the service request, the GPT wouldn’t be able to just make up something.
4. Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft has introduced the Copilot concept for (more or less) all their applications. SuperOffice has a long history of seamless integration with Microsoft Office applications, and we find the Microsoft 365 Copilot of particular interest. By feeding relevant data from SuperOffice CRM into the Microsoft 365 Copilot, we bridge and empower the collaboration between CRM and office collaboration tools. We believe the results for the users will be amazing.
SuperOffice will develop and provide relevant Open AI plugins for Office 365 and also any other third-party providers of “copilots”.
Final thoughts
CRM is a business solution that embraces change. And AI is a true game-changer when it comes to productivity and analytics.
That’s why the AI-powered future of SuperOffice CRM is dynamic and promising.
With our new generative AI improvements in SuperOffice CRM, we are certain to enhance our product’s capabilities, add new functionality that will improve daily productivity, and allow our users to make smart decisions based on your own CRM data.
Our main goal when it comes to AI empowerment stays the same – we want to help people to take advantage of ready-made AI products with ease and convenience. You don’t have to be an IT specialist to harness the power of AI technologies. Anyone should be able to take their daily work to another level with the help of AI.
🚀 So, that was the overall structure of how we approach the generative AI opportunities at SuperOffice, as well as a sneak-peek into a small selection of potential use-cases. In the months and years to come we plan to investigate even more advanced ways of tapping into the brave new world of AI.
