Wiz.AI Develops AI Talkbots for Enterprises in Southeast Asia
Startup Success Story Bringing AI Talkbots for Southeast Asia
The Rise of AI Talkbots in Enterprise
Enterprises worldwide now use AI talkbots to provide customer service at scale. Most of us have interacted with voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant. Many have also dealt with customer service agents powered by conversational AI applications.
Southeast Asia’s Unique Challenge
AI talkbots have gained widespread adoption by enterprises globally. However, the ASEAN market presents a significant challenge for AI conversational firms. This complexity stems from the numerous languages and dialects spoken throughout the region.
Jennifer Zhang Spots an Opportunity
Jennifer Zhang, CEO and co-founder of Wiz.AI, recognized this gap in the market. “When we started in early 2019, nobody was bringing voice AI products to Southeast Asia,” she told KrASIA. “Doing this in Southeast Asia is challenging. Nevertheless, we want to target this market as our starting point to create our competitive technology advantage.”
Company Overview
Singapore-based startup Wiz.AI develops conversational AI technology. Its solutions serve enterprises of all scales across the region. The firm operates offices in Nanjing and Jakarta. Moreover, it closed a USD 6 million pre-Series A round in May last year, led by GGV Capital.
Wavemaker Partners, ZWC Partners, Insignia Ventures, and the Orion Fund managed by K3 Ventures also participated in the investment round.
The Growing Conversational AI Market
Deloitte Digital defines conversational AI as a “programmatic and intelligent way of offering a conversational experience to mimic conversations with real people.” The technology operates through digital and telecommunication platforms. Furthermore, the firm expects the global conversational AI market to reach USD 17.64 billion by 2024. This represents a compound annual growth rate of 30.2%.
How Automated Customer Voice Services Work
Speech Recognition and Processing
Creating natural conversation flow between AI chatbots and human users requires several steps. First, the system must recognize the speaker’s speech pattern. This means understanding their language, dialect, slang, and speech inconsistencies, Zhang explained. The process involves automatic speech recognition to convert spoken words into text. Additionally, natural language processing interprets the meaning of that text.
Conversational Design
Next, the chatbot must provide valid answers. For this purpose, Wiz.AI employs a dedicated team that performs “conversational design.” They generate dialogue that mimics realistic human-to-human interactions. The team has developed specific voices and tones for different scenarios. This approach provides “a better engagement feeling,” Zhang said.
Real-World Applications
- Healthcare scenarios use gentle, comforting middle-aged women’s voices
- Talkbots answer payment questions and guide customers to acceptable charges
- Systems clarify unclear speech with prompts like “Do you mean this?”
- All customer information gets logged automatically
Multi-Language Capabilities
Wiz.AI has developed talkbots that communicate with customers in several languages. These include English, Mandarin, and Indonesian. They also cover informal variants such as Singlish (Singaporean slang mixed with English) and Manglish (informal Malaysian English).
Client Base and Industries
Currently, the company serves over 30 clients across various industries. These sectors include healthcare, insurance, banking, telecommunications, e-commerce, and government.
Healthcare Applications
Talkbots proactively contact patients, track symptoms, and help arrange health visit appointments.
Telecommunications
For client Zero1 (Singaporean virtual telco), talkbots call users to offer promotions and address queries.
Customer Preferences and Survey Results
Wiz.AI conducted a survey revealing that 97% of medical patients feel comfortable receiving calls from talkbots, Zhang told KrASIA. Rather than using emails or online chat clients, most people still prefer phone calls for complex interactions.
Even so, the company also offers automated chat applications for customers. Additionally, Wiz.AI leverages customer relationship management software. This helps clients track and manage data about their customers’ needs.
‘Last-Mile Delivery’ Strategy
Wiz.AI faces competition from Big Tech players like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. When asked about this challenge, Zhang responded with a metaphor. “They’re making the freeway, but we’re handling the last-mile delivery.”
Strategic Positioning
Wiz.AI positions itself as a service provider in “the untapped and challenging Southeast Asian market.” This market might not be the priority of larger firms. Therefore, the startup focuses on specialized regional needs.
COVID-19 Acceleration
Last year, Wiz.AI’s talkbots found rapid, immediate use cases. The COVID-19 pandemic suspended operations of many call centers worldwide. Budget cuts meant workers were laid off or furloughed. Consequently, Wiz.AI’s products filled this gap, replacing human operators.
Learning Through Challenges
Although integration challenges existed with some enterprise infrastructure, the startup used these opportunities constructively. They tested new application scenarios and fine-tuned their products. This process connected their talkbots with people worldwide.