Though Apple has lengthy baked machine studying and AI into lots of the iPhone’s options, 2024 could be the yr we see the corporate transfer into user-facing generative AI. Nevertheless, it appears to be like like the corporate isn’t simply planning to make use of AI to make Siri extra conversationally helpful — it’s additionally testing inside instruments to assist its assist employees reply to prospects extra effectively.
Info obtained by the oldsters at MacRumors reveals that AppleCare assist advisors are testing a brand new “ChatGPT-like generative AI device” known as “Ask” to assist them resolve buyer assist points by having the knowledge they want at their fingertips.
Don’t fear, although; Apple isn’t planning on having you discuss to a chatbot when calling into assist — not less than not anytime quickly. As a substitute, “Ask” is meant to be used by the assist advisors. The individual you’re speaking to might feed questions into “Ask” to get sooner solutions to complicated issues, which they will then relay again to the shopper over the cellphone or in a web based chat.
Presumably, Apple’s assist reps gained’t simply be studying the AI device’s responses verbatim. As a substitute, these are meant to offer them the background info that they will then put into the context of the shopper’s particular scenario.
MacRumors says that the device is being examined by a subset of AppleCare assist advisors, who’re being requested to make use of it earlier than falling again to conventional search strategies or consulting a senior advisor for assist. “Ask” is tied into Apple’s inside information base, which suggests something popping out of it must be “factual, traceable, and helpful.” Advisors can ask as much as 5 follow-up questions for a given subject to assist slender issues down.
Since most frontline assist reps don’t have all of the solutions themselves, it’s widespread for them to want to go in quest of particular solutions when offered with thorny issues by prospects. Nevertheless, zeroing in on an answer can generally be difficult with conventional search strategies, and Apple is hoping that “Ask” will ferret out the related particulars extra rapidly, leading to sooner resolutions for buyer issues.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported on a number of new AI initiatives inside Apple, together with its work on the Siri enhancements we’ll seemingly see in iOS 18 and the primary trace of Apple’s plans to leverage it for AppleCare assist.
The corporate has additionally continued to hone its personal LLMs to reinforce Siri and companies like AppleCare assist. The corporate is trying to enhance Siri’s means to reply complicated questions precisely, and the customer support groups are attempting to hurry up chat and cellphone assist. Apple can be closely invested in integrating AI into its well being options.
Mark Gurman
This new “Ask” device is almost definitely what Gurman is speaking about. Nevertheless, it seems like Apple might use the identical massive language fashions (LLMs) to reinforce Siri. We’ll in all probability get Apple’s first official phrase on this in June when it unveils iOS 18 at its annual Worldwide Builders Convention (WWDC). Who is aware of? Sometime it’s possible you’ll even have the ability to ask Siri for assist along with your iPhone or Mac earlier than calling AppleCare.