The constant evolution in technology has been a driving force in the adoption of innovative adaptations to make life easier for internet users, no matter their circumstances. For example, chatbots have taken a significant step forward in recent years to substantially improve the user experience, contributing to the emergence of what we now know today as the digitally enabled, personalized customer experience.
Today, with its innumerable advantages to communication, conversational AI is being deployed in various cases and processes across industries, from IT and security management to marketing, human resources, insurance, education, retail, banking and financial services, logistics, travel, and healthcare.
Chatbots at Qatar Foundation
At Qatar Foundation, one of the uses of AI is its incorporation into the website to provide users with instant answers to their questions – and to show them the numerous ways they can be engaged with Qatar Foundation and the opportunities available within Education City, the organization’s campus that is home to schools, universities, research and innovation centers, and myriad community activities, programs, and events.
To achieve this, Qatar Foundation introduced BOTaina – a helpful, knowledgeable, friendly, and unique character. The chatbot interacts in both Arabic and English – points users toward the information they want to know and helps them discover how being part of the Qatar Foundation community can benefit them.
Thanks to the digital revolution, today’s internet users expect no less than a flawless, intuitive, and hyper-personalized experience, with services available at the push of a button on any device. BOTaina is designed to provide website users with instantaneous responses to their queries whilst eliminating the possible delays which come with human responses. It offers a personalized user experience and engagement, providing access to the Qatar Foundation website’s content and showcasing Qatar Foundation as a leader in digital innovation.
Impact
BOTaina has been humanized with the persona and appearance of a young Qatari woman. Her avatar was designed by Aisha Al-Fadhala, an alumna of Qatar Foundation partner university Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar. The aim is for her to ultimately be a virtual assistant who also “lives” across other Qatar Foundation communication platforms. It is important to note that her dedication is unequivocal; if she cannot quickly find the answer, she will search the website until she does.
Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on how institutions operate and the need to stay connected, chatbots are an ideal way to create a connection across Qatar Foundation’s platforms and provide support staff, students and visitors with anything they need.
“At Qatar Foundation, our approach to AI, and the projects we have undertaken in the field, is designed to integrate our research into the social and economic development of our society. I am proud to credit our esteemed colleagues who played a crucial role in the success of this project. Special thanks to Ahmed Al Kahlout (Head of Digital Media), Agata Braja and Fajar Majeed (Senior Digital Media Specialists). Also to our brilliant creative content team for their valuable contributions and dedication.” Said Ali Sikandar, Manager of Digital Media, Qatar Foundation.
“Deploying BOTaina to her new home on our most popular digital channel, we have harnessed AI technology to inform and engage our audiences and showcase our unique ecosystem to Qatar, the region, and the world in a new way.”
BOTaina has been built with a conversational language understanding capability, powered by Microsoft Azure AI-cognitive services. Leveraging the power of Microsoft Azure, the chatbot has been created to process big data and can be highly scalable, improving at exponential speeds.
According to results during the first month of deployment, users asked BOTaina almost 7,000 questions, of which nearly 85% were answered correctly – all without any promotion.
“We are constantly looking to evolve our communication platforms to meet people’s needs, and the response to BOTaina has been very encouraging. The fact that she gives our website users a personalized, humanized and conversational experience and the swift response to their questions also encourages repeat visits to Education City. The chatbot also promotes our events, initiatives, tours, and opportunities available across our platforms,” Sikandar added.
“At Qatar Foundation, we have been quick to embrace Microsoft’s advanced Azure AI capabilities, and we have been actively exploring how we can further integrate these services with the Azure Cognitive Services that power our chatbot BOTaina. Our objective is to augment the abilities of BOTaina by leveraging the latest cutting-edge technology to meet the needs of our ever-evolving internal and external audiences,” he concluded.
