Tag: Artificial Intelligence

Singapore – Marketers in APAC are ready to embrace AI with a majority of them feeling confident about using the technology, according to new research from global business and employment-focused social media platform LinkedIn. 

LinkedIn’s study with over 700 respondents in APAC revealed that 76% of marketers in the region believe that AI will change the way they work in the next year, with 46% hoping it will improve their efficiency.

The research also found that 87% of respondents also believe AI will support their work and help create space for teams to think innovatively, freeing up time for marketers to build impactful creative campaigns. 

Notably, 6 in 10 marketers in APAC are using the technology today, with 1 in 2 in the region experimenting with tools such as ChatGPT. The report also finds that nearly 82% of B2B marketing leaders in Singapore plan to increase their use of generative AI in the next year.

Furthermore, marketers in APAC plan to use AI for day-to-day tasks, such as summarising lengthy articles and videos (82%), creating first drafts of written content and presentations (78%), and helping them problem solve (77%).

Talking about the results, Matt Tindale, head of enterprise, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, Asia Pacific, said, “AI is permeating all aspects of work, including marketing. It is now more crucial than ever to create campaigns that enhance brand value. However, many B2B CMOs say they’re pressured to drive results with limited resources, which often leads marketers to favour short-term business needs over long-term strategic efforts.”

“As the landscape of B2B marketing continues to evolve, AI tools will enable marketers to dedicate more time to crafting creative campaigns that drive engagement, establish connections with customers, and yield positive results,” he added.

Singapore – A new report from Indeed notes that job opportunities utilising generative artificial intelligence (AI) are increasing in Singapore, with one in every 490 Singapore job postings are related to generative AI recorded by end of August.

Callam Pickering, APAC senior economist at Indeed, said, “The number may not seem like a big number but it is rapidly increasing. Artificial intelligence is hardly new but it continues to evolve. This year, we’ve seen the emergence of large language models, such as ChatGPT, which create the illusion of real intelligence. These tools have the potential to fundamentally change the future of work and are already being incorporated into many Singapore jobs.”

The data also noted that Singapore job postings fell 1.9% in August compared with a month earlier – the tenth consecutive monthly decline – which left postings almost 20% lower than a year ago. 

While Singapore job postings are at their lowest level since August 2021, they are still 63% above their level prior to the pandemic.

Moreover, postings in 16% of occupational categories have increased over the past three months, led by strong gains in veterinary (+59%), physicians & surgeons (+42%) and pharmacy roles (+27%). 

By comparison, declines have been widespread, with postings in beauty & wellness and civil engineering both down by around 21% over the past three months. Sizable declines were also observed in legal, cleaning & sanitation, chemical engineering and driving roles.

“Singapore’s labour market remains incredibly tight, with unemployment low and job vacancies still elevated. Nevertheless, job postings continue to moderate, having fallen for ten consecutive months. These declines have been broad-based, reflecting most occupational categories. A more challenging economic environment will likely lead to a further decline in job postings over the remainder of the year,” Pickering concluded.

Manila, Philippines – Local livestreaming platform Kumu and Google Cloud have announced a partnership in order to build AI tools to assist content creators in terms of entertainment, education, and customer service.

This collaboration between Kumu and Google Cloud aims to encourage more startups and enterprises alike to embrace the power of generative AI and to understand how this technology can best complement and strengthen their businesses. 

At a showcase event at the Google office in the Philippines, Rexy Dorado, co-founder and president at Kumu, showcased a live demo of “Crisostomo A.I. Barra”, Kumu’s first AI streamer who can respond to questions about Philippine history (even beyond what’s written in “Noli Me Tangere”, the novel that his character and personality was based on), the Kumu app, and general pop culture. Dorado also gave the attendees a sneak peek into other AI avatars in the pipeline: AI game show hosts, fortune tellers, tutors, tour guides, and customer support agents. 

An early adopter of Google Cloud’s generative AI capabilities for businesses, Kumu has been building its AI streamer and other AI avatars using Google Cloud’s PaLM 2 for Text and Chat first-party models, Embeddings for text and images, and Generative AI Studio – all of which can be accessed through the Vertex AI platform.

For the company, it has always sought ways to make Filipino content more fun and engaging with innovative technology. They added that as soon as generative AI started gaining traction, Kumu looked to an AI-first company like Google Cloud to explore how the technology could be applied to enhance its live content experiences.

Manila, Philippines – Philippine Airlines (PAL) has announced that it has tapped Salesforce to improve its current customer experience (CX) strategy, aimed at redefining its customer service and engagement.

The agreement was signed at a recent ceremony at the Conrad Manila, with top executives of PAL, Salesforce, AF Digital, Amadeus, and other key stakeholders in attendance.

Through the partnership, PAL will integrate Salesforce Customer 360, Salesforce’s integrated CRM platform powered by AI, across the airline’s contact center and customer feedback handling units. This will provide a comprehensive view of customer interactions to elevate the overall passenger experience while enhancing internal processes to improve efficiency.

Moreover, PAL will be using Salesforce Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Customer and Partner Portal as well as Slack to provide employees with the insights and tools they need to deliver exceptional customer experiences at every touchpoint. 

The airline also plans to harness the power of AI through the Salesforce Einstein Chatbot, leveraging its ability to use natural language processing (NLP) to understand and respond to customer inquiries.

Capt. Stanley K. Ng, president and chief operating officer at Philippine Airlines, said, “This is more than a partnership. It is a statement of Philippine Airlines’ commitment to the future — a future where digital transformation isn’t just a buzzword but a strategic imperative. It’s about reimagining what Philippine Airlines can be, driven by technology, but always focused on the human experience. We welcome Salesforce as our partner in PAL’s pursuit to create a unified, trustworthy and enriching customer journey.”

Meanwhile, Sujith Abraham, senior vice president and general manager at Salesforce ASEAN, commented, “We are thrilled to partner with Philippine Airlines on their digital transformation journey, and on their mission to deliver exceptional customer experiences. We share values and a customer-centric vision that aims to redefine the very concept of airline customer service for the modern age. We look forward to helping PAL realize the value of AI, data, CRM and trust with data-driven insights to predict, personalize and respond to evolving customer preferences at every touchpoint.”

Lastly, Aurea Vidal, chief information officer at Philippine Airlines, said, “Agility is not just an approach for Philippine Airlines; it’s a way of life, especially as we navigate the complex, fast-paced demands of the airline industry. By partnering with Salesforce, we can build a framework that can swiftly adapt to the evolving needs of our customers and the market. Salesforce CRM will provide us with the strategic agility we need to meet, and exceed the evolving needs of our passengers.”

Manila, Philippines – Media giant GMA has launched its own artificial intelligence (AI) sportscasters, which debuted at the start of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Season 99.

Following the release of it, GMA has been hit with negative publicity, most especially from media practitioners, over the ethics of launching it and ‘cheapening’ quality of mass journalism in the country.

Exclusive data obtained from Meltwater by MARKETECH APAC notes that negative sentiment for it comprise around 25% of the online discussion, while neutral discussion comprising around 55.4% of online discussion. Lastly, positive sentiment was around 19.6% of online discussion.

Most of these highly-engaged discussions on Twitter, to where much of the discussion is coming from, have noted also negative sentiment media reportage of the AI sportscaster launch.

GMA joins a growing list Asian media entities who have launched their own AI newscasters, including Hong Kong’s RTHK with Aida, Indonesia’s TVOne with Nadira and Sasya, India’s OTV with Lisa, Malaysia’s Astro AWANI with Joon and Monica; amongst others.

In a press statement, Oliver Victor B. Amoroso, senior vice president and head of integrated news, regional TV, and synergy at GMA; said of the launch, “GMAIN’s adoption of AI technology also demonstrates our commitment to innovation in journalism. We embrace emerging technologies to stay at the forefront of the media industry by providing our audience with a modern and engaging sports news experience. Through this initiative, we continue to fulfill our commitment to providing valuable information and enriching the lives of Filipinos worldwide.”

Singapore – SoftServe, a provider of IT consulting and digital services, launches its Generative AI Lab with the objective of assisting businesses in achieving concrete business results through the application of Generative AI solutions.

Through research and development of generative models in numerous AI applications, the newly established lab strengthens SoftServe’s AI/ML knowledge. It is supported by a team of professionals committed to improving the potential of Generative AI, spanning from initial discovery to practical integration.

The SoftServe Generative AI Lab will support research and development projects in a variety of areas, including model improvement, domain adaptation, multimodal Generative AI, cost-performance enhancements, operational management (LLMOps), and other facets. Its goal is to combine various technologies and methodologies within these focus areas to create spanning a range of industries.

The expertise and resources developed in the lab will be incorporated into realistic business scenarios by matching these research priorities with the requirements and plans of SoftServe’s clients for efficient implementation.

Alex Chubay, SoftServe’s chief technology officer, said, “Unlike other areas with more developed and mature best practices, Generative AI stands out with its novelty and emergent properties unveiling not just technological innovations, but also groundbreaking use cases that may redefine business strategies.” 

He remarked, “The pace of innovation here is staggering, often overwhelming businesses with new advancements released weekly. This is where the Generative AI Lab shines. It’s not just a hub for rapid experimentation, value discovery, and solution engineering with the latest techniques and technologies. It’s a conduit for channeling this explosive innovation directly to our clients.”

Meanwhile, Iurii Milovanov, SoftServe’s AVP of AI & Data Science, commented, “To move forward, we must be strategic about implementation. This is where a pragmatic approach becomes critical to proving these once-hypothetical possibilities can make real impacts across various business functions and industries.”

United Kingdom – Airline Virgin Atlantic has tapped enterprise customer data platform Amperity to aid in the airline’s unification, management, and activation of its digital and transactional customer data in order to deliver personalised customer experiences and drive revenue growth.

Virgin Atlantic looks after a vast amount of customer data generated from digital touchpoints and offline transactions throughout the customer journey. As part of its ongoing data transformation, the travel company will use the CDP to create a personalised ecosystem and improve the digital experience.

Amperity’s platform uses patented machine learning algorithms to deliver industry-leading identity resolution, audience segmentation, and predictive analytics which allows Virgin Atlantic to create the most relevant content and communications for each customer. 

Tom Barber, head of data at Virgin Atlantic, said, “When it comes to innovating for our customers, Virgin Atlantic never stands still. We’re building a digital core at the heart of our business so that our customers benefit from a seamless shop, book and service experience for our flights and holidays, with an innate understanding of their preferences across the end-to-end journey.”

He added, “We’re excited to adopt Amperity to help us get to know our customers better than ever, supporting personalised and meaningful content and experiences at every touchpoint, with the advantage of consistent and secure first-party data and customer segmentation.”

Meanwhile, Barry Padgett, CEO at Amperity, commented, “Today, customer data is at the heart of any ambitious organisation, especially one that aspires to make every interaction feel more like it is a one-to-one experience versus a one-to-many approach. By tapping into Amperity, the platform for customer data, Virgin Atlantic will be able to take advantage of patented identity resolution, with strict governance and activation capabilities that will make experiences even more connected and relevant.”

Sydney, Australia – Sitecore, a comprehensive digital experience software platform, has acknowledged its ongoing commitment to incorporating AI capabilities into its range of content and commerce solutions. This statement was announced in Sydney during the Sitecore DX (digital experience) Sydney 2023 conference. The business has already incorporated AI capabilities into its personalization and content cloud software.

A personalisation platform from Sitecore enables brands to gain insights from customers’ prior website interactions and has introduced an AI-driven Content Cloud for businesses.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT has already been fully integrated into the company’s suite of fully modular software solutions. By enabling marketers to integrate Generative AI capabilities into their Sitecore-driven marketing technology stack, this new feature, powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, improves efficiency, personalization, and scalable content production across Sitecore’s broad range of modular solutions.

Marketers can adapt their solutions by integrating their AI tools through open APIs (application programming interfaces) and customizable user interfaces (UIs) using Sitecore’s fully-modular approach. Examples from the real world include integrating ChatGPT into the Sitecore XM Cloud CMS (content management system) for quick translations and using ChatGPT to edit marketing content in the content hub to better tailor it to target audiences and distribution channels.

Additionally, Sitecore customers can use Dall-E to create various image variations for omnichannel campaigns managed by Sitecore’s Content Cloud.

Steve Tzikakis, CEO of Sitecore, said, “The future of marketing technology and brand experience will be AI-fuelled due to the sheer power of machine learning tools. However, businesses will need to move away from legacy software stacks, and infuse AI systems into composable software approaches that enable true flexibility and the ability to provide their customers with personalised and rich experiences.”

In a recent survey of 400 marketers in the US, Sitecore identified generative AI as a beneficial innovation that brand marketers must implement if they want to offer quick personalization to customers looking for immersive and intuitive digital experiences.

Tzikakis also commented, “Our Generative AI offering has been created to integrate with our composable strategy. Generative AI developments are moving incredibly fast. In fact, while 77% of US marketers feel their technology can handle AI demands, 45% are concerned by the significant costs they perceive will be required to maintain growth.” 

He added, “Sitecore’s composable platform helps combat this fear by giving Sitecore customers the ability to leverage our unique, composable offering, which allows brands to control when and how much spend they can invest depending on customer needs.”

Jakarta, Indonesia – A significant channel partnership has been announced by TenMax, an AI Martech company with its headquarters in Taiwan, and Infobip, a global cloud communications platform.

Through this partnership, marketing automation and digital transformation solutions will be made available to the Indonesian market.

TenMax was chosen by Infobip as a partner due to their experienced local engineering team and a track record of working with clients like Gojek. Gojek’s Gojek Ads Network (GoGAN), a comprehensive digital advertising solution, was supported by TenMax’s AI engineering.

TenMax Indonesia (TMI), a Jakarta-based subsidiary of TenMax, will offer its clients in Indonesia the full range of omnichannel messaging channels, tools, and solutions for customer engagement offered by Infobip. TMI will also provide customised implementation and service support on a local level.

With a focus on the unique requirements of its preeminent small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs), Indonesia is a crucial market for Infobip. SMEs accounted for 97% of domestic employment in 2020 and nearly 56% of Indonesia’s business investment.

Furthermore, Indonesia is a developing, tech-savvy market distinguished by a young population. The digital native Gen Z in Indonesia, which makes up 52% of its 270 million people, spends 8.5 hours per day on their smartphones, 2 hours longer than the APAC average.

Jeremy Lin, general manager of TMI, said, “Infobip’s solutions help lower the barriers to marketing automation, which we believe is crucial to addressing the customer retention challenges faced by Indonesian SMEs.” 

He added, “They often have extensive customer lists but struggle to retain customers due to a lack of access to the right tools. Infobip is the perfect match for the Indonesia market, and we are thrilled to partner together.”

Meanwhile, George Ni, regional director of partnerships and alliances, APAC at Infobip, expressed, “We are delighted about our partnership with TMI and the opportunities it presents for Indonesian businesses. TMI’s deep understanding of the local market combined with Infobip’s powerful solutions will provide businesses with the essential tools needed to enhance customer experiences.” 

Ni added, “Together, we are well-positioned to make a positive difference that builds strong customer relationships in Indonesia.” 

Singapore – Consumers in Singapore are wary of the fast adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by businesses, with 87% of local consumers saying they want to know whether they are communicating with an AI or human for customer service. This was according to the latest data from Salesforce.

According to the data, around 79% of the respondents are concerned about companies using AI unethically. However, it is also worth noting that around 66% of customers in Singapore say advances in AI make it more important that companies are trustworthy.

Meanwhile, 53% of customers in Singapore expect companies to understand their needs as they change. Furthermore, 85% of customers in Singapore expect faster service and 78% expect better personalisation as technology advances.

In addition, 78% of customers in Singapore expect consistent interactions across departments and 76% expect to interact with someone immediately when they contact a company.

Lastly, in terms of customer engagement, 85% of consumers in Singapore say the experience a company provides is just as important as its products and services. However, many companies fall short – 66% of customers in Singapore say most companies treat them as a number rather than a unique individual.

Moreover, 62% of consumers in Singapore switched brands at least once in the past year. With this, the quest for better deals is the leading reason for switching brands but the demand for product quality follows closely behind. 

Sujith Abraham, senior vice president and general manager for Salesforce ASEAN, said, “Rising customer expectations means companies can’t afford to stand still when it comes to customer service. Technologies such as AI hold immense potential for businesses to keep up with changing needs and preferences. But this also raises pressing concerns around the ethics of AI.”

He added, “The trust imperative is now more important than ever. Companies that will succeed are those that demonstrate they are approaching the technology thoughtfully, grounded in transparency and security, in order to win the trust of their customers.”