Powered by Data - July 8, 2024

Last Week in Conversational AI

  • Vodafone has introduced SuperTOBi, a new generative AI-powered virtual assistant that is now available in Italy and Portugal and soon in Germany and Turkey. Powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI, SuperTOBi excels in handling complex customer inquiries, offering more natural, personalized interactions than traditional chatbots. This advancement is part of Vodafone's broader €140 million investment in enhancing customer experience. SuperTOBi is set to expand to more countries later this year, complementing Vodafone's existing TOBi service, which is used across Europe and Africa. Early results in Portugal show significant improvements in customer satisfaction and resolution rates. Read More
  • X, formerly known as Twitter, will embed its AI chatbot, Grok, across the platform. App researcher Nima Owji discovered upcoming features, revealing that Grok will soon allow Premium and Premium+ subscribers to highlight text and query Grok directly, request background information on accounts, and access Grok via a floating "Grok drawer" interface. Despite Grok's previous issues, including spreading misinformation, Elon Musk's X continues to push for its broader use, reflecting Musk's commitment to AI integration following significant investments in his AI company, xAI. Read More
  • Cloudflare has introduced a free tool to prevent AI bots from scraping data from websites hosted on its platform. While some AI vendors like Google and OpenAI allow blocking via robots.txt, many AI scrapers ignore these rules. Cloudflare's new tool uses fine-tuned detection models to identify and block evasive AI bots by analyzing traffic patterns and bot behavior. This initiative aims to protect website content from unauthorized data scraping, a growing issue as the demand for AI training data surges. However, the effectiveness of this tool depends on its accuracy in detecting sophisticated bots. Read More
  • Meta is set to incorporate generative AI technology into its VR, AR, and mixed-reality games to revitalize its metaverse strategy. A job listing reveals Meta's aim to develop games with dynamic, ever-changing gameplay and non-deterministic paths driven by generative AI. The focus will be on Horizon, Meta’s suite of metaverse games and apps, but could extend to non-Meta platforms like smartphones and PCs. The initiative aims to create new, unprecedented gaming experiences and enhance game development efficiency by leveraging AI-powered tools. Read More