Home 5 Conversational AI Companies Tackling COVID-19

5 Conversational AI Companies Tackling COVID-19

All of the information here are the words that you read on social media, chats, news channels, advertisements, companies’ taglines, and even hear it over calls (thanks to mandatory IVR warnings). Below are five conversational AI companies that are trying to tackle COVID-19 misinformation.

IVR is not just confined to mentions. Almost everyone is trying to give out information and solutions, often without fact-checked information — which is affecting the banking system — and most companies too. The distribution of the right information via appropriate channels is crucial at this point of COVID to avoid any misinformation.

About 51 percent of the survey respondents by Statista agreed that they are concerned when facts are spun and twisted, then pushed for a particular agenda through fake news media. On the other hand, 32 percent of the respondents seemed to think satire was a concern in terms of fake news.

To deal with this issue, AI-Assisted Virtual Assistants have been proven to be the most effective tools. Government organizations and enterprises have been leveraging Digital assistants as a key strategy for communication. Enterprises are not far behind.

It is especially crucial to provide correct information to your end-users in real-time ( when the user needs the information). The time of a pandemic is such a time.

For users, they can rely on the information as it is coming from a trusted source. Facebook’s latest bot check was tallied at more than 33,000 — and Gartner anticipated that 85 percent of customer engagement would be handled without human mediation sooner rather than later.

Can you find trusted information at the pandemic time?

If you are wondering where can you find the trusted information, let me list down five companies –especially for INDIA. We have to have trusted Conversational AI Solutions. The AI solutions are helping raise awareness among the mass and giving out information from India Government approved organizations:

1. Sprinklr

Facebook launched a COVID-19 chatbot for Messenger as well as WhatsApp in partnership with the World Health Organization, with the help of Sprinklr. WHO chatbot provides updates on COVID-19, like latest numbers, travel advice, precautionary measures, and debunks myths too. It was an amazing move by WHO as Facebook Messenger has over 1.3 billion monthly active users and WhatsApp has 2 billion users.

It is called the WHO’s Health Alert interactive service, it can be accessed from the WHO’s official page on Facebook or WhatsApp users can save the number to their phone contacts, and simply send a “Hi” to begin or alternatively can send a message on the WHO’s official Facebook page by using “Send Message” button. You can chat with WHO’s chatbot in English, Spanish and Arabic. As per Facebook, the WHO chatbot on WhatsApp has seen over 12 million users.

2. Yellow Messenger

Yellow Messenger (India) is known for its Enterprise ready Conversational AI platform with 100+ clients in India, South East Asia, Middle East, and Europe. Yellow Messenger has helped enterprises with Telephony Smart Assistant, Chat Smart Assistant, WhatsApp for Business Automation, and Omni-Channel Digital Assistant with an integrated engagement suite consisting of AI-enabled ticketing, notifications, user-management to drive enterprise growth.

Yellow Messenger added in its portfolio the National Health Organisation of India, Government of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, on the call of the Indian Prime Minister to Indian SaaS to step up with cutting edge technology.

National Health Organisation of India with the help of Bangalore based Conversational AI startup Yellow Messenger has launched Chatbot on its website on the 2nd of April this year as a result of the Covid-19 virus. The NHA chatbot provides information to its Indian Citizens about the coronavirus symptoms, and how it is transmitted.

Preventive measures can be taken as a safeguard against the virus, and official government helplines for further information. The Indian government is providing assistance as well as the nearest health centers users can visit for getting tested.

More than 25 thousand queries from the 4 thousand users have been answered since its deployment. The NHA Chatbot is available in English and Hindi, with Hinglish support in the works. Apart from this, Yellow Messenger has helped the Government of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab launch their respective Chatbot on Facebook messenger to provide the right information regarding COVID-19 to the public.

Since the outbreak, Facebook has observed up to 70% more time spent across its apps since the crisis arrived in the country. These two chatbots support Hindi and you can chat with them by using the send message button on Facebook’s Messenger.

3. Haptik

Haptik Infotech Pvt Ltd is a Mumbai based Conversational AI firm, 87 percent owned by Reliance Jio. Indian Government with the help of Haptik launched MyGov Corona Helpdesk — the official Government of India chatbot on WhatsApp in the 3rd week of March 2020 before the infamous lockdown.

The action here was one of the very first initiatives by the Government of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise awareness among the Indian Citizens. Users can send a message on Whatsapp for queries related to COVID-19. Apart from all the updates on COVID-19, Users can access additional resource links provided by the chatbot to learn more about the coronavirus.

4. Google Cloud

Everyone is aware of Google Cloud and having used one of their products at one or the other stage of their life. Google Cloud specializes in helping businesses tackle challenges head-on with cloud computing services from Google, including data management, hybrid & multi-cloud, and AI and ML.

Google Cloud launched an AI chatbot on the 8th of April 2020. The chatbot is called the Rapid Response Virtual Agent program. The program is designed for Google Cloud customers to get responses more quickly to queries regarding the COVID-19.

It is also designed for organizations that need to be able to provide information related to the COVID-19 pandemic to their customers, such as government agencies, healthcare, and public health organizations, as well as travel, financial services, and retail industries. Google also offers Contact Center AI chatbot for 24/7 self-service support on COVID-19 questions via a chatbot or over the phone.

5. Verloop

The Government of Goa with the help of Bengaluru based automation firm Verloop has rolled out a Chatbot called Cobot-19 in collaboration with Portea Medical. The bot can respond to queries on COVID-19 in English and Konkani, with Hindi support in the works.

Cobit-19 is deployed on WhatsApp and it can help clarify doubts about COVID-19 and provide info on precautions to be taken to avoid getting exposed to the virus. Cobot-19 will disseminate information related to coronavirus through data gathered from trusted sources including the World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Johns Hopkins.

The world is in a state of panic and desperate for solutions. With the abundance of information floating online and no one to monitor it, complications could increase. The IT ministry finally had to step up and deal with the problem by issuing an advisory for social media platforms — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. They are trying to ensure effective and quick action against any online content spreading misinformation.

Business and Government are facing a huge gap after the call centers have been shut down and fear binds them that the chances of queries going unanswered have increased. But AI-powered Chatbots have helped clear that gap. Businesses and Government bodies have deployed Chatbots across the most popular platforms to help the mass with their queries on pandemic and queries related to business.

The exchange of messages has increased in the past month as per the latest studies. According to Facebook messaging on their platforms has increased by over 50%, which is an increase of 1000% compared to last month. Although there will always be a need for human interference, even when chatbots with AI are deployed, the coronavirus outbreak has demonstrated just how valuable this automated technology can be for government and enterprises alike working in a time of crisis.

About ReadWrite’s Editorial Process

The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Aarti Nair
Content Writer

Aarti Nair is a content writer who has an extensive history of working with conversational AI and conversation Intelligence startups based out of Bengaluru. She has also worked in the highly competitive Insurance automation sector as a creative writer and social media expert.

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