INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Clinc is expanding its focus on fintech into new verticals that could take advantage of its conversational artificial intelligence
The Ann Arbor-based company recently took the wraps off its new system that aims to provide quick-service restaurants like McDonald and Taco
Bell with a voice assistant in the drive-through window.I got a demo of the new system
For the most part, even in its early state, it works as advertised
Want a double cheeseburger without pickles and mayo with a side of fries and a Coke With Clinc system, a person can order food as if they
Have questions or want to make changes to the order Again, the person ordering the food does not have to modify their speech pattern or use
a voice menu tree — just talk to the system normally.This is Clinc second implementation of it conversational AI system
This technology is from the next generation.The company started with a solution for fintech and currently has several contracts with major
banks such as USAA, Barclays and SP Global
In most cases, when integrated into the bank system, Clinc technology emulates human intelligence and can interpret unstructured,
The idea is to let users converse with their bank account using natural language without pre-defined templates or hierarchical voice
menus.Clinc wasfounded by University of Michigan professors Dr
Michael Laurenzano.Mars tells me Clinc spun up the quick-service restaurant (QSR) product in about two weeks
He explains that Clinc platform allows programmers to drag and drop a restaurant menu to add items to the voice service.I watched a Clinc
engineer use the system for about an hour
Over and over again, the system processed the order correctly, but occasionally it got it wrong
It seems changing an order is just as easy as placing one though, and the engineer was able to modify the order on the fly.When using the
system, it obvious a computer is speaking
Good or bad, if implemented by restaurants, this could be one of the largest barriers to adoption by consumers
For the most part, ordering from a fast food restaurant is an easy affair, but occasionally it gets complicated and Clinc system has to be
able to handle everything — or have triggers that cause the system to connect the orderer with a live person to resolve the issue.The QSR
product is coming to market at a critical time
Fast-food restaurants are increasingly looking for ways to reduce the number of workers in their stores while also looking for new ways for
It clear this product can be modified to address other voice-heavy industries, too, such as call centers and appointment booking services.
