noHold Launches SICURA™ QuickStart

Empowering non-programmers to create their own Virtual Assistant (bot)

December 6, 2016, MILPITAS, CA – noHold announces SICURA™ QuickStart, a platform designed to make creating a Virtual Assistant (Albert) easy for anyone with a basic understanding of Microsoft® Word or Google® Docs.

Now, if you are a small business owner you can create a Virtual Assistant out of the manual for your product(s). If you are a large enterprise you can create a Virtual Assistant out of an Employee Handbook. Personal use is possible, too. For example, students can create a Virtual Assistant out of their last research paper.

According to Business Insider, in April of 2015 the number of messaging application users surpassed the number of social application users.  Given that the interaction paradigm of a messaging application is very similar to the paradigm of a Virtual Assistant (bot), the popularity of Virtual Assistants has increased exponentially. Recognizing this growing trend, noHold engineered SICURA QuickStart as a way to make creating and managing AI simple for anyone.

To make your own Albert, go to www.albertai.com, and click sign up in the top right navigation bar. Follow a few simple instructions to get a free personal account, and once you have access you will be ready to start teaching Albert anything you want. Upon completion of training Albert (a process that takes seconds), a mobile-friendly URL is provided. This URL can be placed anywhere you like, making integrating with websites, social media, and collaboration platforms easy. Metrics are also available to monitor weekly usage and identify exactly what users are asking your Albert.

CEO of noHold, Diego Ventura, goes on to say, “I don’t believe the next generation AI will be built by one single big company, instead, it will be the result of the collaboration of millions of people who have created their own Virtual Assistants and are able to connect them together. Who knows, maybe a lot of them will be called Albert.”

noHold Demonstrates How Virtual Agents Offer ‘Siri-like’ Experience for Communicating with Wearable Devices

May 6, 2014, Milpitas, California – noHold announces that it has been working with a number of popular manufacturers to prove that Virtual Agents augment the Internet of Everything (IoE). With a working version already able to communicate with wearable technology, noHold Connect will change the way that humans interact with the IoE.

According to a recent article published by Computerworld (Computerworld.com), “Analysts expect not only an explosion of wearable devices in the next three years, but an explosion of mobile apps of all kinds. Research firm Gartner last year predicted that wearable devices will drive half of all app interactions by 2017, a startling prediction, but one that Gartner believes was reinforced by the flurry of wearable devices shown at International CES.” One analyst mentioned that “virtually all vendors are choosing mobile apps to interact with the way we will use a wearable device.”

The scenario that noHold described in a Press Release about noHold Connect and the IoE, is coming to fruition. noHold Connect augmenting the IoE is about focusing on bringing the human element to the future of interconnected living, while making consumers less dependent on multiple apps. When the average consumer purchases a wearable fitness bracelet, he/she will expect to be able to interact with it from a conversational standpoint. Today, a conversation with noHold’s Virtual Butler sounds like this: The end customer asks, “Can I eat cake?” and gets a real response based on the data collected by the devices such as carbohydrate and glucose intake. The response from the Virtual Butler is, “Sorry! Based on your glucose level, you cannot eat the cake.”

Similarly, a wearable device capturing data about sleep patterns is now able to communicate with noHold’s butler. If asked, “How much deep sleep did I get,” the butler retrieves information about last night’s sleep quality, and interprets that data into a response such as, “You had 2 hours and 46 minutes of deep sleep last night.”

This is just the beginning; consumers will expect similar experiences when setting and managing appliances such as a coffee makers, thermostats, etc. as well as conducting common daily chores like checking the automobile’s oil level, making an appointment at the nearest auto shop, while scheduling the recording of a favorite TV program.

At an event this month, noHold’s butler will demonstrate how Virtual Agents can now bridge the gap between Internet connected ‘things’ and cognitive interaction without the need for managing hundreds of mobile apps.

“In the near future, communicating with technology and our surroundings [especially devices] will be the norm. Voice and text interaction with our environment is not just a marketing ploy; it’s happening. There is a real paradigm shift that’s taking place, and the technology has been validated by industry leaders such as IBM Watson™, Apple®, Cisco®, and more. I was recently asked where we get our inspiration for connecting new devices, and I definitely recommend attending the Cisco Live event which is taking place May 18-22 in San Francisco. You can register for the event here,” said Diego Ventura, CEO and Founder of noHold, Inc.

About noHold Inc.

noHold is a privately held company established in 1999 and is headquartered in Milpitas, CA, USA (Silicon Valley). noHold is the acknowledged leader in Web based Self-service solutions with a mission to deliver real answers to real questions - real fast. Simple to use, easy to implement and as close to human as you can get, noHold turns automated customer support into cognitive customer interaction. noHold customers include Toshiba, Lenovo, Cisco and a host of industry leaders. More information can be found at www.nohold.com.

Press Contact

Sarah Ramoz

Marketing Operations Manager

sramoz@nohold.com

408.946.9200 ext. 305

Copyright © 2014 noHold Inc. All other product and service names are the property of their respective owners.

On-the-Go Virtual Agent: Trusted Brand Launches Mobile Virtual Agent

                           Reference: Mobile Apps Overtake PC Internet Usage in U.S.

Internet and App usage on mobile devices is continually growing and has already exceeded PC Internet usage in 2014. "Mobile devices accounted for 55% of Internet usage in the United States in January. Apps made up 47% of Internet traffic and 8% of traffic came from mobile browsers, according to data from comScore, cited Thursday by research firm Enders Analysis. PCs clocked in at 45%" (CNNMoney). Consumers are using their mobile devices for virtually everything now; shopping, looking up directions, banking, etc. Furthermore, users now have access to their smart devices via their mobile applications. It seems like having a mobile strategy for your company is required in today's world, instead of just a bonus feature.  

For example, one of the top providers for telephone service in the North East Central States, recently enhanced their mobile support presence. They estimated that about a quarter of their users are mobile, and they wanted to adopt practices that will cater to the needs of these users, as well as PC users. One way they responded to customer demand was by launching a mobile version of their Virtual Agent. Now that the Virtual Agent is easily accessible from mobile phones, users can get the solutions to their problems from the palm of their hand. 

Is your company mobile friendly? What are some of your best practices within the mobile scope?

www.nohold.com

Throwback Thursday: Self-Service Kiosks: Past, Present, and Future

Photo Credit: IBM

Above is a picture of the world’s first self-service kiosk created by IBM who partnered with American Airlines, and American Express. It was used as an airline ticket vendor and received high praise from its test trial, with 99% of users saying they would use it again. IBM continued to create and make advancements to many self-service kiosks throughout the years and still to this day.

Today, many companies are coming up with ways to enhance what can be accomplished through self-service and they have come a long way since the first kiosk was introduced. Now self-service kiosks are popping up everywhere in the community – from grocery stores to DVD rentals, airports to train stations – people are demanding self-service to be an option. Just recently, a national pilot program for Peapod was implemented. Peapod is a mobile application for online grocery shopping. This program is setup in train stations across the US (where people typically have to wait long periods of time for the next train) and individuals step up to a specific panel on the train platform and downloads the Peapod app. They can then virtually grocery shop through aisles, pay online, and be done; quick and easy. That is essentially what the customer’s want; a quicker and easier way of doing everyday tasks. And with the sort of technology resources we have, why not make life a little more efficient.

“I really think the future holds many great possibilities. I think the ATM was the first instance where a person had the opportunity to interface with a piece of machinery, and that allowed that person then to be comfortable with interfacing to other pieces that came out since then—like PCs, as an example, and we all know the success of the PC. I think we’ re going to see much, much more of that happening in the future. I think people nowadays and in the future are going to have the opportunity to not only come up with a lot of new products but also to be able to use those products in ways they never dreamed of.”

-Don Wetzel, Co-patentee of the Automatic Teller Machine.

I agree with Wetzel, the future allows for infinite possibilities that can only be imagined right now. Eventually, a shift from self-service kiosks will move to be completely in the cloud. For example, already people rarely go into the bank. ATM’s are what people prefer to use, but slowly the need for ATM's will be unnecessary because of the cloud. People can deposit checks, transfer money, etc via digital devices. Pretty soon everything will be automated; you will be able to talk to a Virtual Agent and tell it what you want, and it can do it for you.

Do you envision a world were kiosks will live in the cloud? Or are there certain situations where the presence of a kiosk is needed?

Throwback Thursday: IBM's Watson App: Virtual Agent in Your Pocket?

       I wanted to share some fascinating (old and new) information about IBM's Watson, the supercomputer designed to challenge all-time Jeopardy champions back in 2011. When Watson first emerged on Jeopardy, every one was going crazy that there was a machine that could beat human beings on a QUIZ show. Even though Watson was not the first artificial intelligence created, he sure opened people's eyes to the progress and the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI). To read more about the press release, check out "Virtual Agent Technology to make Mainstream Media Debut in the Form of an IBM Supercomputer."

       I brought up the debut of Watson because he seems to be making a reappearance and is heading straight for your smartphone. The same technology that was "trained on Jeopardy, is headed for your pocket." IBM is finally releasing a product using the technology of Watson, as a customer service agent, working similarly to a virtual agent. In this version of Watson, he searches the web for solutions instead of pulling information from a knowledge platform.

      An "Ask Watson" button will appear on websites and mobile phone applications. This will enable users to ask questions and receive answers instantly with his matured intelligence. This "Ask Watson" button is also capable of using a voice recognition software, making it a more knowledgeable version of Apple's Siri. noHold thinks that this is great news for the Virtual Agent industry. What is your opinion? Is Watson going to be a competitor in the web based Virtual Agent/Virtual Assistant space or do you see Watson as a strategic partner for Virtual Agent/Virtual Assistant providers? We would love you hear your thoughts on Watson and how he might effect today's Virtual Agent industry.

   
     Cheers!



Source: Trained on Jeopardy, Watson is Headed For Your Pocket via MIT Technology Review