For the last 16 years, I have devoted my career to advancing Natural Language Processing (NLP) AI and its application. The last 5 of these have been focused on Kapiche and using this technology to enable Voice of the Customer (VoC), Customer Insights, and Customer Research teams. Our commitment has always been to provide our users with the most reliable, accurate, and explainable information, ensuring that the insights they gain from our platform lead to informed decisions and actionable strategies. Today, I want to address a growing trend in the tech industry and explain why Kapiche has chosen a different path.
The emergence of GenAI-powered "Answer" bots being embedded in Feedback Analytics products presents an exciting development in the NLP space. These Q&A bots, often driven by models akin to GPT-4, offer the allure of instant answers and creative content generation.
However, they carry an inherent risk that is often understated: the reliability of their output.
At Kapiche, we have observed the tendency of such models to "hallucinate" - a term we use to describe the phenomenon where GenAI provides information that is convincingly presented but factually incorrect. These models are trained to generate responses that humans find likable or satisfying, which can inadvertently lead to the prioritization of plausibility over accuracy. This is a significant concern for businesses relying on VoC programs, where the cost of incorrect information can be high, leading to misguided decisions and strategies.
This trend towards GenAI Q&A bots aligns more with entertainment than enterprise-grade solutions.
They excel in creative endeavors, where imagination and innovation are more valuable than veracity. In contrast, the core of VoC programs lies in their ability to provide factual, actionable insights. Kapiche's dedication to this principle is unwavering because we understand that the foundation of any robust VoC strategy is reliable data.
To this end, we have consciously decided not to develop a feature that, while popular, could compromise the integrity of the insights we provide.
Instead, we’re focused on enhancing our existing NLP AI capabilities to ensure higher accuracy and reliability. We invest in technologies and methodologies that verify the information before presenting it to our users, maintaining a standard of truth that our clients can trust for making critical business decisions.
We also believe in empowering our users to be discerning.
Rather than being swayed by the allure of instant answers, we advocate for a thoughtful analysis of customer feedback. Our platform is designed to help users navigate the complexities of customer data, enabling bottom-up analysis of customer language, and distilling it into genuine, actionable insights without the risk of misinformation.
Does this mean that the recent technological advancements in AI are of no use to VoC and Insights programs? No, absolutely not. While we prioritize the accuracy of the insights derived from our platform, we also recognize the innovative ways GenAI can augment our services.
Below is how our customers can expect to see GenAI integrated into our product in the future.
One of the most compelling uses of GenAI will be helping construct narratives around the insights we identify. The power of storytelling is unmatched in its ability to make complex data relatable and actionable. Kapiche is exploring ways to utilize GenAI to craft compelling stories from the insights found within customer feedback. This will enable our users to translate the 'why' and the 'how' they have found in customer behaviors and sentiments into a compelling story that will drive action within their organization.
Another area GenAI seems to excel is as a sophisticated inference engine. Kapiche is exploring how this capability can aid in theme identification and classification. We believe it has the potential to assist in deciphering the subtle nuances of customer feedback, and classifying it into the correct themes.
The final area we see GenAI providing value is in the data visualization space. By allowing GenAI to interact directly with Kapiche, it enables the possibility to significantly reduce the time it takes to build custom graphs and other types of visualizations you'd usually build for reporting. This means you'd no longer be restricted by the types of visualizations Kapiche builds into the product and instead be able to quickly build your own custom visualizations.
Kapiche is already at the cutting edge of providing true understanding of the language customers are using and how this impacts their behaviors, but this advanced inference capability of Gen AI will make this process even faster.
While leveraging GenAI for these purposes, Kapiche remains committed to maintaining the human element in our analyses. We believe that the combination of AI's computational power and the nuanced understanding of human analysts will deliver the most accurate and impactful insights. GenAI will not replace human intuition but will serve to augment it, ensuring that our users have the best tools at their disposal.
So while the prospect of a GenAI Q&A bot is tempting, Kapiche remains committed to the principle that has guided us from the beginning: reliability and explainability is paramount.
Every application of GenAI within our platform will be rigorously tested to meet our high standards of accuracy. Our customers can rest assured that any feature we introduce will be aligned with our mission to provide dependable and actionable insights.
As we integrate GenAI into Kapiche, we will keep our users informed and engaged. We are excited about the possibilities that GenAI presents and look forward to sharing these advancements with our community.
Stay tuned for updates on our progress and know that with Kapiche, the future of customer insight analysis is not just bright; it's reliable.
