Social enterprise using sentiment analysis at call centre among 30 winners of SME AI Impact Awards
The inaugural awards recognise businesses that used proprietary AI solutions or off-the-shelf solutions.
Singapore's contact centre run by social enterprise Agape Connecting People employs real-time sentiment analysis powered by artificial intelligence to gauge caller emotions and facilitate more empathetic communication. This pioneering technology enhances customer interactions, streamlines admin tasks, and improves overall effectiveness.
The social enterprise secured one of 30 small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) recognitions at the inaugural SME AI Impact Awards ceremony on October 13, organized by the Infocomm Media Development Authority and the Singapore Business Federation. Agape Connecting People's founder, Anil David, adapted existing off-the-shelf AI technology after gathering insights from staff regarding their challenges and exploring potential applications.
Beyond real-time emotion detection, the AI system generates customer data based on historical call records, enabling operators to spend less time on data gathering and more on productive customer interactions. Speaking at the SMEs Go Digital Day, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo emphasized that the true value lies in SMEs developing the necessary AI capabilities, processes, and talent to drive tangible business impact.
Collectively, 290 nominations from 21 diverse sectors, including early childhood, security, personal care services, recruitment, and healthcare, were evaluated based on the significance of the business challenge, effectiveness of AI solutions, quantifiable outcomes like productivity gains and financial benefits, and staff training in AI integration.
Another award recipient was aquaculture firm Blue Aqua International, which integrated AI into its farm operations approximately 1.5 years ago. Founder and group executive chairman Farshad Shishehchian explained that the system analyzes water quality data and biological indicators of fish and shrimp, predicting potential outcomes to inform decision-making.
The technology has boosted shrimp feeding efficiency by 30%, reduced waste, and shortened the detection of water quality anomalies and disease risks from days to just a few days. Despite AI's assistance, Farshad stressed the continued importance of human staff in farm operations, encouraging the team to maximize productivity by understanding and leveraging the AI system.
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