Before the age of artificial intelligence and automation arrived, the term “virtual assistant” was usually a reference to an online “PA” (personal assistant) who dealt with emails and scheduling. Now, there’s a brand-new meaning to the term, specifically in the world of Unified Communication and Collaboration. Virtual assistants are crucial tools for productivity and knowledge sharing.
Today’s virtual assistants are similar to consumer solutions like Amazon Alexa and Google Home that you might use with a smart speaker at home. These tools can instantly pull information from a range of environments to answer queries for a back-end worker, take notes and transcribe meetings, or even automatically arrange meetings on a calendar.
In a world where employees are more dispersed, digital, and active than ever before, virtual assistants can be the key to better workplace performance.
What Can a Virtual Assistant Do?
The functionality of a virtual assistant depends heavily on the vendor that created it. Most of these tools feature some form of artificial intelligence. Some even have aspects of Machine Learning, which allow them to develop a deeper understanding of communication and work styles the more they interact with the modern workforce.
Virtual assistants combine access to business and communication data, with a series of automated actions that support the modern workforce. Through disruptive technology, they can deliver a range of benefits. Tools that virtual assistants use may include:
- Natural language understanding: So users can ask for what they need using only their voice. Natural language understanding can also help with the real-time transcription of meetings, or even translation of spoken conversations
- Computer vision: Advanced virtual assistants could use a camera in a meeting room to see who walks into a space, then create meeting room settings that are tailored to that person’s unique needs
- Automation: Virtual assistants work with automatic triggers to deliver various forms of support to employees. These tools can automatically schedule follow-up meetings for teams in a collaboration session when a keyword is mentioned. They can also pull up data about topics or customers when requested to do so by a team member
Virtual Assistants Empower Modern Employees
Virtual assistants have the power to streamline workplace productivity for employees from all backgrounds. They can make searching for information when responding to a customer query as simple as mentioning a keyword in a conversation. These assistants can also take notes and record important information automatically during conversations and meetings, so team members can focus more on the task at hand.
Virtual assistants are a key part of the increasing trend for automation in the workplace. They make everything from sending follow-up emails to finding information as simple as possible, reducing the time that teams spend on repetitive tasks. With virtual assistants on hand to streamline the workplace, employees can concentrate more of their focus on the things that matter – like getting tasks done and generating great experiences for customers.
Virtual assistants are tools for the transformation of new digital communication and collaboration methods.
