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How will Artificial Intelligence begin to affect the customer/patient experience? That was the question posed to the second panel of the day as they examined how AI algorithms learn what we like, enabling personalized brands to create new experiences and choices for consumers. The advance of new smart tools help make data actionable, creating competitive advantages for retailers, professionals, designers and suppliers.

Victor Morrison, chief strategy officer and SVP of sales, Next IT Healthcare, outlined his company’s Digital Health Coach platform which is uniquely poised to disrupt and transform patient engagement. Morrison is a top player in the health care-focused cognitive technology industry, and he’s been busy building a foundation for the company’s Health Coach platform.

He described his company’s take on AI this way: “It’s all about using connectivity and integration to understand user/patient intent. Ultimately, patient engagement will be the blockbuster drug of this century,” he predicted.

By analyzing data for health care, “We can know how to profile what patients do or don’t need, drugwise.”

Morrison believes AI is changing the way health care companies connect with patients. “The platform can remember what we talked about yesterday and that may change your profile. But the way we respond to something you said a few minutes ago, we can now do it in real time, just like humans can do.”

Morrison stressed that AI can “engage the person, not the disease sufferer.” He then played a video titled “Life With a Virtual Health Assistant (VHA)” which chronicled a typical day for Richard, a diabetic and how he interacted with health cues from Sarah, his VHA: go for a run, activate his playlist, remind him to weigh in, register blood glucose and take his meds. She also reminds him to schedule a checkup for his eyes and feet, which she books for him. Finally, at the end of the day she sends him an overview of the week’s health stats, which she reviews with him.

Next up on the panel was Alberto Jimenez, OMS and payments leader for IBM Watson Commerce, which combines business expertise with industry-leading solutions. Through the use of embedded cognitive capabilities, IBM gives commerce professionals the power to create consistent, precise, personalized experiences that customers want and value.



Victor Morrison, chief strategy offi cer and SVP of sales,
Next IT Healthcare said AI is all about using connectivity
and integration to understand user/patient intent.
Alberto Jimenez, OMS and payments leader for IBM Watson Commerce, touched on the role of AI in the business of order management and payments.
Or Shani, CEO & founder, Adgorithms, helped shatter
some myths about AI in the field of marketing.
Jimenez touched on the role of AI in the business of order management and payments. “We do think that retail and commerce is changing forever and we think that there’s going to be a gap between businesses that use artificial tools and those that don’t.”

While online shopping remains a popular option, “retail stores are a key asset in the battle against digital only players. Some 90 percent of transactions still take place in retail stores and by digitizing it, retailers will get the best of both worlds.”

Jimenez urged retailers to empower associates with customer and product info at their fingertips: deliver in-store service and experiences; use store inventory efficiently; and increase store revenue and customer experience with order captures.

“AI can help monitor on-line browsing and help retail associates when customers come in to pick up items. The technology now allows for personalization at a level that has not been possible before,” he said.

Or Shani is CEO & founder, Adgorithms, creators of Albert, the world’s first and only self-driven marketing and advertising platform. Albert is a fully automated, digital marketing solution that doesn’t just replicate what human marketers do, but increases prospects.

He pinpointed several major industries, such as health care, aviation and the criminal system, which are already taking advantage of the capabilities of artificial intelligence.

“One of the biggest misconceptions about AI, is some people look at it as if it’s some kind of magic word or magic trick. They say, ‘I have a problem with my business and AI is going to solve everything.’ It’s not like AI can solve every problem. Even a self-driving car that drives on its own, that system does not understand what it means to be human. AI is simply a different type of intelligence.”

Shani said some problems need many algorithms in order to be solved. He pointed to three levels of intelligence that are key to AI marketing: handcrafted knowledge, statistical learning and conceptual adaptation.

“Our company is looking to de-mystify AI. Digital marketing has become too complex and inefficient. Our AI marketing algorithms are better, faster and more robust,” he said.

Shani did admit that AI can be “fascinating and terrifying, at the same time. But if you’re losing business to your competitors, AI can help.”

But questions about this new technology abound, as some marketers wonder if AI will take their jobs. Realizing that the rise of AI is perceived as a threat by some in the marketing industry, he reassured the audience saying, “AI comes in peace.”

— Mary Kane