USAA Implements IBM’s Watson Engagement Advisor
In conjunction with USAA, military members will be able to utilize the power of IBM’s Watson in the cloud. Although Watson is widely remembered for winning Jeopardy championship a couple years ago, IBM hasn’t been able to garner consumer appeal with its super computer product. IBM looks to change that by offering the Watson Engagement Advisor to military members who are in the process of making the transition back into civilian life.
Watson’s Engagement Advisor is a powerful interface that can help connect veterans with job information, military benefits and unique programs tailored to those veterans needs. For example, if a veteran wanted more information on a VA home loan, Watson would go out and find the best companies that offer those specific programs. Up to 150,000 military members per year could benefit from the services of the Watson Engagement Advisor.
According to the press release found on IBM’s website, the interface works much like a search engine with one caveat; Watson gets more intelligent as more users query the platform and as more veterans begin asking similar questions, Watson can learn how to link to the information that is commonly needed for the specific scenario.
“Putting Watson into the hands of consumers is a critical milestone toward improving how we work and live. USAA’s innovative application is a prime example of how Watson’s cognitive intellect has the potential to empower individuals and organizations. Today’s announcement is a great testament to USAA, which prides itself in customer engagement and brand loyalty. We believe this new service can help men and women who served their country gain timely and relevant insights into the steps they need to successfully move to civilian life.” says Mike Rhodin of IBM’s Watson Group.
USAA is one of the first organizations to put Watson directly in front of the consumer. Using the cloud, Watson can be tailored for these types of operations so that businesses can cut down on customer service requests while providing customer service agents with the most up to date information on a particular query.
