The year 2024 will be remembered as a breakthrough for all of us at 2Mobile, marked by new collaborations and advancements in the deployment of solutions powered by generative artificial intelligence. This year, AI has undoubtedly stood out with the development of many new models, not only as a technological milestone, but also as a transformative tool that is reshaping how we think, do business and, above all, enhance the user experience.  A heartfelt thanks to our team, partners such as Boost.ai and A1 Slovenia, and our subscribers for their trust and cooperation. Together, we are shaping the future of conversational commerce and improving the user experience. Your support enables us to achieve our goals. Technology empowers us build better, more efficient and connected lives. Let AI remain our inspiration and the tool that turns the impossible into reality in 2025.

During peak shopping seasons, communication channels like Viber become a key tool for retailers and brands to drive sales and create great shopping experiences, as they allow instant communication through text and rich messages, while remaining cost-effective. Viber’s popularity in Slovenia gives it many advantages over traditional methods like SMS. Black Friday is behind us and the pre-New Year shopping season is in full swing. This is the time, when shoppers shop the hardest. In this post, I'll explain why Viber is the perfect channel for all pre-holiday campaigns and share tips that can boost customer engagement and your sales during the most important season of the year.

At the event Virtual Agents: When AI meets human, we highlighted the advances in using AI for consumer experience design and customer support. By automating routine tasks AI delivers faster, more efficient and personalised services, boosting customer satisfaction. The event, organized by 2Mobile and Boost.ai with support from A1 Slovenia, brought together experts to present trends and practical examples of virtual agent applications. Speakers included Matjaž Možina (2Mobile), Adam Fenwick (Boost.ai) and Burcu Begić (A1). The event was rounded off with a panel discussion where representatives from A1 Slovenija, GLS Slovenija, Elektro Gorenjska and CME Adria, Pro Plus shared their experiences and results in implementing virtual agents. This post summarizes the key takeaways from the keynote lectures.

The event Virtual agents: the coexistence of humans and artificial intelligence concluded with a roundtable discussion moderated by Matjaž Možina. Panellists included Burcu Begić from A1 Slovenija, Katja Kojadinović from CME Adria (PROPLUS/VOYO), Matej Pintar from Elektro Gorenjska and Rok Izlakar from GLS Slovenija. The speakers collectively concluded that virtual agents do not replace humans, but serve as key partners, enabling more efficient work and improving the customer experience. Here, we summarise the key insights of the speakers on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual agents and their experiences in their implementation and use in practice.

AI-based voice bots, featuring natural language processing and speech recognition, are becoming key to improving customer experiences and optimising business operations. Already prevalent in Scandinavia and the US, this technology enables modern and efficient communication between businesses and customers. Forward-thinking companies will leverage voice interfaces, such as Siri and Alexa, and natural conversation capabilities of ChatGPT to significantly improve both customer experience and call centre operations. Let's take a look at how these voice bots work, the wide-ranging benefits they offer and the challenges faced by companies already deploying them. How voice bots work AI-powered voice bots are not just automated answering machines; they are complex systems designed to mimic human interaction naturally and intuitively. Their advantage lies in their growing resemblance to live agents while giving users a greater degree of anonymity as well as faster resolution of requests. Voice bots are based on several key technological components: Automatic speech recognition (ASR) converts speech into text and lays the foundation for further interaction. Natural Language Understanding (NLU) analyses the text to identify key information such as intent and context. The conversation module uses the insights gained to formulate accurate and contextually relevant responses. The text-to-speech (TTS) system converts the textual responses back into speech, allowing bots to communicate naturally and understandably.

Along with regular mail, e-mail and the call centre, Elektro Gorenjska users can now get information through a chat with the virtual advisor Egon. This makes it easier for users to find information 24 hours a day, every day of the week. Egon was developed by 2Mobile in cooperation with technology partner Boost.ai to provide faster and easier access to general information on connection procedures, changes at the metering point, network fee billing, metering and outages in Elektro Gorenjska's distribution network. "A dedicated team of employees is using its expertise to help train the artificial intelligence, Egon, enhancing the user experience. Egon is also a welcome help to call centre agents as it handles most common customer questions, eliminating the routine of answering repetitive inquiries. This frees up agents to focus on more genuine and friendly interactions with customers," emphasised Elektro Gorenjska. Matjaž Možina, CEO of 2Mobile, adds, "We believe the virtual assistant is just the first step in our collaboration in the deployment of AI-driven solutions. Egon is a modern assistant that provides customers with quick and easy access to information, reducing the operational support time for customer service employees so they can focus on more specific requests. In the future, Egon will integrate with back-office systems and introduce new channels to enable even more sophisticated processing and an even more personal approach to support." Currently, users can chat to the AI assistant at https://www.elektro-gorenjska.si/ . In the next development phase, the virtual advisor will also be available through other channels. 

At TheStadiumBusiness Summit in Manchester, the 2Mobile team once again demonstrated its ability to innovate in the sports industry. At the event, Matjaž Možina, CEO of 2Mobile, delivered a masterclass on using conversational marketing and artificial intelligence to create VIP experiences for sporting event visitors. His session received an excellent response from the participants who recognise the potential of modern technologies in sport.

Innovation in the sports industry plays a key role in shaping the modern experience for fans and participants. The integration of artificial intelligence into various aspects of sport - from ticketing and online purchases to enhancing match viewing and VIP experiences - is enabling a personalised and convenient experience for all fans. One example are sports chatbots developed by the 2Mobile team, winners of the prestigious TheStadiumBusiness Award, showing how technology can boost fan engagement and satisfaction without requiring them to leave their seats. For the second consecutive decade, TheStadiumBusiness Summit, taking place in Manchester between 17 and 19 June , will highlight trends in the sports industry and venues. The Summit will showcase new technologies and innovations from the world of sport, bringing together experts from around the world, including leading stadium, arena and venue CEOs, to explore the future of the sport experience.

As a leading technology partner of Boost.ai, a conversational AI solutions provider, we are excited about the integration of the new Generative Action (GenAI) functionality that Boost.ai will be introducing into its conversational AI customer support services at the end of May. This will update and upgrade the capabilities of its conversational commerce platform, which now offers enhanced security features and other functionality to businesses using generative AI. Generative AI is revolutionising customer service and creating new opportunities to support call and contact centre operations. However, around 80% of CEOs still struggle to deploy it quickly due to the associated risks and uncertainties. To address this, new approaches are being put deployed that combine the use of generative AI with the best management practices of traditional conversational AI, which Boost.ai has integrated into its Generative Action technology.