itel, Jamaica’s largest homegrown customer experience (CX) partner, last week showcased its latest artificial intelligence (AI) innovation at the Outsource2Jamaica (O2J) regional conference in Montego Bay.

Jamaica is a regional leader in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, employing over 50,000 individuals, while providing a range of services. Outsource2Jamaica, the largest regional conference focused on the Global Services Sector, plays a pivotal role in connecting industry leaders, showcasing the strength and determination of Caribbean outsourcers as they continue to grow and pivot.

Now in its fifth year, this year’s staging of 02J, presented by the Global Services Association of Jamaica (GSAJ), was developed around key themes such as improving productivity, future-proofing businesses, and evolving the sector through emerging technologies.

Presentations and round-table discussions gave attendees the opportunity to network, share insights and compare business strategies.

Yoni Epstein, itel’s Founding Chairman and CEO, headed a lively panel discussion on “Driving Excellence in Nearshore BPO.” Discussions centered on a dynamic, changing business environment where an increasing focus on AI is becoming an imperative for maintaining the nearshore region’s competitiveness.

As Epstein highlighted, “We are living in a time of great technological change, where AI solutions are not just value-adds, but are quickly becoming table stakes. AI gives businesses the ability to suddenly pivot and scale, which in these uncertain economic times is essential. This technology also gives a greater ability to meet customer expectations, which are always evolving, and to find cost-effective ways to make customer experiences more efficient and effortless. But, off-the-shelf solutions cannot always capture the nuances of a brand or its customers, and that’s why we developed our own internal AI models that can be trained on a business’ specific data.”

At the event, itel showcased its internally developed AI platform, itelligence – the first of its kind to be engineered specifically for Caribbean accents, which allows a higher degree of analytical accuracy and performance tracking, enhancing both contact center efficiency, performance, and the overall customer experience. It speaks to a seismic shift in the industry, where AI is becoming not just a way to maintain global competitiveness, but a way to guarantee the prosperity of Jamaica’s outsourcing sector, with organizations like itel leading the way in digital transformation.

Demonstrations of itelligence’s capabilities were enthusiastically received by guests and fellow industry leaders. With automated QA tools, advanced sentiment analysis which records both customer and agent sentiment, and real-time performance metrics, itel continues to add new AI features and solutions that will continue to position the company, and Jamaica, as industry pioneers and innovators.