LOCAL utility service providers, having recognised the power that can be harnessed from Artificial Intelligence (AI), are already using or seeking to incorporate the technology into their operations to improve customer service and overall productivity.

The four main service providers – Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), National Water Commission (NWC), Flow, and Digicel – recently shared in pre-recorded videos their vision for continued and future use of AI in their companies during a webinar hosted by the Office of Utilities Regulations (OUR).

Manager, business intelligence and analytics at JPS Kathryn Archie said the company has already started to embrace AI in its day-to-day operations by including elements in its customer suite and service order system and the MyJPS mobile app.

“In our MyJPS app, we have elements of AI in the self-reading feature that we have available and what this does is that customers can submit their meter readings through photos and AI now evaluates the photos so that their account is billed accordingly – no agent interaction, no call to JPS,” she said.

Archie said that while JPS’s use of AI is in infancy stages, the company is exploring greater incorporation in its business operations, like predictive maintenance and how the AI-deployed tool, Chatbox, can be used to predict what customers need.

“We also can look at predictive maintenance. For example, for our transformers…in terms of [maintenance] so that we can do early detection so that we can better serve our customers. So, rather than customers having a transformer out and they’re out of power, we can do quicker maintenance on these assets to keep customers with light,” she said.

Archie noted that another way JPS will be utilising AI is through the use of chatbots to serve customers better, where instead of calling, people can go online and have a conversation with a bot that has been trained regarding the data customers would require, and can anticipate needs to serve people faster and more efficiently.

She noted as well that the utility company is also exploring the use of the technology in supporting its management of documents in processing applications more efficiently, “so if you have several accounts, there is no longer the headache of resubmitting [documents] and that will help us to serve you, our customers, in a shorter, more efficient time”.

Likewise, the NWC says it is also fully embracing this emerging technology which is placing greater emphasis on customer centricity and innovation.

According to assistant vice-president, information and communications technology at NWC Trisha Jones, AI and machine learning will add value to the NWC’s operations.

“With constant learning, alerts become more accurate over time. Operators no longer need to analyse complex variables for important decision-making by themselves – whether it’s turning pumps on or off, determining chemical dosages, or deciding when to maintain their assets – AI enables an intelligent recommendation, as it is driven by machine learning,” she said.

Jones noted as well that AI can also optimise pump run times so that they are only using energy when they need to. This, she said, can be an “easy cost-reduction win” for the NWC, and in turn customers, adding that AI will also optimise the company’s energy use for water and wastewater operations.

Meanwhile, for telecommunications providers Digicel and Flow, more and more aspects of their operations are being assisted by AI to serve customers better and drive greater efficiency.

Head of network engineering at Digicel Jamaica Antoinette Heirs said the company sees opportunities in AI as a new way for understanding its customers’ demands and preferences, and then quickly making changes to meet their expectations.

“Already, AI is upping the interaction with our customers, through our chatbot ‘Ruby’, which is made available in our MyDigicel app on their smartphones,” she said.

She noted that, in addition, the use of AI is supporting the company’s monitoring and managing of its sophisticated system through thorough real-time analysis of industry trends, customer behaviour and usage expectations.

“As a result, these insights help us to determine resource allocation as part of our enhanced customer service promise. And through a network of system and sensors, we get AI-powered information at our fingertips, which helps us to keep our most precious assets secured,” she said.

Senior manager of regulatory affairs at Flow Charles Douglas said the company has been using AI-equipped machines to perform tasks and recognise challenges and make decisions to help solve customers’ problems.

“Take our call centre, for example, when one calls the centre [the person] may interact with a virtual assistant or a bot, which provides customer support and can retrieve information a customer requires, often to the resolution of their query,” he said. He added that Flow also uses bots to send customer notifications related to rebates, outages and other types of information.

Douglas noted that the technology is also used to support network optimisation, in that it analyses network data, predicts traffic patterns and also optimises the network, which leads to better coverage, faster data speeds and less downtime.

“AI is being put to good use within our network, within our business. We anticipate that we will continue to use it to improve our delivery of services to customers into the foreseeable future,” he said.