Jade is the newest name in the event tech AI game
Industry professionals have long asked how AI can simplify a their workload. For MCI USA, a global engagement marketing agency that creates people-centered experiences, the answer is Jade, an AI agent now equipped with voice functionality to make planning easier for organizers and attendees.
Early Development
MCI released the first version of Jade about 18 months ago, but it focused strictly on email inquiries.
“[Jade] summarizes it, makes a ticket and does a sentiment analysis so the agent receiving it doesn’t have to go back through it…” said Chris Williams, senior vice president of registration and housing for MCI USA.
Expanding Capabilities
Shortly after, Jade’s functionality moved beyond static answers and became able to help users edit aspects of their reservation and other key elements.
“Jade will go into your record in our database and [recommend] a session….It can also help exhibitors who bought a lead retrieval product from us,” Williams explained.
Chat and Voice Integration
Now, Jade allows users to engage the system directly with an active voice feature, so it feels like they are speaking to a live agent.
“With voice, we’re expanding into the association market, where members can get 24/7 service for their membership questions,” Williams said, mentioning that Jade speaks 57 languages, making the process more accessible.
Proven Time Savings
The short answer? Yes.
“We take about 150,000 inquiries a year…last month, 66% of registration and housing were being handled by Jade, and 85% of the inquiries for leads,” said Williams.
Users are getting responses in 24 seconds when using Jade.
“You can literally email and get a response back instantly,” Williams stated.
Built-In Safeguards
Like most AI products these days, Jade does not roam free with attendees’ information. MCI has created restrictions for sensitive tasks like refunds.
“We have not given it the ability to give money back….Jade would immediately say, ‘I’m unable to process that for you. I’ll escalate this to a supervisor.’” Williams explained.
Gaining User Trust
For planners wary about engaging with an AI bot, Williams notes that most users speaking to Jade via email rarely notice they are talking to an AI bot.
“On the email side, they usually think they’re talking to a human….It gives better responses, speaks better English and with better punctuation,” Williams continued. “There were originally a few clients [who] were concerned about it and thought maybe it would go into a loop. It would give incorrect information. But we tell it very specifically: If you don’t see the answer in the knowledge base, don’t answer. Don’t make something up.”
Looking Ahead
In the grand scheme of things to come, MCI sees Jade as the beginning of a larger transformation. Users can focus on the more critical elements of event crafting by removing repetitive and time-consuming tasks.
By minimizing costs, increasing responses and improving language accessibility, MCI hopes to become a leader in event tech innovation.
“It’s improving service levels to everybody in the ecosystem…turnaround times are getting faster and faster. That’s the goal with everything,” Williams continued. “We are ecstatic about it….It’s leading the way. It’s really fabulous.”
