Senseforth.ai’s intelligent action bots also perform tasks, resolve issues and make the right product recommendations besides answering queries.

For the past few decades, computers were merely tools in our hands to perform various tasks. What if we can infuse learning and, maybe, even emotional intelligence into software? What if we create softwares that can mimic human cognitive abilities in reading and understanding the intent of the user? What if we can build softwares that can extend our perception, reasoning and ability to learn? These questions prompted the inception of Bangalore-based Senseforth, in 2012. The company was founded with the aim to make technology behave like a friend.

From companies like Google and Facebook to emerging startups, AI is going to be the next big inflection point in the technology world

“We are one of the most comprehensive bot platforms in the world with the widest range of Intelligent Action Bots for any business. Industry leading accuracy is our key differentiation,” explains Shridhar Marri, CEO and Co-Founder, Senseforth.ai, who worked at Infosys for over 15 years prior to turning entrepreneur.

Bots in Fintech

Everything from macroeconomic environment to politics to sudden shifts in business models have an immediate and lasting impact on the financial services sector, both in terms of opportunities and challenges.“Successful financial sector companies handle these challenges by being most aggressive on efficiency, value creation and superfast response systems. Our Bot platform plugs in right at this intersection, thus steadily reducing support costs, lifting efficiency and cumulatively enhancing the bottom line for the client,” he explains, adding that this makes them the most preferred AI partner for many large players in this sector.

The speed at which institutions need to respond to changing customer demands is the single biggest challenge faced by financial sector today. And the second biggest challenge is the digital disruption that is fundamentally altering the business process dynamics. A robust AI platform like Senseforth addresses these challenges with instantaneous responses and ‘botization of internal processes’. “Typical to an AI platform, our biggest challenge is to infuse empathy into software and make it more human,” Marri adds.

In the financial services space, the company serves HDFC bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Life Insurance and ICICI Lombard General Insurance.

The underlying engine

Senseforth has focused on building its AI platform called A.ware based on six fundamental aspects – conversation, context, learning, analytics, intent and action. Essentially, the bot learns from user feedback, past experience and data. It understands intent and has the ability to take action based on a set of possibilities.

Of course, A.ware finds use in various industries including e-commerce, travel and hospitality. But, its value proposition to banks and insurance processes is very clear. It comes in handy to cross-sell and up-sell after solving an issue for a client. The key to delivering on this promise is its NLP engine (natural language processing engine), that has been built from ground-up.

Marri believes that from companies like Google and Facebook to emerging startups, AI is going to be the next big inflection point. What we’re seeing now is just the early stage, he says. “I am convinced that several aspects of our world will be driven by AI over the long-term. Many functions, processes and outcomes will definitely be run by AI and we want be that AI platform of choice,” explains he.

Snapshot: Senseforth.ai

Founder: Shridhar Marri

Funding: Bootstrapped

Focus: Intelligent Action Bot/AI platform called A.ware