BELLSYSTEM24, Inc. (Headquarters: Minato Ward, Tokyo; Representative Director, President, CEO: Shunsuke Noda; hereinafter, "BELLSYSTEM24") which operates contact center outsourcing business in Japan and overseas, and Intumit Inc. (Head Office: New Taipei City, Taiwan, CEO: JD Chiou, hereinafter "Intumit"), a Taiwanese company that develops and provides cutting-edge AI (artificial intelligence) platforms, have signed a business collaboration agreement to develop and provide a hybrid "AI and human" solution for customer service, temporary called "Smart BPO Service." The companies also plan to explore a capital alliance in the future.

Under the agreement, the companies will work together to develop new services that combine BELLSYSTEM24's customer contact optimization methodology with Intumit's conversational AI platform, SmartRobot. The services will be targeted at companies in Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand.

■About SmartRobot's Conversational AI Platform

SmartRobot is a conversational AI platform that uses AI and machine learning technologies to automate customer inquiries on websites, LINE, Microsoft Teams, and other messaging apps. It also provides features such as text conversion of voice data, analysis of inquiry content, and generation of response recommendations. These features contribute to 24/7 customer support, efficient issue resolution, improved customer satisfaction, and enhanced CX.

■Background of the Collaboration

The contact center market in Taiwan is more advanced than in Japan in terms of automation. This is due to the high demand for automation from customers, with AI bots being widely integrated with LINE. However, many companies that have implemented automation solutions have struggled to address the challenges of designing the optimal automation for their customers, maintaining information on a regular basis after implementation, and allocating tasks between automation and human agents. This has led to lower customer satisfaction and CX.

To address these challenges, BELLSYSTEM24 and Intumit will combine their respective strengths. BELLSYSTEM24 has over 1,000 clients and a wealth of experience in designing and operating CX solutions. Intumit has over 600 customers, including 80% of Taiwan's major banks, and deep expertise in AI and digital solutions.

■Key Collaboration Areas

1. Development of new joint services combining "SmartRobot" x "BPO"

The companies will jointly develop a solution called Smart BPO Service (tentative name) that will combine SmartRobot's AI platform with a human contact center. This will create a hybrid contact center that can provide seamless and flexible combinations of automated and human responses across various customer touchpoints. The goal is to create a customer contact experience that provides the best possible CX at all times and through all channels.

2. Collaboration to support the mutual growth of the two companies

The companies will collaborate to provide contact center services that meet the needs of their respective clients. This will include using their respective technologies and expertise to expand their service offerings and reach new markets. The companies also plan to expand their service offerings to Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand.

In the past, the two companies have worked together to develop CRM Next, a 1-to-1 customer service solution that collects, analyzes, and utilizes customer insight information from a variety of channels, including social media, chat, and phone. The companies will continue to collaborate on new services, with the goal of developing and providing solutions that address the needs of their clients.