Citation
(2003), "All the answers", Work Study, Vol. 52 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2003.07952cab.011
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2003, MCB UP Limited
All the answers
Visitors to UK kitchen and bedroom retailer MFI's Web site will now be able to get automated answers from a system called Metafaq from Web services company Transversal that uses artificial intelligence. MFI is to use the artificial intelligence based technology to help manage and automatically answer the large volume of customer enquiries it receives through its Web site every day about its products, services and stores. Metafaq finds answers to on-line queries through a knowledge base of frequently asked questions (FAQs). Questions that cannot be answered automatically are forwarded to an authorised person and their response is e-mailed back and added to the knowledge base to be used to answer future enquiries. The system then ensures an up-to-date knowledge base of FAQs that builds a permanent record of its employees' expertise. Transversal's Metafaq product can be used to reduce the amount of calls made to customer help desks as answers to questions can be found using Metafaq on the Web site without the need for a phone call. It also aims to reduce the number of incoming e-mails and improve speed of response.