Making sense of Generative AI

Last year, two words came out tops in the realm of transformative technology: Generative AI (GenAI). We have heard of it, even know a little or a fair bit about it. But how do we translate our understanding of GenAI into valuable use not just for ourselves, but also our customers? For starters, it may help to dissect GenAI into smaller, digestible chunks of knowledge that empower the learning curve of our own employees.

Knowing GenAI means understanding its massive potential for generating content like text, images, audio clips, videos and even computer code. For the most part, GenAI is trained on a mathematical model made up of advanced algorithms and data, and its output is derived from a result of processing and recombining existing information in novel ways.

Given that most GenAI is trained on public sources of data, most enterprises have realized that they need a GenAI tool that can be customized with their own specific data. But therein lies the challenge: as data quality emerges, there is a need for enterprises to invest in building strong data foundations with best-in-class cloud, connectivity and cybersecurity infrastructure to unlock the full potential of GenAI.

Where are we with GenAI?

Orange Business is not new to the AI business. We have already been incorporating GenAI into customer scenarios in two areas.

The first is in contact centers, where we introduce new features and functionalities, such as generating call summaries from transcripts of previous calls using GenAI. Agents are then able to refer to the transcripts in future calls for more informed conversations with customers and an optimized customer experience.

The second example is putting Generative AI consulting into practice for services. This means having more consultant-like conversations to understand the problems that can be solved for customers. This entails an early use case around contract management with a summary of key elements/terms and contract conditions during negotiation.

Additionally, we have developed our own tools to enable our employees to safely utilize the power of GenAI while remaining safe and secure from data leaks to public GenAI tools. Besides being able to generate text and images like many other public GenAI tools, we can also estimate the cost per request. This is especially crucial, depending on how you set up your own GenAI infrastructure.

What you need to know about GenAI

In 2023, Orange was one of the organizations worldwide selected to participate in the Microsoft 365 Copilot Early Access Program (EAP). This trial was conducted as a large-scale experiment among Orange Business employees to determine how Copilot could create the most value and the business lines that would benefit the most from its deployment. Safe to say, data compliance and a steep learning curve were a couple of the big barriers before meaningful productivity gains could be achieved.

With data access and security being key concerns, it’s increasingly crucial for GenAI to be a tangible asset that businesses can safely use with end-to-end visibility. They need to adopt solid data governance that will develop and enforce policies, such as data sensitivity and data lifecycle, to reduce the risk of GenAI producing inaccurate results or violating data privacy. If an organization is to transform itself into a data-driven organization, adopting a data-centric culture is key. This includes educating employees with an understanding of how to use GenAI as well as when and where to make use of it in their work practices.

Our users’ experiences with Copilot prompted the development of certain behaviors and skills: first with identifying use cases, and second, a cognizance that helps in dealing with issues related to the tool’s ethics, legal, intellectual property, security and governance issues.

Additionally, as GenAI is about keeping people, organizational agility and simplified processes as its objectives, there is a need to ensure that any efficiency gained through GenAI is felt by employees, so they essentially understand and feel reassured using the tools.

How to boldly move forward

What has held back companies from deploying GenAI are the expertise required and the lack of scalable and secure infrastructure to deploy it on a large scale. The key to moving forward is choosing the right co-innovation partner, who can help you understand where your data is coming from and what it’s being used for and who is well-versed in AI and its business benefits.

Fortunately, we have partnered with industry-leading vendors to make the implementation of GenAI smooth, while offering various options to meet the diverse needs of users. We can help instill a culture of trust-by-design across the enterprise, bring our dedicated task force to ensure compliance with all regulations and demystify users' preconceived notions of GenAI, as well. It is our business to support customers with GenAI not as a nice-to-have, but as a must-have as part and parcel of their operations and expectations today.

Tuan Le
Tuan Le
Tuan Le is Managing Director for ASEAN, Japan and Korea at Orange Business. He covers a range of leadership roles across Asia Pacific and ensures seamless support for customers. As head of sales and operations for ASEAN, Japan and Korea, Tuan uses a model of supportive and participatory leadership to promote the concepts of team building and empowerment in the region. In his spare time, Tuan likes to stay active and enjoys cycling, jogging and keeping fit.