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technologyFrom Chat to Compliance: How LLMs Improve SMS Opt-Outs for Healthcare
Large Language Models (LLMs) are advanced AI systems trained on vast amounts of text to understand and generate human-like language. While their conversational capabilities, exemplified by tools like ChatGPT, have gained significant attention, their utility extends far beyond chat interactions, offering solutions to complex challenges across various industries. For health insurance providers, LLMs can enhance […]
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industryGartner on LLMs and Hyperautomation: Transformational Technologies for Healthcare Payers
The healthcare industry is witnessing rapid advancements in technology, with growing interest in innovations like large language models (LLMs), hyperautomation, and personalized health. But what do these buzzworthy technologies actually mean for healthcare companies? How can they be applied, and what should be considered for successful implementation? These are challenging questions, but a new report […]
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industryThe LLM Revolution in Healthcare: Transforming Payer Operations
In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare technology, a new player has emerged that promises to revolutionize the way healthcare payers operate: Large Language Models (LLMs). As highlighted in Gartner's latest Hype Cycle report for healthcare payers, LLMs are poised to become indispensable tools, driving better margins and enhancing patient experiences across the board. The Rise of LLMs […]
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technologyThe Rise of GenAI and LLMs: Is Your Business Ready?
The global generative AI (GenAI) market is surging, with major players like Google, Microsoft, and Anthropic driving rapid innovation in large language models (LLMs). Open-source LLM builders such as Meta (with Llama) and Mistral are democratizing access to this technology, making it more attainable for smaller companies and researchers. This growth isn’t just hype. The […]
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industryFrom Complexity to Efficiency: How AI Streamlines Short-Term Disability Absence Engagement
More effective short-term disability (STD) communications and engagement presents a complex challenge for carriers and benefits administrators. The process is fraught with inefficiencies, primarily due to reliance on manual processes such as live calls and outdated methods for the completion of forms and capture of supporting documentation. These outdated methods not only consume significant time […]
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industryRevolutionizing Clinical Trial Communication: How AI and Automation Enhance Participant Experiences
In the world of clinical trials, where breakthroughs and setbacks often hinge on human engagement, a startling trend looms large: trials struggle to attract, then retain enough patients, with dropout rates soaring in some cases. The culprit? Often, it's the very foundation of the clinical trial experience — communication. But a transformation is underway. Clinical […]
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industryHow Digital Care Navigation Improves Chronic Health Outcomes
Introduction Chronic conditions and co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer are among the most prevalent and costly health conditions, particularly when poorly managed. These conditions are often associated with ongoing medical attention, frequent hospitalizations, and extensive treatment, leading to significant healthcare expenditures — particularly when members don’t receive needed care, medications and additional […]
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technologyEU AI Act – Automating in a regulated environment
The EU AI Act entered into force last week on August 1st, 2024 and it marks a substantial milestone of governmental bodies trying to maintain the safety of their citizens and businesses when both the private and public sector use artificial intelligence. This post details the scope and consequences of the act, especially for the […]
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cultureGenAI Summit: An Ushur Intern's POV
Between May 29th-May 31st, I attended a major tech conference in the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California. The GenAI Summit SF ‘24 highlighted the modern era of generative artificial intelligence, or Gen AI. During the event, AI-first companies were given a chance to showcase both their products alongside their entrepreneurial journeys, and […]
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cultureWelcoming Ushur’s new CFO, Tony Smolek
Big news on the hiring front continues for Ushur this week, with the announcement that Tony Smolek has joined our leadership team as CFO. This fills me with excitement on so many levels, and I wanted to take some time to augment today’s press release with a more personal take on Tony’s appointment. For the […]
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cultureUshur’s first boomerang employee is a major company milestone. Here’s why.
In the startup world, company milestones come in all shapes and sizes. There are obvious ones, milestones that measure growth, finance and innovation. And then there are others that will never be reflected on a balance sheet, markers of progress that indicate positive growth around foundational aspects like culture, leadership and company building. These soft […]
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technologyUshur XOS at the GenAI Summit
Generative AI for the Enterprise The week before last, Ushur attended the inaugural GenAI Summit at the Palace of the Fine Arts in San Francisco, CA. It was an incredible forum for speaking with and listening to the industry’s experts who are defining the future of Generative AI. At the summit, Ushur’s attendees also got […]
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industryImproving Maternal Health and Wellness with Digital Care Navigation
Introduction: Despite spending more per capita for maternity care than any other nation in the world, the U.S. has higher rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes than any other high-income country. According to the CDC, Maternal mortality has been rising, with nearly 84% of pregnancy-related deaths thought to be preventable. Serious diseases passed to babies during […]
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technologyThe Evolution from AI Assistants to AI Agents: A Deep Dive
AI Agents have been making a ton of headlines over the past few weeks, but what exactly are AI agents and how should we be thinking about them? It’s helpful to start by going back to AI Assistants, which were all the rage before AI agents took over. Let's explore the upgrades that transformed AI […]
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technologyUshur’s perspective on Gartner’s Applying AI to Care Management Research
Thank you to Amanda Dall’Occhio, Healthcare Sr. Director Analyst at Gartner, for shedding light on the myriad of ways in which AI can enhance care management in: U.S. Payer and Provider CIOs: Apply AI in Care Management Programs. We agree that opportunities are prevalent throughout the value chain for both internal and external tasks. A […]
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cultureWhy I’m so bullish on a rapidly-digitizing India
Travel is a consistent part of any tech CEOs job, and while spending so many days each year on the road can certainly get tiresome, I always find myself energized by my visits to India. Not only is it my home country, and one in which Ushur holds a long-established presence, it is also a […]
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cultureMy 2023 Retrospective: a year like no other
When the new year arrives, it is inevitably accompanied by a deluge of predictions from across the board. Rather than adding to that crowded space of educated guesswork and high-level pontificating, I’d rather reflect on Ushur’s journey over the past 12 months, and the lessons learned for the years ahead as we welcome a new […]
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technologyEasy Builds with the New Launch Module
In the last major release of the Ushur platform, Ushur included a key feature to make it easier for citizen developers to build, deploy, and connect customer experiences – the Ushur launch module. The Ushur Customer Experience Automation platform uses a no-code platform and pre-trained (and easily retrainable) machine learning models to shorten the time […]
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technologyIntelligent Experience Automation – Moving beyond traditional Intelligent Document Processing
Enterprise Content Management, Production Capture, and Document Transformation have been around for 35+ years. Their origins center around scanning, manually indexing and publishing documents to content management systems for archival and shared retention. Over time, the industry has focused on reducing human touch points, associated labor cost, and increasing visibility into the content contained within […]
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industryHealthcare Automation: The role of digital and AI in driving health and wellness
The healthcare landscape is undergoing a profound shift as interactive digital channels take center stage in guiding individuals towards better well-being. With over 90% of the $4.1 trillion U.S. healthcare costs linked to chronic and mental health issues according to the CDC, there's an urgent need for transformative solutions. Payers are presented with a unique […]
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technologyTransforming the Customer Experience
Customer Experience (CX) is the collective impact of a customer's interactions with a brand. It's pivotal for businesses in the digital era, as 86% of buyers pay more for superior CX, (according to PwC), and CX leaders generate 5.7x more revenue. Customer Experience Transformation, which involves revamping the customer journey using data, technology, and feedback, is […]
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technologyWhat is Low Code No Code software?
Low Code No Code (LCNC) software platforms are designed to help individuals with limited or no prior coding experience create applications and experiences through intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces (often referred to as Graphical User Interfaces, or GUI’s). The two require differentiation. Low Code platforms require minimal coding but often support more complex or customizable features by […]
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technologyTip of the Spear: AI, Automation, and the rapidly transforming world of Enterprise Customer Experience
One should leverage the past to help understand the present, and to help better predict and create that future. Let’s rewind and go back to the origin of what we now call Digital Transformation (DX), when various legal proceedings resulted in the legitimization of digital signatures. Digital signatures became a viable option for transacting business […]
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technologyAre your communications truly omnichannel?
As the role of digital communications grows, true omnichannel capabilities become more crucial to provide a satisfying, unified customer experience. The goal of omnichannel sounds simple — maintain customer engagement across channels to meet customer expectations — but it's among the most complex challenges businesses face today. But does an omnichannel approach truly contribute to […]
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industryImpacting Social Determinants of Health through Intelligent Automation
Healthcare companies need to know their members’ and patients’ current status for social determinants of health (SDOH) or those factors will block healthcare delivery and negatively affect health (medical and behavioral) outcomes. Social determinants of health (SDOH) are a widely recognized set of environmental factors that affect whether individual people are able to enjoy good […]
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technologyAccelerating Action through Frictionless Engagement
Ever notice how some engagement processes just seem to be littered with friction? What if you could whip up a solution, as tailored as a custom-made suit, to tackle those issues head-on? When friction is foe Picture those little friction points along your customer and partner engagement journeys. They're like mischievous troublemakers, snatching away efficiency […]
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industry3 Steps to Improve the Insurance Claims Experience
The Insurance Claims Experience Most of the time customers are going through the claim process after some kind of accident or emergency, whether it is personal, at their place of work, or affecting their entire community. Customers start the insurance claim process with anxiety and fear of the unknown. The insurance claims experience can add […]
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cultureExploring the symbiotic relationship between contentment and ambition
Last month, my wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. I had planned a few special activities throughout the day – a massage for her, dinner at our favorite restaurant – when nature decided we should celebrate a bit differently. The day before our anniversary, a raging storm knocked out our power and kept […]
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technologyWhat Is Customer Experience Automation™️ (CXA)?
Customer Experience Automation™ (CXA) is the application of an AI-powered platform that is purpose-built to automate, scale, and remove the friction from the interactions between a company and its customers; from the beginning of a conversation through its resolution. CXA brings together knowledge work automation and conversation automation, to not only intelligently interact with customers, […]
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industry2023 Ushur Innovation Awards
In a dazzling display of innovation and excellence, the 5th IMPACT CAB event unfolded on August 9th, marking a day of inspiration, recognition, and celebration. The event was a resounding success, bringing together outstanding individuals and visionary companies that are rewriting the rules of innovation. With unwavering dedication and ingenious contributions, these award winners have […]
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industryHow to Automate Your First Notice of Loss (FNOL) Process
First Notice of Loss (FNOL) is the first step of collecting information in an initial report from policyholders who have experienced a loss, and is an important element of an insurance carrier’s relationship with their policyholders. But when an insurance company resorts to manual data collection, they spend valuable time on non-value-added tasks while increasing […]
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industryIrish Life Believes in Making Both Customers and Employees Happy – And Ushur Makes It Happen
When an employee leaves a company, it triggers a long list of administrative duties for both the employee leaving and the company. Many of these duties are related to managing what happens to that employee’s financial benefits such as pensions, trusts, and other financial assets. And it generally involves a third-party financial services or pensions […]
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technologyLet's talk Data
A few weeks back I was speaking with a colleague who had just bought a new laptop. Unsurprisingly, a lot had changed about laptops since his last purchase. They’re slimmer and faster, the screens brighter, the battery life longer. They hold more data, can connect to your wireless headphones with ease, and built-in disc drives […]
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technologyUnderstanding the difference between Deep Learning and Machine Learning
If you think that deep learning (DL) and machine learning (ML) have a lot in common, you’re right. But if you hear someone using deep learning as a synonym for machine learning, it’s not quite as accurate. Machine learning uses past data and statistical algorithms to create systems that recognize patterns and predict future observations. […]
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industryRethinking customer experience in a climate of growing extremes
Though the year has only just started, it has already been a busy one for me personally. A few long international flights to kick off the calendar year provided moments of insight and inspiration, and a lot of time to ponder them. Over the past few years, we’ve experienced an uptick in extreme conditions. We’ve […]
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industryInsurance Chatbot Guide (5 Benefits & 3 Use Cases)
Conversational AI is revolutionizing the insurance industry. Chatbots can now handle a wide range of customer interactions, from answering simple questions to processing claims. This is helping insurance companies improve customer satisfaction, reduce costs, and free up agents to focus on more complex issues. In this guide, we will explore the value of chatbots for […]
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technologyColumnar Data Transformation Engine: Automating RFP Forever
Columnar data files are the dominant form used for exchanging information across industries like FMCG, Shipping, Finance, Insurance and others. The row-column format creates an understandable and recognized mechanism for sharing information which also happens to be easy-to-digest for digital processing. A lot of financial decisions and estimations are made off of information stored in rows […]
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technologyWhat do technologies like generative AI and ChatGPT mean for regulated industries?
There’s been a significant amount of buzz and excitement around generative AI and ChatGPT lately, and for good reason. Not only is it a potentially transformative technology for just about every industry under the sun, it’s one that is rapidly opening up to a growing number of people. One of the better qualities we humans […]
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technologyWhat is IVR and What's it Good For?
For those who are not familiar, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is an automated system that uses technology-enabled triggers to triage customers within a phone support pipeline. The concept of IVR itself dates back to 1962, and throughout the last two decades, IVR technology has become a staple in complex professional industries like healthcare, telecoms, finance, […]
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industryWhat do John, Paul, George, Ringo, and a lively dinner discussion about AI have in common?
Tucked within a busy month of business travel and board meetings, I had the opportunity to host an industry dinner in one of my favorite international cities — London. It was a shorter visit than I typically prefer to make, just three days, but I still managed to see an old friend for dinner and […]
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technologyUshur & Virtusa Partnership Brings Innovative CX Automation to Digital Transformation
Ushur, the leading no-code digital Customer Experience Automation (CXA) platform, and Virtusa, a global leader in guiding clients through the challenges of digital disruption, are excited to launch a new partnership. Virtusa’s appetite for disruption comes from the teams and technology it has centralized in its business. The unique expertise that Virtusa has acquired helps […]
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industryHow to Be Proactive When Adverse Weather Impacts Your Customers
It’s important for carriers to be able to reach all of their customers - both personal and commercial - to alert them when their insured property and possessions are in the predicted path of a hurricane, tornado, or hailstorm. Insurance carriers already think about how to get organizationally prepared for catastrophic (CAT) events. What they […]
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technologyExtracting information from unstructured emails - An RFP intake pipeline
Insurance companies receive numerous emails, which contain requests for proposal (RFP) quotes from brokers. These emails have valuable information that can help insurers to make informed decisions about coverage and pricing. However, extracting data with the desired accuracy from emails can be a significant challenge even with the help of AI. Here are some of […]
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industryAutomation can support texting customers
There have been many a lively conversation between Ushur and external companies who are replacing their aging person-to-person texting solution or contemplating introducing one for the first time, and we decided to turn it into a piece on digital transformation and the channels enterprises choose to support and why. Digital transformation has only been part of […]
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cultureAnnouncing Ushur's $50M Series C Funding
Today, we are announcing our $50M Series C funding. Having established a great base of marquee customers in Insurance and Healthcare, built a world-class team, expanded our products portfolio and established a healthy go-to-market momentum, I can confidently say that we are well on our way to reach escape velocity with closing our Series C. […]
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industryUshur + Sutherland Partnership Brings Innovative CX Automation to Digital Transformation
Ushur, the leading no-code digital customer experience automation platform, and Sutherland, a global innovator in bringing digital transformation to the front- and back-office, are now working in a strategic partnership. Sutherland's digital transformation blueprint is built on a three-pronged approach it sometimes calls the “3 ‘A’s of digital transformation”: Analyze, Automate, and Augment. Sutherland helps clients […]
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technologyWhat is Ushur?
Ushur platform, an Introduction People who first hear about the Ushur platform often ask what all can one do with the full suite of its capabilities. For better or for worse, people often have to deal with the answer that one can do pretty much anything. It’s a platform designed to let non-technical users build […]
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technologyReal-time Connectivity: The Next Great Frontier
Part of Ushur’s core culture as a company is a collective yearning to solve problems. We serve a core set of customers that tend to share common needs when it comes to customer engagement, but the way we’ve built and shaped our platform is rooted in a much higher level of analysis of the way […]
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industryUshur at Insuretech Connect 2022
The biggest conference in Insurance is here, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Ushur is hosting many exciting events at InsureTech Connect 2022 in Las Vegas to help Insurers transform their customer experience with AI and automation. Tired of sunk costs, long timelines and digitization projects that just don’t deliver? Ushur is announcing Invisible App […]
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Rethinking the Customer Engagement Lifecycles
Recently, I was speaking to a friend about the work we’re doing here at Ushur. They asked me a simple question, with a complex answer–“What should the ideal customer interaction look like?” The reason the answer is so complex is that most companies simply don’t understand what the full lifecycle of customer engagement entails. The […]
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technologyUshur Integrates with Guidewire!
What claim experience would you design if you could build an end-to-end policyholder or claimant journey with responsive conversational abilities and the ability to deploy that workflow across any channel? Thanks to the just-announced partnership with Guidewire, you can deploy that journey with just a few clicks. Ushur is excited that we are soon to […]
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technologyDigital Transformation, Done Right
Digital transformation is something every modern company talks about, thinks about, and worries about, all of the time. The reason for that worry, largely, is that most organizations approach the task backward. Many companies have a tendency to think about what they need to change rather than the outcome they’re trying to drive. They view […]
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technologyWhat are Micro-Engagements™ and Why Do They Matter?
If you’ve been reading my co-founder Simha Sadasiva’s blog lately, you’re probably at least somewhat familiar with the concept of micro-engagements already. In the backdrop of the fact that Ushur was just officially issued the patent (US20170193557A1) on micro-engagements, I thought I would talk a little bit about the underlying technological strategy that makes this […]
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cultureUshur Wins Big with Comparably!
Ushur is pleased to announce that it has won three 2022 awards from Comparably! The Ushur leadership and Human Resources teams take immense pride in making the company a great place for our employees, and Comparably has reaffirmed that by choosing Ushur as the winner of awards for: Best CEOs for Women, Best CEOs for Diversity, and Best […]
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technologyUshur Launches Next-Gen Automation Experiences
Starting with Ushur Hub There is a school of thought that incumbent carriers, even those that are industry leaders, are at a disadvantage to be digital innovation leaders, because people with more time spent within the industry are less inclined to see the opportunities for change. Yet what I have learned from my own insurance […]
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technologyWhat is Intelligent Automation (IA)?
Intelligent Automation is the practice of using predictive machine learning technologies to automate a variety of business processes. Using intelligent automation to avoid human intervention, streamline decision-making, and offer scale in real-time can completely change operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. These technologies center around Artificial Intelligence (AI) but also Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Business […]
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technologyHow to Meet the Needs of One Demographic Without Abandoning Another
The world of self-service has truly exploded over the past decade, but I would argue that to date, there has not been a customer experience that demonstrates the value of automation more clearly and universally than the one we have at the ATM. It might sound pedestrian, with promises of checkout-free grocery stores and fleets […]
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industryCustomer-Centric Automation During Hurricane Season
Hurricane season is fast approaching and 2022 is predicted to be as busy as 2021, which was the 3rd most active on record. Insurance carriers are already rallying their operations to get ready for repeat waves of new claim reports that span catastrophic losses to minor damage. Consumer expectations have evolved at an accelerated pace […]
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industryHow AI is Used in the Insurance Industry: Insurance AI Trends to Watch
Imagine automating up to 25% of business processes, and allowing human teams to shift to deeper problem-solving and customer relations tasks. Then picture reducing the operational cost to insurers by up to 20% through that automation and digitization strategy alone. Imagine reducing inbound phone calls by more than 30%, simply by providing customers with proactive […]
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technologyWhat is Call Deflection?
What is call deflection? Call deflection is reducing the number of inbound calls that require human service agents (call centers, helpdesks) by offering alternative digital self-service channels. The primary goal of call deflection is to reduce the amount of time customers spend waiting for an answer to their question. Typically, customers must wait on phone lines, but enterprises can instead increase […]
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technologyCustomer Experience Automation Focuses on the Customer
Why is customer satisfaction the most important metric to keep in mind when evaluating and designing automation solutions? To explore that question and more, Ushur invites Maureen Flemming, Program Vice President, Intelligent Process Automation at IDC to break down the current market for Customer Experience Automation. Renowned for their ability to collect data and share […]
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glossary, technologyIntelligent Process Automation
What Is Intelligent Process Automation? Intelligent Process Automation is the next evolution for automation technology, where robotic process automation (RPA), natural language processing (NLP), and artificial intelligence (AI) intersect and become something better. If robotic process automation alone is taking rote tasks and using software to handle repetitive tasks, intelligent automation gives automation flows their […]
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industryUshur at HIMSS22 - HIMSS, Orlando, FL
Ushur is attending the most influential week in healthcare and it’s taking place in Orlando, Florida (also digitally) at HIMSS22. HIMSS is finally back in person and we’re so excited to meet everyone there! While we are running a booth with excellent gifts, and also managing a must-attend event at Topgolf for select attendees, we’re most […]
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industryHow AI is Used in the Insurance Industry: The Top 5 Benefits
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has seen tremendous growth across all sectors. A PWC survey, conducted midway through 2021, found that 86% of more than 1,000 executives said that AI would be a “mainstream technology” at their company. More than half cited the Covid pandemic as the reason for the acceleration. For insurance carriers, the greatest benefit […]
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cultureThe Culture Of Ushur: Our Three Values
This past year for Ushur was one marked by growth across every corner of the organization. Our team tripled in size, and our revenue tripled in kind. We also tripled the number of verticals we serve, as well as our execution footprint. As we’ve grown, I’ve found my own role changing alongside. I think about […]
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industryChannel Hopping
What is it? Why is it costly? How should we avoid it? Why should we avoid it? Channel hopping is a phenomenon common to the insurance world that is defined by the behavior of customers, claimants, or anyone else contacting a carrier, starting their interactions within one channel (e.g. SMS, email, phone, or a portal), and then […]
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industryITC 2021: New Technology for the Future of Insurance
ITC 2021 In Vegas After having to host last year’s event virtually, ITC Vegas 2021 was filled with energy, excitement, and plenty of opportunities to share expertise about the direction that insurance is heading technologically. As a refresher, or for those who didn’t know,InsureTech Connect is the world’s largest gathering of insurance leaders and innovators and […]
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industryHow Open Enrollment Automation can improve employees' and health payers' bottomline
Introduction In this three-part series of blog posts, we address why open enrollment is so important to employees, their employers, and health insurance plans. Unfortunately it is also a process where employees may delay or avoid critical steps that are intended to maximize their use of their benefits for better health outcomes and lower out-of-pocket expenses. In this third […]
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industryHealth Risk Assessment and Care Programs
In this three-part series of blog posts, we address why open enrollment is so important to employees, their employers, and health plans. And yet it is an event that many employees overlook, do not understand, and are prone to avoid for as long as possible. In this second post, we will discuss the information that is gathered […]
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industryUshur joins ACORD to offer insurance forms process automation
Ushur, creator of the no-code AI-powered Customer Experience Automation™ platform that seamlessly automates policyholder, claimant, member, agent, broker, and provider interactions, announces its membership with Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD), the global standards-setting body for the insurance industry. From an insurance carrier’s front office call centers to their back-office core systems, Ushur combines Conversational […]
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industryOpen Enrollment : Guiding Employee Benefit Choices
Health plans in the post-Affordable Care Act world know that the more people who sign up for coverage during open enrollment, the wider the risk pool is. Similarly, having more employees sign up for the group benefits offered by an employer during open enrollment spreads the cost of the insurance over a larger more diverse group of people […]
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cultureBuilding a Team-First Company Culture
Culture. It’s one of the most often discussed yet least understood components of any successful organization. Our industry, in particular, is obsessed with the notion of culture—and not without cause. In the early days of a new company, when the greatest tool available is attitude, culture can be the difference between success and failure. It’s […]
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industryNo Customer Conversation Left Behind What is the Silent Listener capability?
The promise of the new era of digital communications lies in reducing customers' queries, increasing their satisfaction, and all before they ask. In fact, when customers reach out to a company, they expect a customized and responsive experience that answers their questions with minimal effort. When customers are unable to get timely and relevant outcomes, […]
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cultureCustomer Experience: A New Frontier for Intelligent Automation
Automation and AI might be the two hottest technologies in the world right now. With adoption comes conversation, and lots of it. Our space is noisy, filled to the brim with intellectuality, excitement, hope, and big ideas. It can be challenging to stand out amongst the crowd. Predictably, the question founders and CEOs in our […]
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cultureBoost P&C Customer Satisfaction with Customer Experience Automation
In 2018, the property and casualty industry was paid $1.6 trillion dollars in premiums. In 2020, during the heart of the pandemic accompanied by multiple environmental disasters like wildfires and flooding, insurance carriers were slammed with thousands of claims. And each progressive year promises more P&C insurance claims as environmental conditions worsen and newer risks […]
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industryAutomation to build trust and improve WC claim outcomes
Insurance is a service industry, and the customer’s claim experience can drive their decision to renew or change carriers, including for workers’ compensation. The customer is entrusting their insurance carrier to both take care of their injured employee and protect their company from financial harm. The challenge is that each worker’s compensation claim is both unique […]
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technologyThe ROI of Automation
When people think of automation, and in particular the ROI of automation, they typically think that the return part of that equation is driven primarily by savings realized by cutting costs or faster processing times. But really there is so much more. Cutting costs is only part of the story. What people often miss when […]
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industryP&C Insurance Digital Transformation Trends
The digital transformation of P&C insurance is crucial for its success in a world where customers are increasingly looking to their mobile, digital devices for products and services that meet their needs. Between the large numbers of new technologies that are being created and used daily and the growing number of new customers who unconsciously […]
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industryEnhancing the Employee Experience
When embarking on a digital transformation journey, insurance companies need to think, act, and expect differently than they have before, especially when we recognize the recent and ever increasing need to shift to digital. The days of choosing to create value in only one piece of the project management triangle, either customer experience, operational effectiveness, […]
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industryIncreasing Operational Effectiveness
When embarking on a digital transformation journey, insurance companies need to think, act, and expect differently than they have in the past. In this second edition of our three-part digital transformation blog series, we focus on how operational effectiveness gains are possible, while also improving customer experience and elevating employee engagement. In our first part of this […]
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industryTransforming the Customer Experience
When embarking on a digital transformation journey, insurance companies need to think, act, and expect differently than they have in the past. Otherwise, they will find themselves literally in an insanity loop, doing the same thing over and over and yet expecting a different outcome. Gone are the days where a project management triangle mindset requires choosing […]
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industry5 Ways to Transform the Healthcare Member Experience
Health plan member expectations are changing, and members demand more. They want better communication from their health insurance payer, timely answers to their questions, and seamless engagement through digital channels. Members are consumers whose service expectations have been dramatically shifted by the likes of Amazon, Netflix and Amazon. Gone are the days of expecting members […]
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industryUsing WhatsApp As a Channel to Communicate with Your Customers
Have you ever wished that it was easier to interact with an insurance carrier? We all know that waiting on hold for what can feel like forever and scouring the Internet for answers to seemingly basic questions are major hurdles that can cause most customers to approach simple tasks, such as filing an insurance claim, […]
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technologyTransforming the Claims Process with AI
The Context of a Claim The insurance policy is a contractual agreement that stipulates, in exchange for payment, a person or business will receive reimbursement or financial protection against losses from an insurance company. In other words, if the required premium is paid, a customer will be paid for covered damage, injury, illness or loss. […]
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industryAutomating the insurance customer experience: is RPA really the answer?
Robotic Process Automation (RPA), as a category, has been on a tear lately. Gartner, after its initial reluctance to even recognize RPA as a category, has now ranked it as the fastest growing segment of the technology sector for the past couple of years. Astronomical valuations, record-breaking funding rounds and indeed some slick marketing by […]
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cultureWhy You Should Join the Inclusive Workplace at Ushur
No company sets out to have a boring, tedious, or worst, toxic environment. Yet we see and experience these workplaces all around us. Why? Because building a great workplace culture is hard! At Ushur, we don't claim to have cracked the code on how to build the best possible workplace culture, but we do have something […]
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industryInsurance has always been transforming
Truth be told, the insurance customer experience has probably been in a state of transformation for as long as the insurance industry has existed. Transformation by definition is “a thorough or dramatic change”. And change is driven by – one, some or all – shifts in consumer preferences, marketplace competition, demographics, legislation, economic trends, and […]
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industryLow-Code vs. No-Code – What’s the Difference?
Software plays an important and ever increasing role in our daily lives and we do not even realize it most of the time. You may be surprised to learn that it took less code to send a person to the moon than it does to power the smartphones we use every day. Designing and writing […]
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cultureUshur extends its Series B and adds Aflac and Iron Pillar as strategic partners
Today is another milestone for all of us at Ushur, for our customers and for our partners. I’m thrilled to announce that just three months after our over-subscribed $25M Series B round, led by Third Point Ventures, 8VC and Pentland Ventures, we have extended our Series B investment by securing another $5M in funding. More […]
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industryThe First Notice of Loss: How First Impressions Set the Tone of Any Customer’s Claim Experience
Insurance is purchased with the carrier promising to pay should a covered loss occur. Claims service is core to an insurance company keeping their promise, being there when their customers need them most. Yet ValuePenguin’s study reveals that among the top four U.S. insurance carriers, over 50% of all complaints focused on claims. This confirms that despite the […]
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industryFrom POC to MVP — What’s Old is New Again
Sometimes what was thought to be old can be new again—or at least extendable and reusable. MVP can be realized by resurfacing your “legacy” POC experience. An insurance professional probably does not go through a day without digital transformation being part of a conversation, or referenced in an email or an article. While newer members […]
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industryUshur’s Top Insurance Technology Trends for 2021
Insurtech continues to be an emerging market and one investors are pouring money into, based on both its impact and potential. Across the first three quarters of 2020 there were 274 insurtech deals globally totalling $5.1B. These companies are on a mission to inject innovation and advanced technology into an industry ripe for a change […]
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industryAutomation to Accelerate Claims Service and Elevate Customer Experience is the Future of Insurance
Insurance is one sector of the financial services industry which has faced challenges as it embraced the digital revolution - first by choice and then by necessity following the pandemic lockdown. Cloud computing has taken hold, but some carriers are early in exploring solutions like artificial intelligence and machine learning.Insurance companies are eager to find […]
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industryCarrier transformation from incumbent to digital-first
Today when we speak about digital transformation within insurance, it can sound like it is something relatively new. In actuality, technology has been playing a pivotal role in the insurance industry for decades. I can still remember the shift from processing claims entirely on paper to using mainframe applications. Seemingly overnight we redesigned our processes, organizations, and […]
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industryInsurance Automation Proof of Concept
Insurance companies are focused more than ever on optimizing the experience they provide to customers. And if digital interactions were not at the top of the list of capabilities needed at the beginning of 2020, it became everyone’s #1 priority when the worldwide pandemic shutdown began. As this year draws to a close, we can […]
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cultureAnnouncing Ushur’s $25M Series B funding
I’m thrilled to share that Ushur has secured $25 million in Series B funding! Today, we welcomed new partners to our team led by Third Point Ventures, with our friends at 8VC joining as well. This new investment is more than just a vote of confidence. It’s a testament to the talented team we have assembled, […]
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industryYour Attendee Guide to the 2020 Virtual InsureTech Connect Event
10 months into the longest year on record, and you’ve probably learned a thing or two about Zoom calls. Mute yourself so your colleagues can’t hear the tantrum your sequestered child is throwing. Unmute yourself so your two minutes of pithy analysis don’t accidentally go straight to your cat. But as much as you may […]
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technologySix Recommendations for Digital and Operational Security
It’s understandable that the focus is on capabilities when evaluating an automation vendor - you need to know first and foremost if their product can truly meet your organization’s needs. The conversation usually pivots to cost - vendor software licensing, potential professional services needed, in addition to talent allocation from your own company. What should […]
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technologyCan Your Vendor Answer These 3 InfoSec Must-Haves?
In the first of this three-part series, we explore what Information Security (InfoSec) is, what it isn’t, and which questions will help enterprise customers discern responsible intelligent automation vendors from those susceptible to data piracy. That’s a motto that savvy, Cloud-based companies live by. The cost of known data breaches since 2012 far exceeds $50 […]
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industryLeading Insurers Join Virtual Panel on the Rise of Citizen Developers
Buzzwords and jargon abound when it comes to enterprise technology. Remember synergy? How about big data? No-code automation and citizen developers may seem equally amorphous at first blush. How does no-code automation actually work, in real-life? Has it actually accelerated enterprise-scale development? On August 26, 2020, Ushur and two leading insurance providers who use its […]
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cultureKate Gingras to join Ushur
With a history of success introducing digitally disruptive technologies into insurance, healthcare and financial services markets around the globe, Kate Gingras, JD, joins Ushur, the customer engagement automation platform, as the Vice President of Strategic Accounts. Gingras, an insurance and technology industry thought leader, comes to Ushur by way of market makers Pegasystems (BPM), Appian (Low-Code/RPA) […]
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technologyRisk-takers Win Big at Ushur’s Inaugural Innovation Awards
On August 26th, Ushur, an AI-powered automation platform, hosted its inaugural Innovation Awards ceremony, where individuals and companies were honored for their leadership in driving digital transformation initiatives in the insurance industry. Three awards went to two individuals and one company, respectively, who are “building a more compassionate world through their exemplary development and deployment […]
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cultureSix Superpowers Coming to an Ushur Near You
We were going to wind you up with a loooong intro. But then we figured, it’s been an interminable summer, it’s abominably hot, and even superheroes like yourselves could use a little straightforward good news. For the enterprises that have battled sky-high call volumes, hundreds of thousands of emails, heat-mad customers, and agents collapsing from […]
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technology5 Insurance Automation Ideas for Open Enrollment
Set up an automated insurance prospecting system in less than a month Picture two rival health insurance providers with similar policies. There’s only one difference between them. When open enrollment season comes around, the first trots out the same old enrollment game plan: recruitment teams making cold calls, educational events, a website for prospects to […]
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technologyWhy Businesses in the Pandemic Are Turning to Conversational AI
COVID-19 turned everyday life upside down, and everyday work too. Yet work goes on. Companies need to connect with their customers as much as ever, maybe more. The question is how. We recently hosted a webinar on just this topic—how businesses are using conversational AI to engage customers during the COVID crisis, and just as […]
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technologyDeflect Calls, Not Business: Three Ways to Make the Most of Your IVR
If you groaned, you know how frustrating and demoralizing this experience can be. After getting rerouted multiple times, customers, who’ve come to expect instant service, are placed in queues that feel like an eternity with delightful Muzak, growing more irate by the minute. Harried agents are disparaged for something out of their control. It’s a […]
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industryCitizen Developers: How Diverse Users Power Smart Solutions
If you work in finance, insurance, or healthcare, you likely don’t think of yourself as a technologist. This is despite the fact that half of all major capital investment since the 1980s has gone to information technology adoption. According to a 2020 report by the World Economic Forum, 85% of executives at global financial institutions are already using some […]
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technologyThe Different Types of Chatbots, Demystified
Not All Bots Are Created Equal: How Do the Types of Chatbots Stack Up? If you’ve ever been burned by a chatbot, we’ve got good news: just because you’ve met one doesn’t mean you’ve met them all. The truth is chatbot solutions span a wide range of functionalities and use cases. Many businesses tend to […]
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technologyIrish Life Email Routing Software Transformation
On levers, short and long - the unexpected impact of automated email routing software “Give me a place to stand, and with a lever, I will move the whole world,” the Greek scientist Archimedes supposedly said. Silicon Valley is full of Archimedeans. We love to talk about leverage. Leveraging our differentiators. Leveraging investments in technology […]
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technologyLocation Based Services for End to End Customer Engagement
In the shipping and logistics industry, the phrase “last mile” describes the final leg of the delivery journey: the step right before a package arrives at your door. The last mile is famously the most expensive and inefficient part of the delivery process. It’s frustrating for consumers too—if you’ve ever cursed a package for spending a week […]
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cultureDoubling Down on Data Protection: Earning Our SOC 2 Type 2 Certification
The SOC 2 Type 2 Certification Proves Ushur’s Airtight Security Practices Today we’re adding another medal to the wall: our shiny new SOC 2 Type 2 certification. Ta-dah! SOC 2 reports are how service providers demonstrate that they securely store customer data, and the Type 2 assessment is one of the most stringent audits out […]
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technologyHow to Respond to Emails Faster with Email Automation
Learn how to respond to emails faster in our new guide B2C enterprises everywhere are completely swamped with customer emails. Even the world’s most efficient support agent can’t wade through the torrent of customer emails pouring into bulk inboxes quickly enough to respond in a timely manner. All of these emails have to be reviewed […]
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technology4 More Bad Habits + 4 Mobile Customer Engagement Tips
Mobile customer engagement rates looking low? You might be a bad texter We’re back with another installment in our SMS tips and bad habits series! To recap, in our last post we covered text messaging best practices around SMS compliance and writing clear, actionable copy. Today we’ll unpack four more do’s and don’ts of running […]
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technology3 Signs You’re a Bad Texter + Text Messaging Best Practices
Don’t launch a SMS campaign before brushing up on these text messaging best practices Bad texters: we all know them. Maybe we are them. Bad texters write long, rambling messages. They annoy you with too many emojis or too much punctuation. Or, they’re completely toneless, leaving you wondering if they’re mad. They blow up your […]
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technologyIntelligent process automation in Salesforce
We are proud to announce that we’ve officially launched the Ushur’s Managed Package for Salesforce, now available in the Salesforce AppExchange. Now you can use Artificial Intelligence to automate customer engagements over email, web, SMS, and more, integrating directly within the Salesforce interface. This allows customer support and operations teams to deliver powerful self-service tools across […]
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technologyWhy Conversational AI is Customer Service’s Greatest Tool Yet
If you’re curious about why conversational AI is getting so much attention, read on. We get a lot of questions about whether conversational AI lives up to its promise. And we get it: on a personal level, one frustrating experience with an all-too-helpful chatbot or virtual assistant can be enough to turn you off. So […]
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industryShould you meet with Ushur at CCW? (Hint: Yes)
Let’s just get it out there: Customer Contact Week in Nashville is...a lot. A lot to see. A lot of people to talk to. You can’t meet with everyone. You have to prioritize. That’s why we’ve created this quick quiz to help you decide whether Ushur belongs on your shortlist of must-see vendors. 1) Are you a […]
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technologyTop 5 intelligent Automation Questions Answered
Intelligent automation is a comprehensive solution for digital transformation which combines AI, ML, and RPA technologies. The financial and strategic benefits of this technology are widely known and acclaimed, yet many companies have intelligent automation questions regarding its implementation and deployment. Keep reading to learn more about the Top 5 FAQ’s potential customers have about […]
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technologyA Look at Ushur’s Invisible App: Dynamically Engage with Customers without any App Development
App usage is skyrocketing with 194 million global app downloads in 2018 alone. This smartphone era is distancing itself from calls and emails and shifting toward mobile solutions. Modern problem solving is designing apps and throwing them at the problem hoping for something to stick. With this surplus of apps comes a greater challenge to differentiate […]
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cultureMeet Ushur’s Intern Class of 2019
Ever wonder what working at Ushur is like? Meet Ushur’s Summer 2019 Interns. This past summer, Ushur’s office nestled in a Santa Clara-based office park was illuminated by the jovial and energetic spirits of 7 fresh-faced interns. Keep reading to learn more about their meaningful work here at Ushur and their impression of the unique […]
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technologyThe Ultimate Guide to Automated Enterprise Email Processing
About 124.5 billion business emails are sent and received each day, and this number is only growing (DMR). Manual email triaging, the primary mode of email intake up until recently, is not scalable for such growth. Employees, on average, receive 121 emails per day (DMR). Spending approximately 3 minutes per email would result in 6 […]
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technologyIntroduction to Workflow Automation + Conversational AI
What is it and how do you deploy it successfully? What is it? Business processes involve routine tasks that are getting increasingly complex with rapid technological advances. Workflow Automation can provide the relief to both the employee and the employer—to the employee opening them up for more creative and value-added work; the employer in cost […]
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cultureSecure Your Data: SOC 2 Compliance
Ushur is proud to announce our SOC 2 Type 2 Compliance Certification. The proliferation of Big Data has put data at the forefront of all business processes and decisions. Regardless of industry or field, generating, analyzing and interpreting data is crucial to success. However, the benefits associated with Big Data come with a fair share of […]
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industrySimha Sadasiva at InsurTech Summit 2019
The Impact of AI and ML in Insurance CEO & Co-Founder, Simha Sadasiva discusses where AI can help Insurers at 2019 Global InsurTech Summit Panel. Our CEO & Co-Founder sat down at the Global InsurTech Summit with Group Head of Artificial Intelligence of Zurich, Gero Grunkel, Global Head of Artificial Intelligence at Prudential, Michael Natusch, […]
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cultureStay Hungry, Stay Focused & Stay Frugal
As you may have seen recently, Ushur announced its Series A funding round led by Silicon Valley’s premier firm 8VC. This is a significant milestone for us to celebrate and the entire team looks forward to expanding Ushur into a global brand. Co-founder Henry Peter and I recognize this to be a great endorsement of our business and […]
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industryHow can we use Conversational AI for Service Desk?
Many IT workflows that were previously done primarily through email, would be much better suited for automated text-message conversations using conversational AI, saving time and frustration and optimizing productivity. Let’s look at a few scenarios how this can alter the digital experience for your company: Approvals Employees often need answers quickly for important requests that […]
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technologyIt’s 2018: Why are your I.T. service desk requests still stuck in email?
How to optimize I.T. service desk with automated two-way text messaging I was at the Atlassian Team Tour event recently when a panelist commented how email has become a digital space where information goes to die. It is hard to imagine how much has changed since Blackberry made email accessible just 15 years to-date. Email […]
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industryHow to Stay Compliant with Claims Processing
When it comes to processing claims, there are a number of potential security and compliance traps that could mean serious problems for insurance companies. Whether it’s HIPAA or TCPA, companies need to stay vigilant when it comes to insurance communications with their customers. Filing paper based claims is not only inefficient and time consuming, it […]
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industryChatbots as Insurance Agents
Insurance claim processes are notoriously lengthy and cumbersome, for both insurance companies and their customers. From long and arduous back and forth to messy, complicated paperwork, claim cycles can be a real pain for all sides involved. For insurance companies, long claim cycle times increase administrative costs, reduce claims department employee productivity, and negatively impacts […]
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technologyDoes your company need chatbots?
AI and Chatbots are all over the news lately, with companies moving to automate their low-level, repetitive tasks in droves. With the sector relatively new however, some might remain confused as to how exactly chatbots work and whether the return on investment actually lives up to the hype. Does your company need to consider chatbots? […]
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culture3 Reasons Your HR Department Needs Chatbot Automation
HR departments are in desperate need of automation. The number one complaint of HR professionals has consistently been of lost productivity due to answering repetitive employee questions, lengthy forms, and onboarding new employees. Departments across all industries would rather put the human back in human resources by connecting with employees to strategically move the company […]
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industryWill AI Change Banking?
According to a report released by Gartner, consumers want to manage 85% of the total business interactions with banks through Fintech chatbots by 2020. These numbers show the future of banking depends on automated customer engagement, but are banks ready for their digital transformation? It seems the banking industry is in a very early stage of […]
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industryHas the Insurance Industry Fully Embraced Chatbots?
Gartner estimates that in 3 years 85% of companies will be using automation and AI as a part of their business strategy, meaning that those who don’t have a plan in place now, will assuredly be left behind in the wake of our fast-paced technological landscape. So how does the Insurance industry shape up in […]
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industry2017 Millennial Mobile Consumer Report
Millennials are expected to occupy 50% of the US workforce by the year 2020, just three years from now. Their purchasing power of $200B will make a significant part of the US economy. We interviewed this group to learn more on their social and consumer behavior and produced the 2017 Millennial Mobile Consumer Report. You […]
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industryWhy Retail Apps are a Waste of Money
Mobile devices are the preferred way to access the internet for the majority of the population, and while mobile apps continue to thrive, companies are struggling with creating engaging experiences with their customers as their apps get lost in a sea of social networks, games, entertainment, and news. Even when users give it a try, […]
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industryIs Promotional Marketing Dead?
Messaging has become the most dominant and ubiquitous channel of engagement. That is probably why 4 in 5 companies want to text their customers. However, only 1 in 4 marketers use this medium to reach their customer base. Many companies are just not keeping up with changing consumer behavior, and in turn creating a digital […]
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technologyPowered by Service (Bots)
Companies with the best NPS scores power their business from making their service delivery front and center. Everything they do as a business focuses and delivers on the service experience for customers. Think of companies like Apple, Amazon, Costco which consistently rank in the top 10 for brands with the best NPS scores. These brands […]
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technologyWill AI Fix our Frustration with Customer Service?
I started dictating this article to Siri, but I gave up within a few minutes after I had to repeat my words again and again. Emerging Human Assisted Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Assistants, and Machine Learning technology has become a reality everywhere. We use them to check the status of our orders, reorder a prescription […]
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industryIs Phone-Based Customer Interaction Costing US Companies $61B per Year?
It would come as a surprise to few these days – no one enjoys calling customer service. Millennials, a demographic that will reach 50 percent of the workforce by 2020, would rather “get their teeth cleaned” than call into a customer service line and two of every three consumers prefer to communicate via some form […]
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technologyServicebots for better retail?
ServiceBots could be a solution to some of the current woes of the retail industry. Using instant-message-based systems, these bots can automate many of the functions of a retail operations service desk, bringing a conversational machine interface to what is a costly human-to-human interaction today, thereby reducing the need for scaling human resources, while bringing […]
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