Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized companies around the world, even in sectors traditionally distant from technology. However, some companies have been able to anticipate and leverage the potential of AI, integrating it progressively to drive their growth. A notable example is Evoluciona, a Spanish start-up that now acts as the global innovation center of Intelcia. Antonio Díaz, CEO of Evoluciona, explains to El HuffPost that AI is not new to them: “Our first contact with AI was in 2002. Now there is a lot of talk about generative AI, but artificial intelligence has been transforming businesses for years.” This evolution has gone hand in hand with intelligent assistants that have redefined customer experience and professional roles within the company. Evoluciona was born within Unísono, now part of Intelcia, as a pioneering unit of innovation and technology consulting. Over time, it transformed into a spin-off focused on digitalization, consolidating itself as the innovation hub responsible for leading the digital transformation of the group's operations and clients in more than 20 countries. “The learning has been practical: think big, act small, and test quickly. We have learned to identify trends and adapt agile solutions to each use case,” Díaz points out. Currently, generative AI is applied in three main areas: enhancing organization, improving real-time assistance, and optimizing service quality. Customer service agents have conversational assistants and copilots that expedite query resolution, while AI allows for mass and precise evaluation of service quality. Additionally, intelligent systems identify needs and anticipate incidents, such as in e-commerce logistics, improving the end customer experience. Díaz acknowledges that there is a trend to implement AI quickly, although the return on investment is often slower than expected. “20% is technology, but 70% is process and data adaptation. If the starting information is not adequate, the results will not be either,” he warns. Evoluciona's journey with AI has been progressive: from planning systems in 2002, through propensity models in 2010, to the adoption of chatbots in 2015 and virtual assistants in 2020. Now, generative and agentic AI allows for task automation and the creation of hybrid interaction models, where collaboration between humans and machines is key. Regarding security, Díaz emphasizes the importance of closed models and the use of proprietary infrastructures, as well as the emergence of European alternatives like Mistral, which facilitate regulatory compliance. As for the impact on employment, Evoluciona advocates for an “augmented organization,” where AI supports and enhances professionals, allowing them to take on more complex and higher-value tasks. “The role changes, but new needs and opportunities that AI is generating arise,” says Díaz. Looking to the future, customer service will evolve towards self-management, co-assistance, and specialization, with increasingly capable agents thanks to AI support. Additionally, the virtualization of services will open the door to new business models and growth opportunities. Source: huffingtonpost.es