In this BSA series – “Why AI?” – enterprise software leaders explain in their own words how artificial intelligence (AI) is having a positive impact on individuals, businesses, and organizations worldwide. In this submission, TriNet Chief Technology Officer Jeff Hayward writes about the responsible development of AI and how the development of generative AI can be used in many ways.
1. Why AI?
At TriNet we pride ourselves on giving the best personal service to our customers – in fact our mission is to power the success of small and medium-size businesses by supporting their growth and enabling their people. So, it is important to us to be responsible in our use of AI by leveraging it to improve the personalized experience we offer. We deal with a tremendous amount of complexity on behalf of our customers so that they can focus on their core business. This means managing the constant change from the more than 14,000 municipal, local, state and federal tax authorities. And with payroll and taxes…we need to avoid mistakes. So we’re working on Generative AI tools that will be able help our support center professionals get the right answer to our customers quickly and accurately, but with that human touch.
2. Can you give an example?
In my 30-year career I’ve seen many technology advancements that have improved human productivity. The Graphical User Interface, the Internet, advanced search capabilities like Google, and of course the Smart Phone, which has put all of these in our hands everywhere we go. And while AI/ML is not new to TriNet – we’ve been using this technology in areas like Sales and Customer Support – this new leap with Generative AI is the most impressive of all of them. It’s challenging to keep pace with the potential uses. We now have AI assisting in:
- Improving efficiency in our sales teams
- Improving the buyer’s journey by attracting potential customers, molding content to their needs, and fostering a faster connection between customers and our brand
- Helping developers work more efficiently when writing code
Concurrently, we’re working on capabilities that:
- Provide real time customer sentiment analysis to service them better
- Assist our support center professionals with providing accurate answers quicker
- Will allow customers to conversationally ask an AI agent for the data and reports that are critical to running their businesses
Be careful since you may find the real challenge is not in the AI, but creating the right data pipeline.
3. Where can we learn more?
Responsible AI is critically important to TriNet as we have a trusted relationship with our customers. I would recommend starting with the Responsible AI Practices that companies like Google and Microsoft have published. There are also good resources that have been published in AI ethics and governance by Accenture, Boston Consulting Group, and PwC. Then once you’ve established your strategy I encourage you to identify key use cases for your business, and launch Proof of Concept efforts to gain the necessary knowledge to manage these technologies. You will find them especially demanding on your data resources so the earlier the better.
About the author:
Jeff Hayward is Chief Technology Officer for TriNet, where he oversees technology through the organization and brings more than 25 years of experience, most recently as senior vice president of Product Engineering for Airline Solutions at Sabre.
