From accusations of “massive fraud” to providing competition for ChatGPT, here are some extracts from our most popular news stories over the last seven days.
Google Takes on ChatGPT With “Bard” – Here’s Why It’s Great News for CX
Google will launch a generative AI bot, “Bard”, within the coming weeks to challenge ChatGPT.
ChatGPT stunned the online world after its launch two months ago, writing poems, completing code, and answering exam questions.
Indeed, 30 percent of the world’s white-collar workers have experimented with the offering, helping with market research, copy creation, and general ideation.
From these tests, its potential to change how people search for information online quickly became evident – which alerted a “code red” at Google.
Why? Because Microsoft struck a deal to embed ChatGPT into Bing. Such innovation could disrupt its search engine domination – which reportedly accounts for 58 percent of Google’s business.
Indeed, 92.9 percent of the world’s searches are on Google. That pulls in a lot of advertising revenue. Bing, on the other hand, accounts for just three percent, according to Statcounter.
If Microsoft can move the dial on that ratio, Google’s entire business model will turn upside down.
Yet, Google has long planned for the future of conversational search, with Bard far from a quick retort to ChatGPT.
So, while there is more than a pinch of panic surrounding the release of Bard, the solution seems unlikely to disappoint.
After all, Google LaMDA powers the offering. Initially released two years ago, this is Google’s model for next-generation language and conversation capabilities.
Ever since this release, the Google team has evolved the experimental generative AI service, ready for the release of Bard. Now, it is reportedly so sophisticated one Google employee expressed their concern that it might be sentient.
Avaya Accused of “Massive Fraud” In Bondholder Lawsuit
Avaya allegedly misled investors about the company’s finances and management, per a lawsuit filed by bondholders in New York.
The claimants suggest that they lost over $125MN because of the “fraudulent” maneuvers of the Avaya board.
These alleged moves came before Alan Masarek took the CEO hotseat.
Indeed, the plaintiffs’ story of events starts in 2018, shortly after Avaya came out of bankruptcy.
At the time, Avaya issued $100MN in unsecured convertible notes. Such notes represent short-term debt that converts into company equity.
In May 2022, Avaya attempted to raise more money by refinancing the notes after reporting seemingly promising Q2 results.
At the time, former President and CEO Jim Chirico stated during an earnings call: “The significant progress we saw this quarter signifies our strategy is taking hold, and this shift is reflected in our revised second-half guidance.”
After, Avaya contacted the plaintiffs – alongside other debtholders – to secure a new loan. In doing so, the suit claims that Avaya indicated its finances, management, and liquidity “were sound and that prospects were great.”
With this guidance, many investors kept hold of their convertible notes, and reports suggest that some invested $80MN in new money into the business.
Then, when the loan closed, the situation began to unravel. Indeed, the plaintiffs – which include Angelo Gordon & Co., Canyon Partners LLC, and Mariner Investment Group – state the fraud “began to become apparent almost immediately afterwards.”
From there, the suit alleges that the business disclosed it had used the loan to buy back $129 million of notes from other investors.
Microsoft Teases New Capabilities for Its Dynamics CCaaS Platform
Microsoft has previewed the next release wave for Dynamics 365 Customer Service, its CCaaS platform.
The offering is not to be confused with the Microsoft Digital Contact Center Platform, which is more of a playbook for augmenting other contact centers with Microsoft’s broader portfolio.
Instead, Dynamics 365 Customer Service is a conventional CCaaS platform – which Microsoft released back in November 2021.
At that point, Microsoft put forward a skeleton CCaaS solution, only viable for SMBs. Nevertheless, the vendor is slowly but surely fleshing it out.
In this first release wave of 2023, Microsoft will add a total of 20 new tools and enhancements to the platform. All but three of these will become generally available on April 1, 2023.
Expect a second release in the Summer if Microsoft follows the same release wave structure as it did in 2022.
What Is Included Within the New Release?
The four most eye-catching additions to Dynamics 365 Customer Service are:
- Native integrations to Nuance Mix and Gatekeeper
- A strengthened Teams integration
- Auto-reply suggests to customers on live chat
- Analytics tools for agents and supervisors
The Nuance integrations come as little surprise after Microsoft’s $16BN acquisition. Although much of the deal’s narrative swirled around healthcare, the additions of Mix – a conversational AI platform – and Gatekeeper – a voice biometrics solution – is a natural play.
Zoom to Lay Off 15 Percent of Staff, Amidst Enterprise Growth
In an official company blog post this Tuesday, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan explained how his firm would lay off roughly 15 percent of its employees. The lay-offs account for around 1,300 Zoom staff members.
Yuan stated:
Zoom has become an indispensable source of connection for businesses and individuals as well as a globally recognized brand. Whether you have been at Zoom since the beginning or joined us more recently, you’ve played an important role in our evolution. – We have made the tough but necessary decision to reduce our team by approximately 15% and say goodbye to around 1,300 hardworking, talented colleagues.
Yuan also said he is “accountable for these mistakes and the actions we take today.” In response to his company’s actions, Yuan will reduce his salary by 98 percent and forego his FY23 corporate bonus.
Moreover, Zoom will reduce executive leadership base salaries by 20 percent in 2023 while also forfeiting FY23 corporate bonuses.
Zoom will also help its laid-off staff members with a care package to assist them in their career transition.
In addition, the firm’s CEO confirms that, moving forward, Zoom will continue to build its brand and evolve its product portfolio to provide a “new kind of productivity.”
Why Is Zoom Laying Off 15 Percent of Its Staff?
The news comes as Zoom plans to double down on its portfolio as an avenue for enterprise-grade remote collaboration and customer engagement solutions.
Previously, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom experienced mass adoption due to international lockdowns.
Zoom faces a reduced consumer user base as the world returns to a pre-pandemic lifestyle. Although, despite dwindling consumer usage, the firm predicts that its enterprise coverage will support the firm in the future.
