The development and application of generative AI-powered products and experiences saw a major advancement in 2023, a breakthrough year for the field.

AI was integrated into client-facing applications in a variety of industries, including healthcare, retail, education, and more, to help companies create innovative experiences that strengthen customer bonds.

Twilio announced its inaugural AI Startup Searchlight, a global search for businesses leveraging generative AI to develop better, more trustworthy customer communications, in an effort to uncover the most creative and promising AI-powered customer experiences. Twilio sought international companies with less than $50 million in venture capital that already had a working product or functional demo and were creatively integrating generative AI into Twilio channels like voice, email, and WhatsApp.

The judges consisted of Twilio CEO Khozema Shipchandler, Twilio Ventures director Brandon Leen, and WAYE creator and futurist Sinead Bovell. The judges sought out nominees who had shown extraordinary inventiveness, made the most of the AI opportunity, and had a significant impact on the direction of AI-powered customer experiences.

Twilio narrowed down the numerous applications to six standout firms that were utilizing useful generative AI applications in the fields of logistics, hospitality, healthcare, and more. Each of these awardees developed novel, creative solutions that made use of data, communications, and AI’s capabilities to address specific business difficulties and produce long-term advantages for their clients.

The recipients of the award showcased remarkable progress in the direction of reliable communication and client interaction, demonstrating the genuine potential of generative artificial intelligence.

Arist

The founding principle of Arist was to simplify and make workforce education easily accessible. Arist transforms how teams communicate and meets with employees on their chosen channels, such as Slack, SMS, and WhatsApp, by utilizing AI and Twilio.

With the help of Arist’s content creation assistance, users can create new courses using pre-existing information. Arist is able to motivate learning efforts with their clients and staff and inspire learner confidence by efficiently capturing information and value that has already been developed.

Over a million courses have already been sent to eminent international firms including BMO, DoorDash, the World Health Organization, and others using the text message learning platform Arist has previously developed. Arist intends to use AI to personalize learning for clients and deliver efficient communications throughout the employee education journey. In the future, the company will roll out capabilities such as learner response analysis and adaptive learning.

FleetWorks

An estimated 3.5 million workers in the US alone are engaged in repetitive back-office and logistics work. FleetWorks is able to automate the most time-consuming aspect of logistics management—live order issue handling—by adding AI technology on top of traditional systems.

Fleetworks made a copilot for all of their work by utilizing Twilio’s voice API in addition to its IVR and SIP trunking features. This allowed UberFreight and other companies to optimize their operations.

The business uses automation to handle freight movement coordination, doing away with the need for many phone conversations and emails that were previously necessary. Fleetworks relies heavily on artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver excellent customer service and free up their clients’ time to concentrate on efficient transportation.

Milo

Milo, which stands for “my important loved ones,” is a startup that offers parents an AI partner to assist in handling the invisible burden of raising and managing a family. According to Milo, parents spend much too much time and energy on low-value but essential chores like organizing, planning, and information management—tasks that are more suited for computers and artificial intelligence (AI) than for human brains.

Using Twilio’s messaging API, busy parents can send voice recordings, SMS reminders, and calendar invites to their loved ones, all of which are combined into Milo, which then summarizes the pandemonium for the family as a whole.

To assist in managing the schedules of young children and their parents, Milo created a virtual copilot by combining the most advanced LLM capabilities with a human in the loop. With funding from OpenAI, Milo’s AI technology also improves with time. It adjusts based on user response to the needs and preferred methods of information delivery, saving parents a great deal of time.

Next Order

Next Order is a restaurant software supplier that provides a direct ordering channel, connections with delivery platforms, and a cloud-based point-of-sale system. Their goal is to improve working conditions for restaurant employees and make business ownership easier.

AI contributes to the expansion of this goal. Next Order automates client interactions and offers restaurants insightful data by utilizing AI in conjunction with Twilio’s Programmable Messaging, Email API, Voice, IVR, and SIP Trunking. This AI can provide more consistent customer service for diners. This technology helps restaurants make better business decisions, save expenses, and enhances the dining experience for patrons during peak hours.

More than 1,000 restaurants who previously battled with limited access to large-chain restaurant technology and were dependent on antiquated service providers are now better positioned to compete and provide outstanding customer experiences thanks to Next Order.

Rely Health

Rely Health strives to keep patients from becoming disoriented in the complicated world of healthcare. Rely Health’s AI-powered companion collaborates with clinical personnel to assist patients in optimizing in-network retention, gaining access to clinical charting, and comprehending the viability and well-being of their healthcare plans.

Rely Health uses artificial intelligence (AI) to improve virtual chatbots, give personalized solutions, and improve predictive analytics for improved patient outcomes. It is driven by real-time data and a strong dedication to patient care. Rely reaches patients on their preferred channel by utilizing APIs (including email and voice) and Twilio’s SIP trunking and IVR solutions.

AI has a big future in patient care, and Rely Health is confident in it. Their technology, which is now present in several states and is still expanding, has the potential to bridge the gap in manual treatment and enhance patient communications for thousands of patients.

Smith.ai

The goal of Smith.ai, a customer interaction platform that offers small to mid-sized enterprises virtual receptionists and sales outreach solutions, is to address the difficulties that small businesses encounter.

Smith.ai uses automation and technology to assist small and medium-sized enterprises increase efficiency. Since AI makes their agents feel more like an organic extension of a company than an external vendor, Smith.ai views AI as the “secret sauce” of their operation. To reach clients on their preferred channel, they leverage SIP trunking, IVR solutions, and Twilio APIs for voice and messaging.

Agents for Smith.ai frequently handle complex consumer transactions. These AI-guided agents are most suited to handle these exchanges because Smith.ai’s technology is inherently compassionate and emotionally intelligent. AI supports their agents in managing calls, chats, and text messages by giving them the crucial context they need to give excellent customer care on behalf of their clients.