What's Up with Tech?
Tech Transformation with Evan Kirstel: A podcast exploring the latest trends and innovations in the tech industry, and how businesses can leverage them for growth, diving into the world of B2B, discussing strategies, trends, and sharing insights from industry leaders!
With over three decades in telecom and IT, I've mastered the art of transforming social media into a dynamic platform for audience engagement, community building, and establishing thought leadership. My approach isn't about personal brand promotion but about delivering educational and informative content to cultivate a sustainable, long-term business presence. I am the leading content creator in areas like Enterprise AI, UCaaS, CPaaS, CCaaS, Telecom/5G and more!
What's Up with Tech?
Revolutionizing Customer Support: Loookit's Browser-Based Interactions, AI Integration, and Future Applications in Banking, Healthcare, and Construction
Interested in being a guest? Email us at admin@evankirstel.com
Can browser-based interactions revolutionize customer support? In this episode, we sit down with Nagesh Challa, the visionary behind Loookit and co-founder of Waagu, to uncover how his groundbreaking digital-first solution is transforming customer communication across banking, healthcare, and construction industries. With no need for app downloads or registrations, Lookit leverages the power of QR codes and advanced browser capabilities to create seamless and immersive customer experiences. Nagesh shares his journey from semiconductor design to mobile commerce and how these experiences shaped the creation of Lookit, which has already seen significant success in Japan.
We also explore the innovative technologies Loookit is integrating to elevate customer support. From AI tools that help agents curate information and provide guided assistance, to Loookit Lens, which enables live video feed annotation, Nagesh explains how these advancements are tackling common AI issues and enhancing precision in customer interactions. We delve into the practical applications of RealWear smart glasses for remote industrial assistance and potential uses in travel and hospitality, where QR codes and Wi-Fi connectivity can simplify support for travelers. Tune in for a rich discussion on how these cutting-edge technologies are redefining remote customer service in our digital age.
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Hey everybody, Today we're diving into the world of making remote customer interactions easy and better than they are today, with an innovator in the field at Lookout, Nagesh. How are you?
Speaker 2:Hi Evan. Thank you very much for having me on your live stream. I'm doing well.
Speaker 1:Thanks. Thanks for joining and a fascinating topic around customer experience. Maybe let's dive right in introduce yourself and the big idea behind Lookit.
Speaker 2:Okay, thank you, let's see. My name is Nagesh Chawla and I'm one of the founders of the company that we started. It's called Wagyu and our product is Lookit. And let's see. I come from a few years in the tech industry. I started out life in the semiconductor industry. I used to be a design engineer. I used to design the very early stages of flash memory. I used to design flash memory and I had my own after working at a couple of memory and I had my own after working at a couple of large companies. I had my own startup called Nexcom and we focused on designing flash memory for ultra low power consumption usage. So at that time we were looking at battery operated handheld devices that would need removable storage, and so we created flash memory for relatively higher density in those days. At the same time, you know low power, ultra low power consumption. And then after that, I was involved in a small embedded software company for mobile devices called Acreo, and I believe you had Acreo on your show.
Speaker 1:We did. Yeah, fascinating chat for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, I was the founding CEO of Acreo and one of the things apart from what you heard from them we did was we had a mobile commerce technology where we could actually stream barcodes to POS registers seamlessly without having any of the reflectivity problems that they had of reading them from the LCD screens. So we had some patented technology and we spun that off into a company called Mobim and we had investors like Samsung and others and eventually that company was acquired by Samsung. And then, more recently, I've started Wagub with my partner, rao Gaburu, and here we decided to tackle the communication, especially trying to make communications easy and simple between companies and customers.
Speaker 1:That's a great mission and certainly the pandemic changed everything when it came to remote customer support, interactions, collaboration and more, mainly for the better, but there's a lot of work to be done. So what's the big idea behind your solution? And not needing an app download to engage, support and work with customers?
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely, and this was pre-pandemic when we started this. Yes, absolutely, and this was pre-pandemic when we started this. So our view was, while we had lots of these audiovisual tools and especially communication tools that were predominantly used in the enterprise space, like WebEx and Teams and Zoom, et cetera they had very rich capabilities and a lot of ability to interact immersively However, they were mostly relegated to enterprise use and they required some form of setup, registration, et cetera.
Speaker 2:And they were a little bit more complicated than we thought would be useful for the average consumer. So we wanted to bring those kinds of capabilities but at the same time, make it very, very easy and simple for consumers to use as well. And at the same time, as you know, the browsers were getting more and more powerful, or they were opening up to more communication capabilities, like WebRTC and so on, and devices also were getting more powerful phones, et cetera and then, of course, the networks were getting faster. So we thought we could take this combination of these elements, if you will, and create a service that would be very easy to use, that would not require any downloads, registrations, apps, et cetera, but you could simply create this environment using a browser only, and that's what we did with Lookit. So Lookit had the genesis of trying to make everything simple, right for the average user.
Speaker 1:Fantastic. So, without doing a demo here, which would always be easier, but maybe you can share a few examples of how you're helping across different industries and use cases Perfect Banking, healthcare I see construction is something you're working with. Walk us through a few examples of how it works.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah. So what we did initially when we started Outlook of course this was pre-pandemic, so we were not afraid to cross the seven seas, if you will, to find customers, and so we had initial traction in Japan. I had some history of working with companies in Japan and customers in Japan, and so when the Tokyo metropolitan government, like a lot of metropolitan governments across the world, were trying to create a friendly environment for startups globally, they invited us and they selected us for a cohort of companies they had to present to companies in Japan. So we got involved in that, and so we found some of our early customers in Japan, and the problems that we were trying to solve were essentially, as you said, making it very, very simple for a customer to approach a company or to call in on a company and also use all of these digital capabilities for the interaction. So we figured that, if you want to use these digital capabilities for interaction, rather than having the customer call and then switch them over to a browser or to a computer, et cetera, in two or three steps, what if we could make the customer come in on a digital platform from the get-go and then interact with them in a digital format? So for that, what we did is we took the QR code, and in those days the QR code was not as widely used as it is today. So we basically connected the QR code to a call center dial-in, if you will so kind of replacing a phone call, right? So a customer would simply scan a QR code or click on the link that a QR code would represent right on a website, and they would then be immediately connected to the call center and to a field agent or a service agent that would be able to help them out, and so that was one thing that we did. So the customer comes in using a browser, and once they're on a browser, you can bring in all these tools with, like a chat, audio video right, see what I see and a variety of different interactions that we then provided using the browser. So that's how we started out, trying to make this very easy and simple, one of the specialties that we had.
Speaker 2:One of our customers came to us and said listen, we have customers using our app.
Speaker 2:It was a healthcare app, and, however, whenever customers call in and ask us for help in using the app, the agent doesn't necessarily see what's going on on the app and is not able to help the customer directly.
Speaker 2:And, of course, at that time, having the customer download yet another app so that the agent can see what's going on is a non-starter. They're already having trouble with the app initially, so we created a solution for them and that now is in the third year of deployment, and what we did is in our Lookit platform we were able to tie into an emulator where we loaded the app up into the emulator and basically the agent the help desk agent is able to bring up the app and on the same browser that the customer is viewing, so they can both jointly view the app as well as operate the app. So it became an excellent tool for guidance, for training for the customer without having to go through any machinations in creating the environment. So that was a very, very innovative and easy way of bringing the app into a training platform, if you will.
Speaker 1:Fantastic. And how do you handle things like compatibility and interoperability? You have so many different devices and operating systems and streaming standards. I mean there must have been a lot of challenges in deploying this initially.
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely Initially. Yes, as you know, the browsers came in different sizes and shapes. Yes, as you know, the browsers came in different sizes and shapes, but fortunately for us, I think more and more of the browsers have become more compatible, if you will. So WebRTC has become fairly standardized and that helped us, and then basically any device, including mobile devices like iPads or tablets and phones, both Android as well as iOS, and so on. They've all become more and more friendly towards a browser-based audio video interaction service, so that we've actually been able to capitalize on that and continue to build the capabilities with the browser itself. So we kind of ride along all the different browser capabilities as they move forward.
Speaker 1:Interesting. So security is a big concern with all remote tools. For obvious reasons, there have been lots of breaches around remote access. How do you think about securing customer data and all the challenges that entail?
Speaker 2:Yes, so we are rerunning the cloud and a lot of times, we actually offer our service in the customer's cloud itself, right? So whatever security guardrails that they are able to build, we completely fit behind them, and so we actually are able to provide that additional layer, if you will, of comfort that the customers control their own destiny in terms of the security and so on. So that's one way we do it, and a lot of times we do not keep data on our system at all, so once a meeting or a session is done, it's all completely offloaded to the customer's premise, if you will. So that is another way of not storing and maintaining a lot of information regarding customers and especially in certain industries like insurance and healthcare, et cetera, there are lots of regulations as well as far as where the server is located and what happens to the data and so on. So we have been tackling those issues and we have actually solved for all of those ourselves.
Speaker 2:Now the other thing that we have been doing is, you know, while the live interactions is where Lookit is best, it really shines we also realize that a lot of companies are adding more and more AI-related tools right, ai tools because clearly they would like to also reduce the cost of live interactions for customer support and so on.
Speaker 2:Right support and so on.
Speaker 2:Right and, however, most of the things that we've seen are you know, we start off with a chatbot, right, and that interaction is only as how shall we say successful as the quality of the bot itself, and that has been getting better and better. So our approach has been to take these AI tools and offer them to the agent first. So we are basically trying to empower the agent with more and more of these kinds of tools so that they can then curate the results of those AI searches and so on and then help the customer and provide guidance to the customer as they see fit. Help the customer as they provide guidance to the customer as they see fit. The companies, and what we've noticed is that customers are still not quite comfortable in exposing the internal LLM and the recent AI-based tools directly to the customer because of some issues with hallucinations and various other things like that. So this way, we are able to then essentially make sure that the agent is coming in the way of the different interactions and the data presentation that the customer needs.
Speaker 1:Very cool. So you mentioned Gen AI. One of the big use cases is supporting multiple languages. Mentioned Gen AI. One of the big use cases is, you know, supporting multiple languages and and that's that's going to be a huge boost, as you're already selling in places like Japan. How, how is that coming along?
Speaker 2:And what other kind of Gen AI scenarios do you see yourself using? Yeah, I mean one of the things. As you said, language. Of course, that a given For us to enter the Japan market. That was table stakes. So for us we had to have language compatibility and we managed to do that quite successfully. And the Gen AI is also getting to be quite conversant with different languages, so we are able to provide some of this in multiple languages as well.
Speaker 2:And one of the things that we do for instance, one way of adding artificial intelligence, ai-based toolkit is we have what is called a look-at lens.
Speaker 2:So if a customer calls in and say they have a certain issue with either it's an appliance or some kind of device or something out in the field, the agent, through using Lookit, is able to view through the customer's camera or device, whatever they're using right, so he's able to view and then also the live video can then be marked up by the agent and so provide live guidance, so to speak.
Speaker 2:And then, at the same time, the agent is also able to select, using our tool, and take a snapshot of a particular device or a particular item in view, and then we send it off to a search right and then we bring back the results. They could be that results could include data sheets, they could include a variety of different information about that particular device or item in question, and that is visible only to the agent, and they can then select what they would like to share with the customer at that point, because the information might be a little bit too much of an overload for the customer directly. So they're able to curate that information and then present that to the customer and then guide them accordingly. Okay, so that's the look at lens that we've just introduced.
Speaker 1:Oh, great, great example I see here on your website you've also integrated with augmented reality, ar kind of applications. It seems to me AR would be an amazing opportunity and tech support and various industries. How does that work exactly?
Speaker 2:So what we did there is we, of course, for AR. We not only work with the existing, you know, the smartphone. We also have teamed up with and actually did some integration with one of the smart classes called RealWear, integration with one of the smart glasses called RealWear, which is based in California and here in the West Coast, and using RealWear we are able to do the same thing. The RealWear Glassware user is able to point to a QR code, for example, on a machine or some kind of a piece of equipment, and immediately be connected to an expert team back in the home office or wherever remotely and then provide guidance, because then it's like a see what I see with a smart glass and they're able to annotate, they're able to provide document support and a variety of different tools that can come in to help the field tech wearing the glass, and the use cases are factory inspection, repair and installing equipment, et cetera in the industrial segment.
Speaker 1:How impressive.
Speaker 2:Right spot there for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then it's interesting because I think we have also a big applicability in the travel and hospitality sector, right? So imagine now in traveling, as you're going to an airport and you need help and you're not from, you're traveling overseas, for example, and so they have some language difficulties or some unfamiliarity because you don't know this place that much. That's where having a QR code somewhere strategically placed and the customer also, the traveler, doesn't have to worry about do I get roaming charges, what happens, and so on, because Wi-Fi nowadays is fairly ubiquitous, and so the traveler simply scans the QR code, right, and the QR code can contain a fair amount of information about its own location, right, so it could be a gate 21 QR code and when they scan that, that information is immediately passed on to the system, and if it is a live agent that's coming on to help, we'll know a priori that it's gate 21, and perhaps there is a delay at gate 21. And so this customer needs help in that area in doing something about rescheduling and so on and so forth. So all of that preamble of an initial call is taken care of. And, of course, when the company does more automation in the future, that can also come into play and they can look up and help the customer because they're already on a browser. It could be through a chat, it could be instructions, audio video and so on and so forth. So that's a use case in the travel industry.
Speaker 2:Similarly, in the hospitality, you're in a vacation rental, you're not very familiar with the place and you need some help in locating or operating something, and the owner of the rental perhaps is hesitant in giving out their phone numbers because they don't want to have so much contact.
Speaker 2:So they have a QR code and our system allows the QR code scan to trigger either a text message or a WhatsApp message or anything like that, saying that this vacation rental, with property address, so-and-so, is requesting some help, and then you just respond by clicking on a link that's in the message and you're immediately in a chat, or then you can escalate that to an audio call or escalate that to a video call or see what I see, and then provide live guidance to the guest in this sort of thing.
Speaker 2:So the hospitality sector as well is a big, especially, I think, post-covid, as we are beginning to get out and travel more and more and we are also not hesitating to travel internationally, I think globally this has become this picked up quite a bit, as you know. So these are again, you know, we think, use cases where all of this you know the initial contact and the attempt to help, maybe through a bot and so on, but any time they need to escalate that to a live session, I think Lookit plays a very, very unique and important role in making that switch back and forth with the context that's happened. So that's what we do.
Speaker 1:Wonderful. Well, I hope someone from Airbnb is listening. That could be a huge value add for Airbnb rentals, for sure. So we're in the busy run-up to the end of year. What's on your mind? What's next this year? Any travel events or meetings that might be worth calling out?
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely. I think we'll do some travel events like the ones that happen in Europe. For instance, there's one coming up next month in Amsterdam, and then, of course, there's the CES that's coming up in January. So these are all good to attend to.
Speaker 1:Well, I'll be at CES for sure. So great opportunity and congratulations on all the success. Really innovative approach.
Speaker 2:Thank you very much, Evan.
Speaker 1:Well, thanks again. Thanks everyone for listening and watching and until next time, take care.