Some of the speakers from IntraTeam Event Stockholm 2018 have answered questions regarding the intranet/digital workplace in the future. Below you can read what the speakers think about the question: “What are your thoughts on artificial intelligence/chatbots in the workplace?”

Since users in intranets usually are after something specific, and not just something that could be of interest, like in YouTube or Facebook, I think it will take some years before we can really make use of AI in digital workplace context. I like the idea of being presented with information that could be of interest, but I don’t like the idea of missing something important but boring, based on likes of views – Rikard Spålséus, Swedish Match

It’s not longer a matter of ‘if’. It’s already here.  And it’s really interesting. I think we’ll see lots of development in AI over the next few years. The best intranets in 3-5 years, are those , who will understand how to master AI to the benefit of the user – Cecilie Rask, Danish National Police

We will see a lot of internal applications of AI in the years to come.AI’swill perform specialized tasks such as voice recognition, information discovery, recommendations, personalization, content filtering, authoring, analysis, monitoring, and so on. I believe chatbots will have a relatively short life span and be replaced by AI-powered smart assistants that you can interact with by text or voice, like Alexa, Cortana, Siri and Google Assistant. The smart assistants will be available to every employee, but they will be seen as critical by those who need to interact with customers on a more or less daily basis and are expected tohave a 360 view of both each individual customer engagement and the organization and its products and services, such as customer support personnel and sales people – Oscar Berg, Unicorn Titans

I think it will be the big future for chatbots in the workplace. Too many typical questions are being asked
every day. Chatbot can be pleasurable and easy to use HR-assistant, form filling helper, contacts and
expertise finder. It can saves a lot of time as for HR and IT employees, as to final users – Elena Bogdanova, Rivelty.Intranet

They have their place, but we shouldn’t  go too far! Automation of processes is a great thing, but nothing beats the power of a good line manager when it comes to employee performance and engagement. So for example, automating annual leave booking, performance reporting, form filling etc is great, but that shouldn’t be to the detriment of good conversations and support – Jacqui Randle, Scottish Government

I think they will be ubiquitous before they will be useful. There is still a lot of structuring of the data needed for them to work and for an internal audience I don’t think most places will invest. This could lead to trying plug and play AI and Bots but getting bad experiences out –  David Kennedy, Redd Barna

Good to some extent – but don’t forget that human beings like to work with and be serviced by human beings also –  Morten Dal, PANDORA

They can be very supportive in effective searching and distributing of information – Agnieszka Haładus, Trans.eu

AI is overhyped. Chatbots are one of the most valuable interface develoments in recent years… – Phil Kropp, OrangeTrail

Artificial Intelligence and bots have huge potential to make workplace technology easier to access and use, streamlining the experience for users by doing the hard work behind the scenes. But their success is directly related to how well they meet user needs, and how good the content on them is – Sharon O’Dea, Lithos Partners