Cisco revealed an AI approach for Webex designed to enable enhanced communication and collaboration. Unlike other AI solutions primarily focusing on text and documents, Webex will leverage real-time communication through audio and video to tackle common challenges such as poor quality due to limited bandwidth.
Cisco also introduced the new Webex AI Assistant, featuring enhanced capabilities to boost productivity and accuracy for users. This AI strategy and AI Assistant will be integrated across the entire Webex product range, encompassing the Webex Suite, Cisco Collaboration devices, Webex Contact Center, Webex Connect, and Webex Control Hub.
This AI-powered revolution followed the introduction of generative AI solutions aimed at enhancing workforce efficiency and streamlining operations for organizations in June.
"We're at the tipping point of a new era of hybrid work, with AI holding the key to helping us bridge the gap and enable us all to work and communicate to our full potential. Our Webex platform has long enabled our rapid pace of innovation. Today's announcement is a monumental step forward, as customers will benefit from AI being pervasive in every aspect of the Webex platform," said Jeetu Patel, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Cisco Security and Collaboration.
Real-Time Media Models
Cisco's new Real-Time Media Models (RMMs) in Webex are set to improve audio and video quality in meetings by utilizing visual and audible cues such as gestures and movements. These RMMs have the capability to analyze multiple streams of media and generate various outputs, including recognizing people and objects and analyzing actions like hand gestures and movements.
The RMMs in Webex will allow audio and video channels to convey contextual information for text-based functions like meeting summaries and highlights. By intelligently combining AI for text, audio, and video, Webex users will gain access to real-time, valuable insights. For instance, in the future, Webex could potentially detect when a meeting participant has temporarily left the meeting, automatically capture meeting notes, and provide a summary when they return to keep them informed.
AI Codec for improving audio & video quality
Cisco is introducing a genAI-powered AI Codec within Webex, a solution that will transform real-time communication and address the issue of audio quality. This audio Codec is designed to provide pristine audio quality, even in situations with unreliable network conditions, ensuring clarity in regions with shaky connections.
Moreover, the Webex AI Codec incorporates built-in speech enhancement features like noise reduction, de-reverberation, and bandwidth extension, resulting in unparalleled audio clarity and quality.
Webex is set to utilize machine learning techniques for enhancing video quality through Super Resolution, meaning it will ensure better video quality during meetings, providing high-definition visuals, regardless of the limitations of available bandwidth.
Webex AI Assistant for workers and customers
The recently launched Webex AI Assistant provides an array of capabilities to help individuals excel in their work by reducing the workload and expenses for IT, ultimately driving business value. The Webex AI Assistant will engage users by posing questions such as "ask me about the meeting." Users can then respond with text-based queries like "bring me up to speed on the 15 minutes I missed during the meeting."
The Webex AI Assistant is already integrated into Cisco Collaboration devices and will extend its presence across the entire Webex product line. It now includes capabilities such as:
Change Message Tone offers suggestions for improving the tone, format, and wording in Webex Messaging and Slido. For instance, the Webex AI Assistant can suggest changing a blunt response to a more professional one.
Suggested Responses are provided to contact center agents handling digital channel customer interactions. These responses are contextually informed and consider the conversation's history and surrounding information.
Meeting Summaries help users catch up on missed portions of meetings in real-time. They are organized into chapters and highlights, enabling users to skip to specific topics or get a quick overview of the entire meeting.
Message Summaries keep users up to date by summarizing unread messages or messages within a space. These summaries are tailored to the user's needs and can, for example, summarize messages from their boss in a space with messages from multiple people.
Slido Topic Summaries generate summaries of common topics from interactive Q&A and polls during virtual and hybrid events, making it easier for participants to navigate the trending subjects.
These new capabilities are in different stages of availability, and the rollout will begin before the end of 2023.
In other news, Webex and Outreach have partnered to assist sales teams with AI-driven tools, ultimately speeding up the deal-closing process.
