As part of its new Studio 6.2 release, Inference Solutions, a provider of intelligent virtual agents for sales and service, announced that the platform now enables virtual agents to provide customer care over the WhatsApp messaging application.
Studio 6.2 enables businesses to create WhatsApp messaging tasks and instruct virtual agents to respond to customers via WhatsApp. The move brings text-based natural language processing to WhatsApp and allows businesses to send and receive rich media, including images, PDF attachments, and even video files.
In addition to the WhatsApp integration, Studio 6.2 brings key natural language processing (NLP) enhancements with deeper support for Google Dialogflow, including phrase hints, as part of Studio's Open Form node.
Studio 6.2 also includes new natural language tasks that use pre-built Dialogflow agents to automate appointment scheduling with Google calendar and display locations using Google maps.
Studio's underlying speech platform has also been fine-tuned to improve the way barge-in is handled in noisy environments.
Lastly, Studio now offers 59 new voices, comprised of a combination of Google WaveNet and Standard voices across a dozen languages.
"Each iteration of the Studio platform opens new engagement paths for companies to connect with their customers, and Studio 6.2 will make it possible for businesses to use WhatsApp to not only provide customer service, but also to deploy new and innovative marketing campaigns," said Callan Schebella, CEO of Inference Solutions, in a statement.