Apple doesn’t need AI. It’s got humans

With AI, we have a new gold rush. We’ve seen myriad articles debating the usefulness or fallacy of Large Language Models (LMM).  At the center of it, there’s OpenAI and ChatGPT. We’re seeing a brewing conflict between Microsoft and Google over who can best take advantage of this new innovation. Facebook has a new algorithm based off of this technology. Baidu's Ernie is badly trying to mount a response. Companies are competing to introduce new products using GPT-4 that have the potential to revamp entire industries (For instance, CoCounsel by Casetext, described as a "force multiplier" for lawyers).

There is one company name missing in all this.

Which one?

Apple.

Since last year, the attention on Alexa, Google and Siri has faded. You might be wondering what Apple is doing these days. Exactly the opposite of what you might think.

Apple just introduced a new way of shopping online with live help from humans. Currently available only within the US and for the iPhone product line only, Apple is bringing something which the rest of the tech industry is trying to remove - real humans.

You might be asking why would Apple do something like this? The answer is in Apple's mission statement to “bringing the best user experience to its customers through its innovative hardware, software, and services." This is a textbook example why it is so important for every company to have the right mission statement because it creates context for every decision made.

By introducing a live session with another human, Apple wants to create the best customer experience. Apple knows that this will be a major differentiator in a marketplace flooded by useless chatbots claiming to be customer support(and trained by dead people).

Apple knows that it can't get all the potential customers to its stores where you can browse through the products and chat endlessly with people in Apple T-shirts. To extend the same level of service, Apple is trying to bring the same experience online to increase the conversion and increase the sales. And it needs this to work, badly. The disruption in the manufacturing and logistics is taking a toll on its revenue and profits.

Is it going to work? Is it scalable? Is it sustainable? I don't know. We will find out soon.

What's refreshing to see is a company equipped with a solid mission statement, steadily moving forward and trying its best to look after its customers. That should be the recurrent pattern to follow for others.

PS. Don't discount the humans, they will outsmart any AI. That's what they do for a living.