Guest contributor |
The ever-rising tide of technology and competition for consumer attention is creating a cacophony of noise for the average employee around the world. The human attention span has never been more embattled for a few moments of focus. The answer to this problem lies in embracing more human-like technology.
The workforce needs access to more intuitively designed technology that demonstrates more human-like intelligence, such as the ability to interact with customers.
“Technology that is human by design will reach new people and expand access to knowledge, which will enable ongoing innovation,” says Accenture in its Technology Vision 2024 report. “As technology becomes more intuitive, we can tap into these people as new customers and new employees.”
Generative artificial intelligence is poised to provide the most significant economic uplift and change to work since the agricultural and industrial revolutions, and it will lead to a reinvention of work with more human-centric processes. Accenture’s research shows that generative AI offers a trio of opportunities: it can accelerate economic value, drive business growth and foster more creative and meaningful work for people. Tools like Microsoft Copilot are giving everyone – from assembly workers to customer service agents and lab scientists – the power to shape their own workflows. Copilot users are more productive after three months of using the tool, saving them more than 10 hours a month of work, according to Microsoft.
Within the media industry we see this trend unfolding as streaming and live events move towards a more individualised journey, with a deeper look at the tuning of algorithms, recommendation engines and a more holistic user viewpoint. The persona creation of a user remains in the forefront to reduce subscriber churn and provide a more fulfilling experience across platforms.
To meet this need, gamification comes into play. Gamification refers to the use of game-design elements like badges, points and rankings to educate and engage people. This approach has proven effective in both educational settings and workplace environments, making tasks more enjoyable and rewarding. Accenture has created the Accenture Audience Engagement Engine (AEE), a software-as–a-service platform that is native to Microsoft Azure. The AEE allows enterprises to rapidly turn static content and applications into fully gamified experiences for its users and employees. And Accenture is in the process of using the engine to develop enhanced experiences for its own employees who are undergoing upskilling, certifications and annual training.
Working in combination with Copilot, AEE creates a single-pane-of-glass experience across the full spectrum of highly customised gamification attributes and highlights the possibility of co-market motions with AI. This new way of viewing one-to-one or one-to-many experiences will create a new paradigm in how we engage with our global audience.
Matthew Edgerton is the North American communications and media lead for Accenture’s CloudFirst Microsoft Practice
This article was originally published in the Spring 2024 issue of Technology Record. To get future issues delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for a free subscription.