On 26 and 27 November, the second jtel Build The Bot Days took place in Ottobrunn. This was clear proof of the success of the 2024 debut and, at the same time, a statement to the customer service industry: ‘Yes, you can build your own bots that enhance your specific service processes with AI!’

As in the previous year, five teams competed against each other. Build The Bot Days is a competition in which a winner is proclaimed at the end according to clearly defined criteria. Over two days, the participating company teams developed their own chat bot and voice bot solutions based on the jtel platform, which will be used directly in their companies in the future. This year’s competition participants were Styria Austria, Landwirtschaftsverlag, CJD Clinic Job Dress, Krieger Gesundheit and Green-IT. Each company sent two or three customer service experts and IT specialists to jtel in Ottobrunn. Each team was individually supported by a jtel developer and, where necessary, an expert from the supporting system house.

Bots that can automate frequently recurring processes or sub-processes were very popular this year. These are primarily pre-qualification and legitimation of callers, automatic switching/switchboard, shipment tracking and RAG-based knowledge bots – in short, processes that do not necessarily have to be handled by a human employee. It became apparent that the integration of existing backend systems was an essential component of this year’s solutions. Using common APIs or SQL queries in the customer’s existing systems, the bots are enabled to make valid statements or collect and write back data. Different solutions are used for ASR and TTS, depending on the customer’s data protection requirements and performance requirements.

Our hackathon was packaged as a competition. And a competition needs a jury that evaluates fairly and independently. There are clear evaluation criteria for this: Has the use case been solved? Is the customer experience right? How accurate and relevant are the answers? How creative is the solution? And last but not least: What is the business case? All these criteria are critically examined by the jury and evaluated on a points scale. To ensure that no one gets the idea that the result is solely subject to the whims of individuals, there is a second group of evaluators: the participants themselves. They, too, are asked to evaluate the other solutions according to the above criteria, thereby gaining an insight into the various approaches. Let the games begin!

The Hackathon, Day 1

Numerous bots were brought to life on the very first day. The first step is always to think through the process and sketch it out. This workflow can be quickly mapped in the jtel system, and the required building blocks for ASR/TTS are filled with credentials such as Azure Key and APIs in the relevant backend systems. An AI application without a leading process tool, such as the jtel routing application, is pointless! Immediately, attempts are made to call the bot to test its behaviour, tune the language and view the initial results. Does the REST query work with the CRM? Can we get tracking data from the shipping system? Does the bot respond like a real person? Is the speech too fast or too slow? Is the intonation correct? Programming, testing and trialling are carried out to the max – some participants really need to be encouraged to grab a sandwich during their lunch break and replenish their electrolytes! The teams continue to iterate towards the desired result, and by the afternoon, you can already see satisfied smiles on some of their faces. ‘The device does what it’s supposed to do!’ This sentence quickly becomes the humorous motto of the entire event. But at 5 p.m., it’s time to stop hacking! Now we want to recharge our batteries together. So we all head to the restaurant and try to wind down in typical Bavarian cosiness. But the conversations remain focused on the number one topic. Everyone is trying to find out what the other teams have already achieved. Do we still have a chance of coming in first? What do we still need to improve? What tricks could we use to cleverly utilise the backend data? The tension rises – but despite all the sporting competition, a feeling of camaraderie quickly develops and everyone exchanges ideas. We love bots!

The Hackathon, Day 2

In the morning, final, sometimes quite extensive improvements are made before fine-tuning. This is an extremely important step, because in everyday life, it is ultimately the customer or caller who is merciless in their criticism. If they refuse to engage in dialogue, even the best technology is useless. How user-friendly is the whole thing? Can the bot be unleashed on humanity?

The jury finally retreats to the back room. Time to rejoice, get excited and discuss once again. It feels like an eternity before Martin Bürstenbinder, Annkatrin Touchie and Detlev Artelt enter the hall with serious expressions on their faces. Long story short: EVERYONE has won! Because all the bots fulfil their purpose, are ready to go and will earn their money. Only in terms of customer experience and business case are not all results on the same level. But it’s only nuances that make the difference. The Landwirtschaftsverlag team wins by a nose with a complaints and mediation bot for its flagship product ‘Landlust’. Respect and honour to the team from Münsterland! The participants now celebrate exuberantly with each other, and when it’s time for ‘last orders please’ in Munich style, we reluctantly leave the location.

Conclusion:
The expectations of all participants, the jury and the jtel team were exceeded. Our goal of ensuring that all teams could take home a functioning and profitable bot was achieved. The creativity and spirit inspired everyone. The internal hurdles to bot development have been overcome. Who knows what solutions will now be developed in a modular fashion. The basis for this success was good preparation. The tools of the trade must be readily available. Once the service process has been thought through and defined, ASR, TTS, AI, API and all necessary system accesses must be in place. The participants used their creativity and professionalism to come up with and define their desired solutions in advance. jtel’s developer expertise enabled the bots to get off the ground quickly during the hackathon. The results are great overall solutions and satisfied faces. Many thanks to everyone who contributed!