Notification and Search Function of the Digital Assistant "Fred"

In this video, the Notification and Search Function of the digital assistant “Fred” is compactly summarized using a few examples from everyday working life:

“Fred’s” browser-based platform enables employees and managers to find all the information they need for their work in a matter of seconds. This provides them with a search engine that they can use to “google” invoices, orders, quotations or business partners from any end device.

To achieve this, Fred merges existing data from different source systems within the company, processes it and makes the results available in an easily understandable format. Based on Artificial Intelligence, the digital assistant can also prepare the data so that it can be interpreted by all common AI language models (ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, etc.). In addition, “Fred” comes with its own language model that uses Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG).

As the digital assistant operates across departments, it eliminates a large part of the routine internal communication that would otherwise take up an average of twelve hours a week for full-time employees.

When important business events occur, for example when an invoice remains unpaid or a delivery is delayed, “Fred” also proactively and independently informs the relevant departments via existing communication and information channels. For instance, he recognizes unusual changes in the turnover or payment behaviour of a business partner – and alerts the affected departments at an early stage. “Fred” determines who is informed based on the company structure so that the appropriate employees are addressed directly when necessary.

However, “Fred” does more than just provide information. The digital assistant advises employees on how to deal with a business incident. These recommendations for action are based on industry knowledge and company-specific management know-how.

“Fred’s” notification function can also be used to integrate external contacts. For example, customers can be notified automatically about the status of their order or changes to delivery dates.

The digital assistant “Fred” compiles information from very different sources (e.g. tender portals, HR and accounting, merchandise management, Excel, SAP, etc.). This means that every employee can continue working with their familiar programs. The existing IT infrastructure within the company remains untouched. No change management or expensive additional hardware is required.

As with all the functions that “Fred” offers, our augmented intelligence principle also applies here: the digital assistant does not decide over the heads of those involved; he just provides them with the information they need to make an informed decision. Ultimately, however, it is always the human being who makes these final calls!