Well, this is embarrassing.

When Google recently debuted its AI Overviews to hundreds of millions of users, the aim was to revolutionize our search experience and rival ChatGPT.

Instead, there’s been a string of wildly misleading information making headlines. Cats on the moon? Eating small rocks daily? Staring at the sun for better health? If this is the future of search, we're in big trouble. Google needs a major fix—pronto.

This week, we're showcasing AI-powered voice agents to rescue us from those dreaded customer service calls, chatbots for everyday tasks, tips to boost your prompting skills, and even a virtual vet for your pets.

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AI Voice Agents

Let's face it -- few things are more frustrating than a customer service call. The endless hold times, repetitive music, and unhelpful representatives can be a real drain on your time. Ever wish you could skip the frustration and get instant, accurate help instead?  An AI-voice agent may be just the solution we need.

Marr Labs is a San Francisco-based company leading the way with Vox, a phone-based AI- agent designed to streamline customer service. Recent advances in large language models (LLMs) and speech synthesis have propelled conversational AI to seamlessly handle simple tasks like appointment scheduling. Vox can be trained on a company’s knowledge base to perform tasks more efficiently and provide 24/7 coverage for critical business functions.

Just how natural sounding is Vox? Listen to this demo – you won’t believe your ears!

Gone is the awkward delay between a question and an automated response. The AI agent pauses naturally when interrupted and picks back up the way a typical human-to-human conversation does.

We spoke with Marr’s Co-Founder and CEO Dave Grannan who told us that Vox is their first AI-voice agent, with plans to introduce AI-data acquisition agents, AI-sales agents, and AI-personal assistants.

There’s no question – AI agents are the next workforce revolution. Other companies are quickly entering this competitive space, signaling a significant shift in how customer service will be managed in the future.

Grannan admits the technology has the potential to replace millions of call center workers. But on the flip side, he says it will free up the humans to tackle the tougher customer service issues. If it spares us from hold times, we're all in!

AI Chatbot Wars

In recent weeks, we've explored the surge of new and improved AI chatbots hitting the market and the challenge for us "everyday users” to determine which one to use and when.

Thankfully, the Wall Street Journal's Personal Technology team has come to our rescue. They recently published an article, The Great AI Challenge: We Test Five Top Bots on Useful, Everyday Skills aimed at clarifying which chatbot excels in various scenarios.

They tested the leading models: OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Copilot, Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, and Perplexity. These are all familiar names we've covered. While ChatGPT boasts the highest adoption rate, Microsoft and Google are keenly integrating their models into their ecosystems. Claude is known for its responsible approach, and Perplexity stands out with its live web search and citation capabilities.

The WSJ challenge involved posing the same question to each chatbot across nine fields—Health, Finance, Cooking, Work Writing, Creative Writing, Summarization, Current Events, Coding, and Speed. They then evaluated the responses to identify the best and worst performers.

Spoiler alert: each chatbot showed unique strengths and weaknesses, but Perplexity emerged as the overall leader, and Copilot lagged the others.

It’s worth noting that for the tests, the WSJ team only asked single prompts, and didn’t follow the advice we have been giving of treating each encounter like a conversation, setting expectations, etc. Still, it probably reflects how most people approach their favorite everyday chatbot.

AI Prompting Help

Looking to brush up on your prompting skills? No need to sit through a boring webinar when you’ve got Google’s “Say What You See” game for some fun. It’s the perfect way to test and improve your image reading and prompting skills.

Here’s how it works. After launching the ‘experiment’, you’ll see an AI-generated image on the left side of your screen with the prompt text hidden from view. Now, it’s your turn to try and generate a close match on the right side of the screen using your own prompt. For Level 1, you have to have a 50% match or more to pass. You get three tries before you can advance to level 2 and beyond.

We tried it and were amused by the results. In some instances, we got close enough to score a 90% match, but with others, there was definitely room for improvement. We especially loved the prompt we came up with to describe the image with ramen (see above): “A close-up shot of hot Ramen noodles, half a soft-boiled egg, shaved scallions, and asparagus in a bowl.”

It really does make you think about being more descriptive with your word choices. Why don’t you give it a whirl?

AI Virtual Vet

Are you a pet owner? If so, you know how challenging it can be to care for a new puppy. Team member Lori and her family recently adopted a 10-week-old Cavapoo and quickly realized how many questions come with raising a young pup. Instead of relying on Google, Lori discovered Vet Chatbot, a virtual veterinarian service that's both quick and easy to use.

What is Vet Chatbot? Vet Chatbot is an innovative project from Surrey DataHub at the UK’s University of Surrey. This AI-powered tool uses natural language processing and machine learning to understand your questions and offer personalized pet care advice.

Here’s How It Works:

• Create an Account: Sign up and choose your preferred AI-Vet agent based on their expertise.

• Start Chatting:  Simply type your message in the chatbot to start a conversation. Lori’s questions ranged from daily feedings to common treatments for ear infections and even her pup’s poop!

• Review and Follow-Up: Refer back to your chat history for ongoing advice and insights.

Remember, while Vet Chatbot is a fantastic resource, it’s not a replacement for professional veterinary care. Always follow up with your vet to ensure your pet gets the best possible care.

So, next time you’re scratching your head over your furry friend’s health, give Vet Chatbot a try. It’s like having a vet in your pocket—minus the white coat and the clinic smell!

AI in the News (in case you missed it)

• OpenAI's GPT-4 can outperform human analysts in predicting future earnings. Read here.

• Elon Musk raises $6B to build an AI supercomputer for xAI. Read here.

• How one school district turned to AI to solve its bus driver shortage. Watch here.

• Will AI take center stage on Broadway? Read here.

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Here.Now.AI Editorial team: Lori, Justin, and Lisa