DURBAN - Hey Jude is a personal assistant app which combines artificial intelligence technology with the human touch.
One of the founders of the app, which was launched in 2017 is a South African tech entrepreneur, Marcus Smith.
The app was created to offer customers a virtual assistant. Hey Jude is unique because of its seamless integration between artificial intelligence (or assisted intelligence) with emotional intelligence.
Even though we rely on technology for guidance, real people, called Judes, still make sure that it all happens.
So what does the Hey Jude app do? Users can use the app to request booking, deliveries and quotes from various service providers using voice or text messages.
The interface then connects the person with one of their trained operators/agents, called Judes.
Agents at the 700 seat call centre process requests, help with research, negotiate prices and facilitate payments.
ALSO READ:
The app offers customers a 24/7/365 service to help with their to-do lists, such as arranging laundry, booking restaurants, sourcing unique one of a kind gifts, sending flowers on your behalf etc. all with the tap of a smartphone.
Apart from Hey Jude, the company has Hey Jude pro, which focuses on more business-related request. Hey Jude Go allows for short-term use for international delegates attending conferences for example.
Hey Jude says their product range is also evolving to cater for various markets. The company is also working on more functionality to allow for more integrations.
Currently, they have integrations with Uber, Airbnb and OpenTable.
Smith is the lead Innovation architect and has been in the tech industry for some time; he previously worked as a director at CodeBlue, a New Zealand based IT services company as well as cloud-based improvement software AskYourTeam.
The app is available in South Africa and countries like the UAE, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The app currently has 3500 users in South Africa and the app available on both Android and iPhone models.
Hey Jude has plans to roll out the app to other African countries.