TOKYO, April 04, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FRONTEO, Inc. (“FRONTEO”) (NASDAQ:FTEO) (TSE:2158), a leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI) based big data analysis services, announced today that Yokohama Bank has introduced KIBIT, the AI engine developed by FRONTEO, for the analysis of interview transcripts with its customers.
Yokohama Bank is utilizing KIBIT to strengthen its customer-centered banking. KIBIT will analyze interview transcripts of conversations between branch officers and customers, which will be important for the implementation of customer-centered banking. By selecting topics for proposal activities based on their ranking in the order of importance, KIBIT will enable Yokohama Bank to provide both immediate responses to customer requests and effective analyses.
A large volume of interview transcripts is produced every day at branches of Yokohama Bank. Through the adoption of KIBIT, bank officers can quickly grasp what they want to verify as the system can display the results of analyses matching the details of the transaction, such as transaction needs and points where care is needed. In addition to improving operational efficiency, the introduction of KIBIT also increases the comprehensiveness of the examination of important transactions.
In October 2016, FRONTEO and Yokohama Bank started to work on a proof of concept (PoC) trial for data based on interview transcripts, and the two companies successfully found the data they were looking for from a large volume of transcripts. In addition, they discovered new ways to use big data that are only achievable through AI. For example, by increasing KIBIT’s precision through further learning and analyzing the transcripts in chronological order, the bank is able to follow the customer’s conditions and needs. At the time of the PoC, the efficiency of checking interview transcripts improved by approximately four to fifteen times in comparison to previous methods. The implementation of KIBIT at Yokohama Bank will significantly reduce the time branch officers spend on checking interview transcripts, and the bank will be able to provide even better financial services to its customers by increasing the frequency of branch officers’ visits with customers.
FRONTEO was able to quickly introduce KIBIT from PoC to operation. This is because KIBIT can perform analyses using only a small amount of data, the content of its trials could be altered easily, the trials can be performed from numerous perspectives, and it is unnecessary to tune the parameters for the definitions of words and the results.
Previously, Yokohama Bank has worked to improve the convenience for its customers by combining ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and financial technology with big data. By FY2018, Yokohama Bank aims to expand the scope of its introduction of KIBIT, improve the efficiency of branch officers’ confirmation of interview transcripts, and use the time that this generates to enhance points of customer contact. Furthermore, it is considering expanding the use of KIBIT to areas such as the analysis of corporate customers’ needs and the improvement of the quality of call center operations.
About KIBIT
KIBIT is an AI engine developed by FRONTEO. KIBIT is a word coined by combining “kibi,” a Japanese word meaning “subtlety,” and “bit,” the smallest unit of digital information, in order to indicate an AI capable of understanding the subtle elements of human behavior and personality.
About FRONTEO, Inc.
FRONTEO, Inc. (“FRONTEO”) (Nasdaq:FTEO) (TSE:2158) supports the analysis of big data based on behavior informatics by utilizing its technology, "KIBIT". FRONTEO's KIBIT technology is driven by FRONTEO artificial intelligence based on knowledge acquired through its litigation support services. KIBIT incorporates experts' tacit knowledge, including their experiences and intuitions, and utilizes that knowledge for big data analysis. FRONTEO continues to expand its business operations by applying KIBIT to new fields such as healthcare and marketing. FRONTEO was founded in 2003 as a provider of e-discovery and international litigation support services. These services include the preservation, investigation and analysis of evidence materials contained in electronic data, and computer forensic investigation. FRONTEO provides e-discovery and litigation support by making full use of its data analysis platform, "Lit i View", and its Predictive Coding technology adapted to Asian languages. The company name was changed from UBIC, Inc. to FRONTEO, Inc. as of July 1, 2016.
For more information about FRONTEO, contact global_pr@fronteo.com or visit http://www.fronteo.com/global/.
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