Auckland-based tech company Aider is creating a buzz in the United States and Canada this week, as the company launches its digital assistant and integrations with some of the world's most popular platforms.
Aider's AI-powered digital assistant allows small business owners to access data from many of their applications. Aider's assistant now features integrations with Amazon Alexa, QuickBooks Online, Shopify, and Square.
Aider CEO Brendan Roberts, who presented at VOICE 19 in New Jersey this week, talked about how voice technology and digital assistants can now cater to SMBs with technology typically reserved for high-end consumer and enterprise environments.
"We believe in human-centric AI and created Aider to give hardworking business owners easy access to the information they need to make daily, data-led decisions," comments Roberts.
Aider believes it is well-poised to serve U.S. and Canadian-based financial, retail, eCommerce and hospitality industries, the founding team includes Aider's chairman, Avi Golan, a former Intuit and Google executive and currently an Operating Partner at SoftBank Group based in Silicon Valley.
The company cites statistics from the U.S. Small Business Administration, which say that only half of all establishments make it to the five-year mark, and only one third make it to 10 years.
Aider has a vision to change that reality, and its solutions will provide better access to critical, up-to-date data by utilizing advanced AI and voice technology.
"North America is the next destination on Aider's strategic growth roadmap and with the help of our new partners, we will deliver AI-powered assistance to help thousands of underserved American and Canadian small businesses address specific pain points and improve customer experience," says Roberts.
"Cash flow, time management and tedious administrative tasks are big problems for SMBs. Aider allows users to take immediate, direct action to improve their business. Our NLU (Natural Language Understanding) technology gives opportunities for SMBs to get easy, affordable access to answers from their data."
Using Aider's mobile app, questions are asked by typing, voice-to-text or speaking through a voice assistant, like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.
Aider can answer hundreds of questions a business owner might have, including:
• Hey Aider, how much revenue did I make this week?
• Who showed up for work today?
• Aider, get someone at Westpac to contact me (coming soon)
• How many Uber Eats sales have I made this month?
• What were my top selling products today?
Aider recently announced collaborations with Paymark, Westpac, and its participation in Mastercard's Elite Start path programme.
