Basware launches AI-driven virtual assistant for procurement

Basware, the networked source-to-pay solutions, e-invoicing and innovative financing services provider, has launched Basware Assistant, a new chatbot feature within its electronic procurement solution today at IOFM's AP & P2P Conference & Expo – Spring 2018. The chatbot serves as a virtual assistant, enabling people to more easily find order requests and purchase orders that they have access to.

The Basware Assistant uses natural language processing and artificial intelligence to create a new and simplified way for people to interact with Basware's e-procurement solution. They can communicate with the Basware Assistant like they would with a person, to search for orders and purchase requests using vendor and item names, as well as ID and document numbers. By giving people the ability to specify what they are looking, it eliminates the need for having to navigate a series of screens to reach their intended purchase.

Through its natural language processing and AI capabilities, the virtual assistant improves system usability, taking another step in streamlining the overall procurement experience. Not only does it help people find purchase orders and order requests more quickly and save them time, it also reduces the training required for new people to buy with Basware.

"The best user interface is the one that you don't need to use – it just runs in the background," said Bhavin Shah, Director of Product Management for Basware. "This is what Basware is striving to achieve with the Basware Assistant functionality. By predicting what people might search for in real-time, and communicating that to them in the way they'd ordinarily speak, the system becomes naturally easy to use. Going forward, we will continue innovating in this area, building on the foundation we've created to add more functionality that contributes to usability."

Bhavin continued, "The Assistant's data-driven insights and overall ease of use reinforce that Basware is the easiest, simplest and cheapest way for employees to procure what they need, so they use the application because they want to, not because they have to. This is what will ultimately drive 100 percent user adoption of any procurement technology."