What do you want to know
- Microsoft is working closely with Be My Eyes to make its Disability Answer Desk customer service more accessible to visually impaired users.
- Thanks to Be My AI, visually impaired users will be able to install new versions of Windows without asking anyone for help.
- According to Be My Eyes’ analysis, only 10% of Microsoft users using the service contacted humans for further support.
In May, Microsoft commemorated the 12th annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day with a brand new pilot program designed to help people with visual impairments. The company announced that it would be expanding its partnership with Be My Eyes and further outlined its plans to inject AI capabilities into the experience with the aim of helping users establish a bit of independence from to sighted assistants.
What is Be My Eyes?
For those unfamiliar with Be My Eyes, it is a mobile app that connects visually impaired users to sighted assistants for visual interpretations. And now, Microsoft is further strengthening its partnership with Be My Eyes, aiming to provide its users with a convenient and simple way to contact its customer service, according to a Bloomberg spot.
How does Microsoft leverage the app’s capabilities?
Be My Eyes comes with an AI-powered tool called Be My AI, which leverages OpenAI’s GPT-4 model to provide users with a detailed description of an image. Microsoft intends to take this technology and use it in its Disability Answer Desk.
Microsoft has joined the Virtual Volunteer enterprise beta test with the aim of leveraging generative AI capabilities to improve customer service at its Disability Answer Desk. The recent announcement affirms Microsoft’s commitment to improving accessibility for everyone. A visually impaired person can now install a new version of Windows without any assistance.
According to Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Accessibility Manager at Microsoft:
“Microsoft is proud to be the first company to integrate Be My AI into our customer service with Disability Answer Desk. The Be My AI integration creates an innovative, fast and efficient way for customers with disabilities to receive support from Microsoft. By combining Microsoft solutions Thanks to our expertise and the innovative solutions of Be My AI, we give autonomy to people with disabilities.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY
According to Be My Eyes’ analysis, only 10% of Microsoft users using the service contacted humans for further support. Additionally, research found that the Be My AI tool was able to resolve queries in a short period of time, on average 4 minutes. This is an incredible feat compared to the time spent making these requests through a human assistant, which averages around 12 minutes.
Currently, an average of 560,000 users use the platform. Mike Buckley, CEO of the platform, noted that even more people are warming up and adopting the platform since the AI tool was delivered to the platform. He added that the number of users of the app will likely double this month.
What do you think of Microsoft’s efforts to improve the accessibility of its services for visually impaired users? Let us know in the comments.
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