• March 19, 2024
 Chance LinkedIn Encounter Leads to AI Implementation

Chance LinkedIn Encounter Leads to AI Implementation

A Nottingham-based private client firm has announced it will be introducing ground-breaking artificial intelligence as part of the next phase of its development.

April King Legal has partnered with Amelia, an IPsoft Company, and the largest independent leader in enterprise Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance its operations and customer service support through conversational AI.

The partnership, which came about as a result of a chance LinkedIn encounter, sees Amelia, who will appear on April King’s website and client dealings as “April,” “take on the high volumes of client enquiries April King receives” and “will lower the barrier to entry for legal advice” according to CEO Paul King.

Unlike chatbots and virtual assistants that react to keyword-driven instructions and follow static decision trees, the cognitive brain of AI allows users to have natural, human-like conversations to execute tasks or resolve queries. Artificial intelligence uses machine learning to “teach” the AI tool and develop its own understanding over a period of time.

One of the key features of AI is natural language processing, the process of reading, understanding, interpreting information. Once the AI understands what and how the user wants to communicate, it learns to respond accordingly. AI is able to handle complex conversations and digressions, follow context switching, and independently execute complex tasks to resolve user requests.

A key differentiator in AI is sentiment analysis; the ability of machine learning to recognise and adapt responses based on the mood of the user and the context of the situation. Through constant use, these skills develop through the automated learning capabilities.

Over a three-part implementation programme, the Amelia platform will handle the inbound enquiries that April King receives from customers; act as the first point of contact for clients and book meetings via her own online interface without needing to call or email the firm; and in the final phase of implementation Amelia will become the first point of contact for all new clients, trained to offer initial legal advice to clients and triage cases effectively.

Explaining the rationale behind the work Paul King explained to Today’s Wills and Probate

This is so much more than putting a live chat or chat box service on the front end of your website. Amelia/April will become an integral part of everyday life at April King from dealing with front end enquiries through to managing client communications.

If you think about the typical client journey, there is a huge amount of admin involved. Releasing employees from this workload will empower them to focus on direct client liaison, spending time understanding client’s needs, and matter management.

By implementing Amelia in this way, April King hope to make its legal advice more affordable, providing free-of-charge general advice at the triage stage ahead of a formal meeting with one of its advisors. It will make the initial customer journey more efficient, engaging and informative with the aim of encouraging client uptake and reducing drop off.

Toni Ryder-McMullin

Toni is the Media Officer for Today’s Conveyancer, Today’s Wills & Probate and Today's Family Lawyer. I worked for a law firm for 16 years, during my time at the firm I worked as a company commercial legal secretary for 7 years but changed careers and moved into marketing for the remaining 9 years – where I covered all aspects of marketing. While in the marketing role, I achieved a CIM Professional Certificate in Marketing and CAM Diploma in Digital Marketing.