Dentsu Inc. Develops Japanese AI Service "Kiku-Hana" to Automate and Enhance Corporate Customer Support

The text of the Dentsu Inc. news release distributed on March 22 is as follows.

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March 22, 2018

Dentsu Inc. Develops Japanese AI Service "Kiku-Hana" to Automate and Enhance Corporate Customer Support

Dentsu Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Toshihiro Yamamoto) has developed "Kiku-Hana" ( http://www.kiku-hana.jp), a Japanese AI natural conversation service that automates and enhances Q&A-based customer support for companies. This development is part of the activities of "AI MIRAI," a project overseeing the promotion of AI utilization both internally and externally. Service provision begins on March 22.

Traditional AI chatbot development faced challenges in achieving sufficient communication accuracy. Kiku-Hana employs AZ-Prolog, a logic-based programming language optimized for natural language processing, understanding, and reasoning. By analyzing the "meaning of Japanese" – previously considered difficult – it enables human-like conversation and information delivery that users seek.

For the "listening" aspect, a proprietary language processing system grasps the true intent behind user words. For the "speaking" aspect, collaboration with our "AI Creators Club" leverages the ability to design appropriate conversation flows based on that intent, combined with our cultivated expertise in communication design and copywriting, to deliver refined conversations and character-driven responses.

Specifically, it features the capabilities illustrated below, enabling appropriate responses even with a limited number of training question examples to handle diverse Japanese expressions. Furthermore, it can provide responses by linking to corporate databases and external information, enabling automated communication in various scenarios: character-based chatbots, user conversations in call centers, AI speakers, connected cars, and home robots.

Moving forward, we will continue to evolve service development utilizing Kiku-Hana, contributing to the automation and enhancement of customer support—a key challenge for businesses.

■Examples of what Kiku-Hana's proprietary language processing system enables