LumApps, a leading employee experience platform, announced today it has acquired Vizir, an innovative no-code digital assistant technology (“predictive chatbots”) that human resources, and information technology, communications departments can use to automate mundane tasks and improve employee access to knowledge, resources, and third-party applications at lower costs.
Vizir’s no-code technology will integrate significant new capabilities into the LumApps platform. Powered by Natural Language Understanding (NLU), the advanced digital assistant simulates human dialog to make employee experiences more humanlike and personal. Vizir also brings micro-apps enabling the digital assistant to be used across various channels, such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, or Google Chat. Furthermore, Vizir’s no-code tools and embedded libraries enable IT, HR, and other departments to intuitively set up their chatbot.
“This acquisition is indicative of our investment in the growth of conversational AI and our response to the increased demand for digital assistants. Vizir’s next-generation technology will enhance our platform with effortless self-service across channels, strengthening our ability to reach employees where they are at, in a personalized, contextual way. We’re thrilled to have Vizir join the LumApps family,” said Sébastien Ricard, CEO at LumApps.
Digital assistants are valuable technology that can be used to provide seamless access to key knowledge and other resources. The technology automates redundant activities, such as managing requests for IT support or answering common HR questions. For example, if we want an employee to complete benefits enrollment, a digital assistant can prompt the individual to select a health plan, provide immediate access to documents and information about the various plan options, and then can help employees to complete enrollment without leaving the digital assistant bot.
“Intuitive digital assistants, also known as predictive chatbots, are quickly transforming the way HR, IT, and Communications teams work and have the potential to provide considerable value for organizations that implement them. This acquisition will give every LumApps customer a chance to integrate intelligent bot software into their employee experience platform to meet the needs of today’s workforce. We’re excited about the possibilities of bringing these two companies together,” said Thomas Maitre, CEO and co-founder of Vizir.
The demand for digital assistants continues to grow as organizations look to streamline operations and free up time for their support teams to focus on more critical activities that help engage and retain employees. According to Forrester’s Future of Work survey, 60% of employees prefer to use self-service for resetting passwords and for app provisioning. And analysts at Gartner predict that by 2023, 75 percent of HR inquiries will be initiated through conversational AI platforms.
This is the second acquisition LumApps made in 2022. Last February, the company bought HeyAxel and launched LumApps Journeys, which automates common moments in the employee lifecycle such as onboarding and career development. The Vizir acquisition will also combine the digital assistant with LumApps Journeys’ omnichannel content delivery to help customers deliver the best employee experience possible.
“Initially using Vizir’s technology as an internal messaging system to absorb IT requests, we extended our use of the digital assistant to human resources. The on-demand IT support helps our employees solve software and hardware issues automatically, whereas HR bots accompany our employees along personalized learning paths. The chatbot has helped us avoid hundreds of additional support tickets and wasted resources. The combination of Vizir’s digital assistant and our existing LumApps platform is a great way to get the best out of our internal tools and build a comprehensive employee experience at Imerys,” – Sébastien Levrot, IT Director Enabling Functions & Digital innovation at Imerys.
