MyFirmsApp, a U.K.-based technology development company, has gotten the go-ahead to use the technology powering Amazon’s Alexa voice-based assistant to develop artificial intelligence apps for accounting.
MyFirmsApp plans to use the Amazon Lex technology to deliver more interactive experiences for accountants and their clients. The Darlington, England-based company said Friday it plans to leverage the technology to build a more conversational user experience for connected devices that are part of the so-called “internet of things.” Those devices could potentially include Amazon’s Echo and Echo Dot, which use Alexa to respond to spoken commands.
The development team at MyFirmsApp hopes to use the Lex technology to develop speech recognition and natural language understanding features for accountants and clients. The technology could potentially add a voice or text chat interface to bots that run on mobile devices to help accountants interact with clients and respond quickly to requests.
“AI is an exciting prospect for accountants as it will make it possible to effectively add another member to the team that is available 24 X 7 to answer multiple questions and carry out simple tasks,” said MyFirmsApp CEO Joel Oliver in a statement. “This ‘virtual’ member of staff will help the accountant retain trusted advisor status by appearing to be available at all times.”
