(This column originally appeared in Forbes)
Here are five things in tech that happened this week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?
This Week in Business Tech News
Business Tech News #1 — I tried to build a website using AI, and it only took 30 minutes.
Tech writer Carly Quellman talked about her experience with building a website for her company. Starting from scratch, she described feeling “overwhelmed by the surplus of creative talent.” Wix’s AI-powered tools — which promise to create functional websites in just 30 minutes — was surprisingly easy. Quellman highlighted the simplicity of the process, where users input design preferences and requirements, and the AI generates a personalized website. The upgraded Wix AI offers advanced design and content generation capabilities, including natural language processing for better customization. “I was skeptical that Wix AI would be able to create a functional website in just three hours, but I was wrong,” Quellman admitted. (Source: CNET)
Why this is important for your business:
Wix isn’t the only game in tow — there are other web hosting platforms and providers that are rolling out AI tools to do the same. And it’s a game changer. Yes, there will always be a need for web design consultants to higher level tasks (at least for now). But many small businesses can use AI to create professional looking sites in a matter of minutes, which not only saves money but gives the business more control over its content and branding.
Business Tech News #2 — Verizon Business launches industry-first GenAI assistant for small businesses.
Verizon Business has introduced a Generative AI assistant tailored for small businesses. The tool automates customer interactions through text-based conversations, addressing common queries instantly and escalating to live employees when necessary. Over time, the assistant improves its performance by building a robust knowledge base. Its primary aim is to help small businesses enhance customer engagement, streamline operations, and focus on growth. (Source: Verizon)
Why this is important for your business:
There are a number of service-oriented technology platforms that are also rolling out tools to help small businesses automate their interactions with customers. I suggest you evaluate Verizon’s new tool, but also ask your customer relationship management (CRM) vendor about their offerings as well. Perhaps they even integrate. While early days, as these platforms train and learn your data better they will be able to handle a growing number of online requests without your employees getting involved.
Business Tech News #3 — Zoom’s AI goes agentic — here’s what it can do for you now.
Zoom has introduced new agentic capabilities to its AI Companion, enhancing productivity and collaboration. Features include Zoom Tasks that automatically identifies action items from meeting summaries, chats, and emails, and completes tasks like scheduling follow-ups. Voice Recorder transcribes and summarizes in-person conversations, accessible via the Zoom Workplace mobile app. Meeting Agendas helps hosts manage meetings with agenda timers and live AI-generated notes. Advanced References in Zoom Docs creates writing plans and data tables from meeting summaries and other content. (Source: ZDNet)
Why this is important for your business:
As I’ve been writing…here come the agents! Zoom CPO Smita Hashim said, “AI Companion is evolving from a personal assistant to being truly agentic…a major leap forward in how AI can enhance productivity and collaboration at work.”
Business Tech News #4 — Meet the future of customer service: JotForm AI agents.
JotForm’s latest innovation — AI Agents — has been designed to revolutionize customer service. These agents provide 24/7 conversational support tailored to various industries and use cases. Key features include customizable avatars, training with multiple information sources, over 1,000 templates, voice and phone agents, WhatsApp integration, and embeddable chatbots. JotForm AI Agents aim to streamline processes, enhance productivity, and improve customer relationships. Businesses can automate tasks like emailing stakeholders or building databases, freeing up time for strategic priorities. (Source: TechCrunch)
Why this is important for your business:
What’s not mentioned in the above report is something that I think is most important about JotForm: it’s ability to integrate with countless business applications — accounting, CRM, HR, etc. It’s a very easy to use platform for building forms and then using AI to automate processes. It moves data back and forth with other systems efficiently. I’m a fan of this platform and it’s capabilities for most businesses and I prefer it over Google Forms.
Business Tech News #5 — Windows will soon let you know why your PC hardware sucks.
Tom Warren of The Verge discussed a new feature Microsoft is working on that will alert users if their PC’s performance is wearing down. A Windows enthusiast posted details on X of this “FAQ feature” that would inform users of RAM memory, GPU, and other components. In previous years Windows used a score system through its Windows Experience Index — rating each system with a “subscore” that was factored into an overall score to indicate a PC’s capacity to run upgraded versions of Windows. Though no official announcement has been made about when this feature will appear, some speculate it will be soon as the feature appears to be in testing mode. (Source: The Verge)
Why this is important for your business:
A good step forward, but instead of letting us know of performance breakdowns how about using agentic AI behind the scenes to just fix the problems so performance stays high? AI is best used when we don’t about it — fine tuning, adjusting, updating, all in the background. We don’t want to know about problems. We just want to be comfortable that someone — or something — is being done to monitor and then fix those problems so we can stay focused on our businesses.
