How FLEETCOR is Using AI in IT

Source: Scott duFour, Chief Information Officer, FLEETCOR

In the relentless race for technological advancement, harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) has become more than just an option. It's a necessity for companies striving to maintain a competitive edge. At FLEETCOR, we are carefully and methodically exploring ways AI can help us do what we do better and faster, and we have already seen a number of successes. Here are a few.

“Super Carol” – Supercharging Customer Service

Sem Parar, our mobility payments brand in Brazil, created an AI-powered customer service chatbot named "Super Carol." By consolidating data from various sources into a unified API, Super Carol not only facilitated prompt customer interactions but also exhibited a remarkable 95% accuracy rate in responses. “Super Carol” learned along the way, improving her understanding of local slang, expressions, and abbreviations. The result was a significant drop in the number of times customers insisted upon talking to a human.

An Ounce of Prevention

The computational demands of AI pose a significant financial hurdle for companies contemplating building their solutions in-house. How much time and money the solutions will save should drive the decision to go it alone or use cloud-based AI resources offered by industry such as Microsoft and Amazon.

FLEETCOR's experience with its fleet maintenance platform, "1link Service Network," under the epyx brand in the UK, underscores the tangible business value AI can deliver. By leveraging AI to predict potential breakdowns preemptively, fleets were directed toward preventive maintenance, curtailing costly repairs. This return on investment highlights the importance of aligning AI initiatives with clear business objectives to justify the cost.

Learn to Code – Better and Faster

More applications of generative AI are on FLEETCOR’s horizon, including in programming. GitHub Copilot, for example, is a collaborative effort between GitHub, Microsoft, and OpenAI. By incorporating generative AI into their software development platform, GitHub empowers developers with intelligent coding suggestions, accelerating productivity. Skilled programmers are hard to come by, so magnifying their output through AI is definitely worth exploring.

Embrace the Spirit of Experimentation

AI can often yield unpredictable results, so it’s important to set up guardrails in how it’s applied.  Experimentation is paramount, as it allows organizations to unearth novel solutions while navigating the intricacies of generative AI.

It's also imperative to treat AI as a complementary tool rather than a panacea for all IT woes. While AI excels in certain domains, it falls short in others, underscoring the importance of integration alongside existing tools rather than outright replacement.

In conclusion, FLEETCOR's strategic utilization of AI exemplifies a holistic approach toward technological innovation. By leveraging AI's prowess in data analysis, optimizing computational resources, embracing external expertise, and fostering a culture of experimentation, FLEETCOR seeks a symbiotic relationship between AI and IT. As we traverse further into the AI era, these principles serve as guiding beacons, illuminating the path towards a secure and prosperous digital future.