The Milwaukee Bucks announced today the organization would be partnering with an artificial intelligence, or AI provider to add to the game day experience.
San Francisco-based GameOn Technology and the Bucks are adding a conversational AI chat experience to the Wisconsin NBA franchise’s mobile app and website.
The new addition will provide a platform for fans and visitors of Fiserv Forum to get quick answers to commonly asked questions. Robert Cordova, Bucks chief technology and strategy officer, said the feature will advance the Bucks’ mission to constantly improve fan experience.
“There’s always questions like ‘when do the doors open?’ or ‘how late can I stay past the ending of a game or concert?’” Cordova said. “Instead of you having to go into our website or mobile app and scroll down a long list of things, we want our guests to be able to ask things conversationally and the software to interpret that and match you with the best answer to the questions you may have.”
The technology will allow the Bucks to respond to inquiries in real-time both inside the Fiserv Forum as well as the Deer District.
“A little over a year ago when we had those watch parties, we had 40,000 to 60,000 people in the Deer District. Unfortunately, we don’t know who most of them are and we want to have a way to engage,” Cordova said. “It’s hard to engage with that size of a crowd and we only have a certain number of employees. Another way would be through artificial, intelligent conversation bots so if the guests want to engage, not just for FAQs, we have some way to engage.”
The partnership with GameOn is to advance the technology but Cordova said the Bucks looked at more than just the AI and answering FAQ.
“I always look at how truly innovative companies are and the ones that we partner with, like GameOn, if they’re going to be a partner if their roadmap is continually improving the product and expanding,” Cordova said. “What we liked about GameOn was their roadmap and their ability to expand beyond FAQs right now so as we get the FAQs online, we’re going to look at other aspects of their AI engine to see how we can leverage that.”
The GameOn chat is expected to be live by the beginning of the Bucks’ season.
