"We have no interest in creating just another 'thin layer' on top of one of the big 5 LLM's..."
Why are we getting into AI?
We've been patiently watching the developments in the AI space for some time. We've been researching and experimenting internally and have been slow to launch our own an AI implementation mainly because we have no interest in creating just another 'thin layer' on top of one of the big 5 LLM's offering little to no unique value from what is already out there.
So after much much internal experimentation and deliberation we've found something unique and truly valuable which both adds value to the existing ManyHands service offering while also providing something truly unique for entrepreneurs from what is out there right now.
The TL;DR is we believe we can get to accurate results that are truly useful to a busy entrepreneur with 3x less of the prompt engineering currently needed to generate those results.
And not only that, we believe that with our large growing database of productised services we are also uniquely positioned to provide an ability for entrepreneurs to take action and get something done in the real world.
The reasons for us entering the world of AI is largely based on the following reasons:
1. Nothing of consequence has been released for entrepreneur's in Africa
Over the last few years there have been significant breakthrough's for entrepreneurs in helping them scale largely linked to how they take payments.
We've seen a huge surge of payment providers across the stack all vying to give entrepreneurs more ways to get paid. eCommerce focussed startups like Stitch Money, Payfast, PeachPayments, Ozow, Netcash and Paystack to name are leading the charge.
BuyNowPayLater seems to also have seen a surge of uptick most likely due to the tough financial times the average South African is experiencing with startups like Payflex, Happy Pay, Pay Just Now, Float and Tyme banks MoreTyme seeing growth.
Even the world of cryptocurrencies are making strides forward largely lead by Luno, VALR and others.
While it is good to see Retail Capital's ChatSME product launch, there is no significant ubiquitous product that has been adopted. The last time we checked ChatGPT's penetration was a mere 13%.
2. Filling the knowledge gap to enable decisions
The easiest gap for AI to fill is information and knowledge. While in our opinion there will always be a need to consult with a professional on a critical legal, financial or strategic business decision, there are many instances where entrepreneur’s need quick concise answers on the go to help them move in the right direction with speed.
Without knowledge and understanding it’s very hard to make a decision and take action. And not every entrepreneur has a knowledgable co-founder or mentor on hand who is available on-demand to get perspective from.
3. Going beyond knowledge, text and images to performing actions
Of the very few South African's that make use of ChatGPT regularly, 49% of the usage don't go beyond research tasks. This technology is being massively under utilised.
To say that we have been inspired by the concept of Large Action Models (LAM) made famous by the wonderful presentation done by Rabbit and their flagship r1 device, would be an understatement.
Long before rabbit’s launch, we saw the immense gap left by the rise of current LLM’s. Simply, the are not able to perform even rudimentary tasks. So if you need anything more than something written or an image or video created, as amazing as that writing and those images and video’s are, it can’t be done.
It is for this reason that we believe we are uniquely positioned to fill this gap starting in the developing world. By linking the powerful ability of LLM’s to understand language with the world of productised services, we can enable anyone with a phone and some data to receive service.
4. Bridging the gap to services with local language and chat as the interface
One of the biggest barriers to entry for anyone is navigating the complex UX of apps, websites and platforms. Finding the screen, going through a sensible user journey that ultimately provides me with the button I need to click to execute something is the reason why there are so many UX designers and developers in the world.
Creating great, simple user experiences is not easy. We imagine a world where there is no longer a need to figure out how to use a website or app to get something done, all you need to do is talk to it in your language like you would to someone on WhatsApp.
And this is what the ManyHands team is going after. Providing a chat experience in anyone in their language enabling them to easily research, browse, book and pay for any essential service they need without clicking a button. That's the vision and we're going for, for now there is still the need for button clicking, but it sure is better than anything else out there.
Introducing ManyChat AI Assistant
We’ve built a way for entrepreneurs to 10x their productivity with their very own dedicated AI assistant and we’re calling it ManyChat. We built ManyChat on top of the most capable large language model in the world, OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4. ManyChat works without the need for a user to have their own ChatGPT account.
It has all the capability of GPT4 accessible with GPT Pro account, but where it really shines is in time to result.
You see the problem with these LLM’s is that for many tasks they take unnecessarily long to get to usable accurate results. Why? They lack context.
So we give it context. How?
We link your ManyChat AI assistant to your company profile which has access to all the company info you put in your ManyHands profile as well as your Service Packs and your Inbox chat history, but not just that. If you add your website URL and social channels it will also pull in all that info as well.
This saves you an incredible amount of time in creating elaborate prompts in order for you to get quality responses back.
So for example if you need your AI assistant to help you write some copy for your client, you no longer need to write out the long elaborate string of prompts giving it a persona, context, information on the client and industry and outcome and and and.
You just say, I need 30 days of social posts with images for my client, Ziggy Ice Tea. From your client list it knows that Ziggy Ice Tea is your client and from your chat history it can also pull any relevant information you’ve discussed up until this point. And it knows who you are. So you can ask your question with minimal prompting.
And boom! 💥 Just like that your first result is highly accurate. Now all you need to do is refine the details from that first great result, if needed.
All the top5 LLM’s including OpenAI have realised the future of making these AI’s more useful is prompt engineering and are putting a huge amount of resources on this.
We are going to continue to find ways to make ManyChat even more helpful by saving you hours of writing long prompts.
Use your own ManyChat AI assistant today:
For existing ManyHands clients
ManyChat AI is available to all existing ManyHands clients with a ManyHands+ plan. Simply log in to your existing account to unlock the AI Assistant accessible from the main menu on desktop or mobile anytime. ManyChat AI is currently not available to ManyHands clients on free accounts.
For existing ManyHands service sellers
ManyChat AI is also available to all existing Verified Pro with a Verified Pro plan. The same simple process applies, log in to your existing account to unlock the AI Assistant accessible from the main menu on desktop or mobile anytime. ManyChat AI is currently not available to ManyHands service sellers on free accounts.
For new customers
For those who are not existing clients or service sellers, the best way to get access is to join the waitlist.
