Beyond Chatbots: How Utah Companies Are Pioneering Practical AI Applications
While much of the conversation around artificial intelligence centers on policy and potential risks, a quiet revolution is already underway in Utah. Two companies, MyAdvice and GCommerce, are not just talking about AI – they’re actively deploying it for clients, delivering measurable results, and reshaping how businesses interact with customers.
MyAdvice and the Rise of the Specialized AI Assistant
For years, MyAdvice, based in Park City, has provided digital marketing solutions for healthcare providers, dentists, and lawyers. Recognizing the transformative potential of AI, CEO Shawn Miele made a strategic bet three years ago to build a custom AI system, now known as Maya. Unlike generic chatbots, Maya isn’t powered by a broad AI model. Instead, MyAdvice crafts a unique “small language model” for each client, trained specifically on their practice’s voice, services, patient base, and brand.
This specialization is key to building trust. Generic AI models are prone to “hallucinations” – confidently presenting inaccurate information. By focusing on verified data specific to each business, Maya significantly reduces errors and provides reliable responses. As Miele explains, this approach delivers a consistent quality standard, something difficult to achieve with human-only interactions.
The Impact on Conversion and Response Rates
The results speak for themselves. MyAdvice reports that practices switching to Maya see roughly a threefold increase in website conversion rates. More impressively, review response times have plummeted from an average of over 20 days to under 24 hours, with nearly 100% of reviews now receiving a response. This isn’t just a marginal improvement; it fundamentally changes how these practices operate, freeing up doctors and staff to focus on higher-value activities like patient care.
Pro Tip: When considering AI solutions, prioritize specialization. A tool tailored to your specific needs will always outperform a one-size-fits-all approach.
GCommerce and the Battle for Direct Hotel Bookings
Scott Van Hartesvelt, founder of GCommerce, a digital marketing agency for hotels, has witnessed decades of disruption in the travel industry. He believes AI represents the biggest shift yet. The core challenge? Travelers are increasingly using AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini to plan trips, but these tools often route bookings through third-party sites like Expedia and Booking.com, cutting hotels off from direct customer relationships and subjecting them to hefty commissions.
Van Hartesvelt draws a parallel to the post-9/11 era, when Expedia and Booking.com capitalized on industry chaos to establish themselves as intermediaries. He fears history is repeating itself. Research from Skift shows the average traveler visits 141 web pages over 45 days before booking a hotel, highlighting a fragmented and frustrating planning process that AI could streamline.
Reclaiming the Direct Connection
GCommerce is developing an “active approach” to combat this trend, leveraging emerging data protocols to push hotel inventory directly into AI systems. This ensures that when a traveler asks an AI for hotel recommendations, they see the hotel’s own availability and pricing, rather than a listing from a third-party site. The goal is to rebuild the direct connection between hotels and their guests that the internet era eroded.
Did you know? Accenture research indicates that 66% of travelers don’t enjoy the hotel planning process, presenting a significant opportunity for AI-powered solutions.
What This Means for Utah and Beyond
These developments in Utah highlight a crucial point: the AI revolution isn’t just a theoretical debate. It’s happening now, and businesses are already leveraging it to improve efficiency, enhance customer experiences, and gain a competitive edge. Shawn Miele believes Utah is well-positioned to be a leader in this space, citing the state’s strong technology focus.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a “small language model”? It’s an AI model trained on a specific dataset, like the information about a single dental practice, rather than a broad range of data.
- How does AI improve review response times? AI can automatically draft and send responses to reviews, ensuring timely engagement with customer feedback.
- Why is a direct connection between hotels and customers important? It allows hotels to build relationships, offer personalized experiences, and avoid paying commissions to third-party booking sites.
- Is AI replacing human jobs? Both Miele and Van Hartesvelt emphasize that AI should augment human capabilities, not replace them entirely.
What are your thoughts on the role of AI in your industry? Share your insights in the comments below!
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