Zebra Technologies to Unveil New Generative AI Capabilities at Google Cloud Next

Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA), a leading digital solution provider enabling businesses to intelligently connect data, assets, and people today announced its collaboration with Google Cloud, Android, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. to help enterprises deliver transformative customer experiences along with improved employee productivity and insights powered by generative AI. These new, innovative capabilities will be previewed next week at the 2024 Google Cloud Next in Las Vegas.

The aim of this approach is to reduce the cognitive load on front-line employees and allow for better just-in-time decision-making with faster onboarding and training. It will further empower the frontline as labor availability and cost challenges persist and employees are required to be more multi-skilled than ever while increasing the quality of their engagement with customers.

Front-line employees – from back-office staff to store associates – will be able to leverage a chat experience from a handheld device to easily access information to answer questions and prompts like, “How do I open the store?” and “What type of wiring should a customer use for a 100-watt electrical panel?” The capabilities are powered by generative AI with domain specific knowledge through the processing and ingestion of documents such as standard operating procedures (SOP), policies, employee training materials and product knowledge.

“We want to shift conversations around generative AI from ‘how’ it works to ‘what’ it can do to create new ways of working that make everyday life better for organizations, their employees and those they serve,” said Tom Bianculli, Chief Technology Officer, Zebra Technologies. “We now see the merging of planning and execution systems in the enterprise. Generative AI will accelerate that with finely tuned, real-world models that can schedule and automate tasks, respond to requests, and give recommendations based on the context of a situation in a worker’s moment of need.”

Bianculli cites the real-life example of a European supermarket chain that has piloted generative AI with Zebra mobile computers by feeding the model its entire SOP library.

“Employees now have a huge volume of knowledge derived from policies, procedures, and product information in the palms of their hands – an ‘always-on’ digital assistant that can reduce the time to competency and ensure best practices are consistently leveraged,” said Bianculli. “They are saving time, improving customer interactions, training staff more quickly, and giving front-line workers more autonomy and satisfaction in their jobs.”