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The Charge

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) needed to improve the accessibility and relevance of their civil engineering standards for over 150,000 members worldwide. The existing search system lacked natural language capabilities and often failed to provide comprehensive answers, leading to user dissatisfaction and frequent calls to the ASCE help desk.

The Solve

Mod Op worked with a cognitive AI platform provider to develop a customized solution to handle complex queries accurately. The process involved:

Data Organization: Using large language model tools, we transformed ASCE’s extensive content into a curated knowledge graph, ensuring the material was functional for AI integration.

User Interface Testing: Evaluated various user interface options, ultimately integrating the AI capabilities into a Microsoft Teams chatbot. This approach saved time and cost while maintaining high functionality.

Rigorous Performance Testing: The AI chatbot was subjected to numerous tests, including attempts to provoke inaccuracies. The system consistently provided reliable and accurate responses, proving its robustness.

The Results

After our successful demo, we outlined the next steps, including a limited use case pilot. We created a roadmap to test the AI-powered system’s impact and estimate the following results:

Time Savings: 2,000+ work hours saved annually, freeing up employees to focus on higher-value tasks 

Enhanced User Support: 24/7 support, drastically reducing the need for human intervention and increasing the speed of query resolution

Increased User Satisfaction: More accurate and comprehensive answers, improving the overall experience for subscribers

New Revenue Opportunities: Effective cross-selling and upselling from the system’s ability to identify and suggest related standards