[part 1] Beyond the Screen - DRUID Conversational Business Apps

Over time, the interaction between people and computers has continually evolved. Traditionally, people interacted with computers using screens and graphical interfaces. As advancements in technology, particularly cloud computing and machine learning became affordable, it became possible for us humans to simply text or speak to computers, which can in return understand and respond accordingly. This idea led to the development of DRUID AI , a company focused on making it simple for businesses to talk with their customers, partners, and employees through digital systems.

This article discusses how interactions between humans and machines in backend processes have advanced. It focuses on conversational business applications, which combine improvements in user interfaces for business apps, easy app development without much coding, and AI that can understand and generate human-like responses. In just a month, using the DRUID platform, I built my first app that can talk. A key feature of DRUID's conversational business applications (CBAs) is their versatility: they can operate independently or be integrated with CRM and ERP systems. For example, I am integrating my Partner Resource Manager with HubSpot. It helps manage DRUID business partners, activities, and accounts, and I'll share tips on how to manage such projects in the second part of this article.

TL;DR

What are Conversational Business Apps

CBAs are a natural leap forward in business interfaces for organizational systems. The business management software field is known for periodically introducing innovative concepts that capture industry attention. For instance, the early 1990s marked the arrival of Sales Force Automation, a concept that Oracle expanded upon in 1993 through Siebel Systems. The late '90s witnessed the emergence of the BPM industry and ERP solutions, with 1997 as a pivotal year. Siebel then pioneered the first mobile CRM in 1999, a move followed by efforts from PeopleSoft, SAP, and Oracle. This period highlighted a crowded market, despite the hurdles in mobile adoption. Over the years, the industry has continued to evolve, with a marked shift towards cloud computing and a specialization in various sectors.

DRUID CBA integrates with these existing business management solutions to enable more intuitive, conversational interactions through AI-powered bots.

Unlike traditional methods, DRUID focuses on conversational AI, improving the creation of workspaces, automations and reports and making work smoother for employees.

How do they work?

CBAs combine Conversational AI and Business Applications. Conversational AI utilizes Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML), along with technologies like conversational bots, to create interactions that resemble those with humans. NLP interprets human speech, and ML adapts by learning from new data, enhancing the system's responses over time. Business Applications, on the other hand, are software solutions used internally as core tools or externally to connect with business partners. They play an essential role in monitoring an organizations productivity, covering Partner Resource Management tools to Enterprise Resource Planning and Client Management Systems.

CBAs can seamlessly integrate with RPA tools, email systems, data services, document generation tools, 3rd party AI tools such as OCR or NLP engines, and compile a dashboard view for a specific role in the organization. They basically enrich current systems to fit special needs and act as the interface for different in-house platforms.

And why should we care?

I. How it helped me

Starting with the hard facts – in just a month I managed to create a near-enterprise-level GPT-powered business application with three specific workspaces, each of them aiming to help with different parts of my job. I now use this app every day to organize and track and report on my activities.

The Partner Resource Manager (PRM) has made my job a lot easier by handling about 60% of the routine tasks I used to do every day for managing our partners. Before, I had to go through three different Excel files, use Hubspot, and pull info from special sections just for our partners. Now, with all this extra time, I'm coming up with new ideas for partner projects, getting teams organized to work on these projects, and checking how well we're doing based on specific goals.

The PRM is a really useful tool because it gives us one place to see everything about managing our partners and makes it easy to share updates with our bosses. After we got the PRM up and running, I set up a chatbot powered by GPT in Microsoft Teams for the people involved in our programs. This bot gets information from the PRM and lets people ask it questions to find out how projects are going. This way, they don't have to log into the PRM website to get the info they need.

II. How it helped clients

Liberty Global Shared Services

Liberty Shared Services boosted their internal support by adding DRUID's conversational business applications, making it easier and more friendly for their teams to get information. They set up a system that works with their current tech to help automate different kinds of work. As a result, they launched six virtual assistants for Liberty Global's companies, helping with things like checking on orders and payments, which made things run smoother and improved how employees get help.

Georgia Southern University

Using DRUID's conversational app, the university improved student communication, boosting enrollment by 2% and earning an extra $1 million. DRUID is now key for chat services across departments. Plans include expanding DRUID's use for a better welcome experience for new students and streamlining services.

Analyst view on the CBA market

From an analyst’s view, the mix of conversational AI with business applications signifies a leap forward. Allied Market Research predicts that the conversational AI market will expand from $5.78 billion in 2020 to $32.62 billion by 2030. Meanwhile, Gartner predicts that the enterprise application software market will reach $336.3 billion in 2023, growing at 12.0%. The market will go on to reach $580 billion in 2027, with a constant currency CAGR of 13.4% (2022-2027). More details here - https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/5012231

With 2023 and 2024 marking significant advancements in AI, they only prepared 2025 to be a major turning point. With the fast growth of Generative AI, talking becomes the main way people handle their tasks, highlighting the continuous need for communication that feels human in our digital world.

In the second part of the story, I'll showcase an actual demo! See you soon.