Latest news with #ArtificialIntelligence-powered
The Citizen
2 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
AI is transforming Tshwane's tourism industry
The unveiling of a WhatsApp chatbot, a new Artificial Intelligence-powered concierge designed by four visionary hoteliers, was at the heart of the annual general meeting of the Tshwane Tourism Association held on June 19 in Pretoria. 'Four hotel experts designed the chatbot for the hospitality industry to transform hospitality industry communication,' said chairperson Susan Marais. She explained the purpose was to bridge communication gaps, soften the formality of traditional reception, and offer guests 24-hour concierge service. According to her, the chatbot promises a sense of belonging, smoother guest experiences, and easier marketing by sending targeted emails and follow-ups, with early trials showing excellent feedback rates from WhatsApp interactions. Marais emphasised that AI could take a business in the hospitality industry to the next level. She sees the chatbot as not only a service enhancement but a strategic tool: 'It's a faster, friendlier way to reach guests, keep them informed, and give them that feeling of home'. Looking ahead to 2026, the association is mapping out an outstanding year with several aims, like strengthening safety structures, building on its existing Memorandum of Understanding with the metro and metro police to ensure tourists feel safe at all times. Marais is also looking towards leading the association to expand the grading of establishments to raise the benchmark across accommodation providers. This will support township tourism by spotlighting local cultural experiences and township-led tourism routes, and develop an urban heritage circuit. 'We want to design walkable and guided historic city routes with storytelling flair as well as improve connectivity and transport, forging partnerships with public and private transport players for better links between hotels, attractions, and transit hubs.' She noted that most of these initiatives are 'pretty well on track'. She stressed the importance of keeping hospitality training accessible. 'After Covid-19, training has become a luxury, but our focus must remain on this important aspect.' The year kicked off with the association's showcase event at the CSIR International Convention Centre, drawing 60 exhibitors and over 400 visitors. 'Old friendships were renewed, and new relationships and collaborations were forged,' said Marais. To her, the annual Official Tshwane Guide was a standout promotional tool in the past year. Over 6 000 copies were distributed in key airports, hotels, and lodges, helping tourists easily discover what Tshwane offers. The association is gearing up for its 25th anniversary edition of the guide in 2026. Marais explained the association tapped into university campuses to encourage tourism careers over the past year. 'We spoke to university students to get more students to study in the hospitality industry,' she said. 'This initiative supports long-term workforce development in Tshwane's tourism ecosystem.' In the past year, the association also strengthened its reach by networking with other tourism bodies across South Africa, and maintained safety sessions with the metro police and the service provider of a Tshwane safety app. She underlined these partnerships, noting that resident and visitor safety is critical and continuously improving. Reflecting on the year's successes and looking forward, she said: 'I cannot help but look back at the past 12 months as an absolute whirlwind. We cannot wait to share many of these new initiatives with our members throughout the year to come.' The Tshwane Tourism Awards 2025, scheduled for August 16 at Batter Boys Village, will recognise excellence across hospitality, events, sustainability, and innovation. Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to bennittb@ or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reddit (RDDT) Jumps 6% on New AI Feature
Reddit Inc. (NYSE:RDDT) is one of the . Reddit extended its winning streak to a fourth straight day on Tuesday, adding 6.05 percent to close at $133.84 apiece as investors cheered the launch of its new Artificial Intelligence-powered feature. On Monday, Reddit Inc. (NYSE:RDDT) launched the AI-powered Reddit Community Intelligence, which will offer new ad tools that help brands and showcase conversations happening on the platform. Copyright: prykhodov / 123RF Stock Photo Community Intelligence is the collective knowledge from the billions of human conversations across the Reddit platform. It powers products and insights and turns more than 22 billion posts and comments into structured intelligence for smarter marketing decisions. As part of its early-stage products, Reddit Inc. (NYSE:RDDT) is offering Reddit Insights and Conversation Summary Add-ons. Reddit Insights is an AI-powered social listening tool that provides precise, real-time insights that help marketers confidently plan campaigns, validate creative ideas, and make smarter business decisions. While we acknowledge the potential of RDDT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Warby Parker Inc. (WRBY) Skyrocketed Today
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Warby Parker Inc. (WRBY) stands against other stocks that skyrocketed today. Ten companies boasted whopping gains on Tuesday despite a wider market pessimism, as a flurry of corporate developments, including impressive earnings and bullish outlooks, sparked buying appetite. In contrast, Wall Street's main indices all finished in the red territory. The Dow Jones was down by 0.27 percent, the S&P 500 dropped 0.39 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.38 percent. In this article, we named the 10 best-performing stocks during the trading session and detailed the reasons behind their gains. To come up with the list, we considered only the stocks with a $2 billion market capitalization and $5 million in trading volume. Warby Parker Inc. saw its share prices surge by 15.63 percent on Tuesday to close at $20.34 apiece as investor sentiment was buoyed by news that it secured a $75-million investment from technology giant Google, in line with plans to jointly develop Artificial Intelligence-powered glasses. In a statement, Warby Parker Inc. (WRBY) said that Google committed to investing the said amount in the company at its option, subject to reaching certain collaboration milestones. Additionally, it secured another $75 million to fund expenses needed for product development and commercialization. Upon completion, Warby Parker Inc. (WRBY) said they intend to officially launch the smart glasses to the market after this year. 'We believe multimodal AI is perfectly suited for glasses, enabling real-time context and intelligence to augment a wearer's surroundings as they move through the world. We couldn't be more excited to be partnering with Google to bring together the best of AI and the best of eyewear,' said Warby Parker Inc. (WRBY) co-founder and co-CEO Dave Gilboa. Overall, WRBY ranks 10th on our list of today's best-performing stocks. While we acknowledge the potential of WRBY as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than WRBY and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Warby Parker Inc. (WRBY) Skyrocketed Today
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Warby Parker Inc. (WRBY) stands against other stocks that skyrocketed today. Ten companies boasted whopping gains on Tuesday despite a wider market pessimism, as a flurry of corporate developments, including impressive earnings and bullish outlooks, sparked buying appetite. In contrast, Wall Street's main indices all finished in the red territory. The Dow Jones was down by 0.27 percent, the S&P 500 dropped 0.39 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.38 percent. In this article, we named the 10 best-performing stocks during the trading session and detailed the reasons behind their gains. To come up with the list, we considered only the stocks with a $2 billion market capitalization and $5 million in trading volume. Warby Parker Inc. saw its share prices surge by 15.63 percent on Tuesday to close at $20.34 apiece as investor sentiment was buoyed by news that it secured a $75-million investment from technology giant Google, in line with plans to jointly develop Artificial Intelligence-powered glasses. In a statement, Warby Parker Inc. (WRBY) said that Google committed to investing the said amount in the company at its option, subject to reaching certain collaboration milestones. Additionally, it secured another $75 million to fund expenses needed for product development and commercialization. Upon completion, Warby Parker Inc. (WRBY) said they intend to officially launch the smart glasses to the market after this year. 'We believe multimodal AI is perfectly suited for glasses, enabling real-time context and intelligence to augment a wearer's surroundings as they move through the world. We couldn't be more excited to be partnering with Google to bring together the best of AI and the best of eyewear,' said Warby Parker Inc. (WRBY) co-founder and co-CEO Dave Gilboa. Overall, WRBY ranks 10th on our list of today's best-performing stocks. While we acknowledge the potential of WRBY as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than WRBY and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Express Tribune
14-02-2025
- Express Tribune
Power of AI brings Urdu books to life
KARACHI: Engineers at NED University of Engineering and Technology claim to have developed an Artificial Intelligence-powered application that brings Urdu books to life. The app can convert printed Urdu text from images or fonts into editable digital files. The text is then transformed into speech, creating an audiobook from any Urdu text. "The beta version of the app is expected to be released within the next three months," the project lead, Associate Professor Dr Majida Kazmi, told The Express Tribune. The app is capable of adjusting font sizes ranging from 8 to 40, while also offering 135 different script styles, she said, adding that the app will allow users to quickly translate websites from various languages, including English, into Urdu, making content more accessible. The project has been supported by the Anjuman Tarqi Urdu. Despite Urdu being the 10th most spoken language in the world, its digital footprint has been limited, Dr Kazmi said. The project aims to address this gap by making Urdu texts - whether from books, articles, or other sources - machine-readable. One of the project's features is its ability to convert Urdu text to speech, providing a synthetic voice with clear and accurate pronunciation. This ensures that users can listen to the content with an authentic Urdu accent. The technology has even been tested with older newspapers, proving its versatility in handling diverse types of written Urdu.
