UPS incorporates AI in package tracking

The package delivery and logistics provider has combined its Artificial-Intelligence-enabled chatbot with the UPS My Choice function to allow customers to track deliveries without a tracking number.    Package delivery and logistics provider UPS has integrated its chatbot platform with the “UPS My Choice” function to allow customers to track packages and recent deliveries without a tracking number, the company said Monday.
   The Artificial-Intelligence-enabled chatbot mimics human conversations and was first launched through Facebook Messenger, Skype and Amazon’s Alexa voice service last fall. The chatbot initially helped UPS customers find UPS locations, get shipping rates and track packages, but now it lets UPS My Choice members retrieve detailed information about their shipments.
   The UPS My Choice function is a service that gives customers more control over how and where packages are delivered and re-routed, according to the company.
   “The integration of our chatbot with UPS My Choice is a big leap forward for the customer service UPS offers,” said Stuart Marcus, UPS vice president of customer technology marketing. “It also marks an important step as UPS continues to deploy leading-edge technologies to bring better, easier and simpler experiences to our consumer and business customers.”
   “Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, along with big data and the internet of things, underpin many of the technologies that support UPS’s global logistics network,” added Bob Myrick, UPS principal architect of customer engagement technology. “They also enable important customer-facing technologies like UPS My Choice.”