Aston University collaborates with marketing firm on new AI-enabled app
Moseley-based AI marketing specialist MCG Digital and Aston University have revealed details of a new partnership that has allowed the Birmingham business to create a new AI marketing tool.
The application, which has initially been developed for property developers, uses a set algorithm to identify and qualify investors quickly and effectively through email and SMS text.
The Aston University Think Beyond Data project, which is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), is designed to enable more Birmingham businesses to develop their own AI solutions.
MCG Digital founder Gez McGuire said: “There’s no doubt that AI will be the next major transformer of the global economy. As one of the UK’s first Google qualified marketing professionals I’ve seen how that company and many like it have used AI to transform all our lives.
“When I started in 2004 Google processed 200 million searches that year, currently it processes 228 million searches per hour and two trillion per year. AI underpins that business and while I’m not expecting the same level of growth, this new application will speed up transactions and better enable business to identify customers, essential requirements in the current economic climate.
“The support from Dr Victoria Lush, data scientist and research fellow at Aston University has enabled me to make crucial changes, consider different uses and ensure that I’m able to bring the new tool to market much quicker than would otherwise have been possible.”
Brendan Poynton, business development manager at Aston University, said: “Gez and business owners like him are exactly the kind of people we want to work with on the Think Beyond Data programme. All too often Artificial Intelligence is seen as the preserve of Silicon Valley and the world’s largest businesses. In fact, it is small and medium businesses that are set to benefit the most, growing in ways that simply were not possible before the latest advancements in AI. Having just secured a major extension to the project we’re now looking for more businesses like MCG Digital to get in touch and find out how we can help them grow and develop through AI.”
