Accenture forms new business unit around IPsoft's Amelia AI platform

Accenture has announced a new business unit in partnership with IPsoft focused on spurring adoption of artificial intelligence in the enterprise.

The systems integration and outsourcing giant plans to use IPsoft's Amelia AI platform as the core of the new Accenture Amelia practice. Amelia is similar to Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa, but is touted as more expressive and capable of empathy than her AI peers.

Accenture said it will develop a suite of go-to-market strategies and consulting services based off of the Amelia platform. As Accenture CTO Paul Daugherty explained, the point is to appeal to executives who "are overwhelmed by the plethora of technologies and many products that are advertising AI or Cognitive capabilities".

Accenture plans to market the platform as a virtual agent, initially targeting banking, insurance and travel industries.

For Accenture, the formation of the Amelia practice is the latest push by the company to establish a presence in the rapidly expanding AI market, which research firm IDC predicts will reach $9.2 billion by 2019.

Last November, Accenture significantly expanded its AI commitment with the formation of a new R&D lab in Dublin, Ireland.

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