OVERLAND PARK, Kan. , March 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced the launch of Sprint Smart Messaging, a solution to help businesses communicate with their customers through an Artificial Intelligence (AI) text messaging system. Powered by NumberAI, Sprint Smart Messaging responds to customers who text a business’s landline to provide answers to simple questions like business hours and product availability; it can also handle more complex tasks like take food orders or set appointments; this streamlines customer conversations and allows staff to handle other business-related functions.

"Sprint currently serves over five-million business phone numbers that will now have immediate access to Sprint’s Smart Messaging AI-powered platform," said Sasha Gorman , vice president of development for Sprint. "Our business customers can run their operations more efficiently by responding to messaging requests in parallel and in real-time."

Sprint Smart Messaging features:

• Business Messaging Businesses can now use their landline or wireline telephone number to receive and respond to text messages from customers through mobile phones, tablets or desktop computers.
• AI-driven Auto-Response Sprint Smart Messaging uses AI to learn about a business and auto-respond to customer questions instantly. Businesses will be able to answer customer inquiries 24/7, ultimately saving on labor costs by sending automated responses to commonly asked questions.
• Call Rescue Statistics show that 62 percent of calls to small business are left unanswered. Sprint Smart Messaging automatically texts the customer back, re-engaging them and increasing thier interest. With Sprint Smart Messaging, 50 percent¹ of customers whose call didn’t go through are saved from going to a competitor.
• Direct Customer Interaction Businesses will be able to offer their customers the ability to make transactions, such as order placements and appointment setting, more convenient through its messaging system to increase efficiency on both ends.

"Voice is an inefficient way to communicate with customers. We are moving towards a ’WeChat’ like world where consumers and business interact and conduct commerce over messaging," said Tasso Roumeliotis , chief executive officer and co-founder of NumberAI. "Sprint is the first carrier in the U.S. to launch a messaging-based solution to further one-to-one interaction for its business customers."