It goes without saying that an online presence is an absolute necessity if you want your business to get anywhere these days. The moment that someone starts searching for a product or service that they need, the first place they're going to look is Google, no exception. Let's be real, no one browses phonebooks anymore when they can just ask Siri or their Google Assistant to find the information for them in less than five seconds. So, if you want your customers to actually notice your business, you have to establish some kind of online presence. A good website and eCommerce store is the logical first step, and today we'll be discussing how you can make that first step as easy as possible – by using AI.

KUALA LUMPUR, 1 JUNE 2018 – Celcom Axiata Berhad, in its ongoing journey to create awesome moments and experiences for its customers, today announced its latest channel to serve customers -- a state-of-the-art Intelligent Virtual Agent service. Celcom's Intelligent Virtual Agent service brings together cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning technology, giving birth to two personas – Clive and Emma – with their own personalities that will interact with customers 24 7 with regard to their inquiries and transactions. The combination of technology, transaction capability and personality is the first of its kind in Asia. Both Clive and Emma are powered with Microsoft's AI & machine learning technology and will have the opportunity to initiate conversations with consumers with a personal and humanised touch, providing an awesome customer experience anywhere and at any time. Microsoft's Machine Learning feature will allow Clive and Emma to auto-learn questions variations via a knowledge-based system that improves their effectiveness over time.

Banks That Have Implemented Social Media Payments Through Facebook and Twitter, Let's Talk Payments

During Bethesda's BE3 press conference, a downright hilarious sketch starring Keegan-Michael Key showed the comedian considering his controller of choice, then nonchalantly says "Alexa, play Skyrim!" The sketch demonstrated a choose-your-own adventure style game controlled by only your voice, and generously poked fun at Bethesda's own porting strategies and even at Amazon's Alexa itself. It concluded by announcing Skyrim would soon be available "on your pager" and your "Samsung Smart Refrigerator." Interpreting this as a joke was the natural conclusion. Skyrim: Very Special Edition for Amazon Alexa is very, very real.

We spent two months and over 40 hours researching and testing 12 monitored home security systems. We think SimpliSafe is the best self-installed option for most people. It doesn't require a long-term contract and it offers the benefits of a security system that's monitored 24/7. SimpliSafe is reliable, easy to install, and it works with some Alexa voice commands. Our runner-up pick, the Abode, supports many smart-home devices via Nest, Alexa, Google Home, IFTTT, Zigbee, and Z-Wave--all of which are managed through the Abode Web portal.

Google is planning to bring support for more languages to its Google Assistant AI, so that its Google Home speaker could appeal to more consumers. Digitimes Research reported late last week that Google is planning to push sales of its Google Home speakers to more markets this 2018. With this in mind, the search engine giant is aiming to bring support for up to 30 languages to its voice assistant. Amazon's Alexa only supports three languages at present. To take advantage of the situation, Google wants to enable Google Assistant to support up to 30 languages with the use of its deep research in multi-language and semantics.

The Echo smart speaker, powered by Amazon's artificially intelligent assistant Alexa, keeps a digital ear out for its wake phrase, "Hey Alexa." When it hears these words, it starts recording the sounds that come next--your spoken commands--and then it saves these snippets in the cloud. But if it really makes you uncomfortable, then manually make the speaker stop listening when you're not using it: Tap the microphone button on the top of the device, and it will stop listening for your next "hey Alexa." To review and potentially delete the snippets that the Echo has been saving, you have to go through the Alexa app (for Android and iOS) or the Amazon website. Let's start with the former. When you open the Alexa app on your phone, the front page displays a list of saved words and phrases that you've directed at your Echo speaker.

The game maker showed a shred of self-awareness of its endless wringing of the long-running franchise and faux-introduced Skyrim: Very Special Edition, a voice-based reimagining of the RPG for Alexa. It does look better than Pac-Man...

You need sound that matches the picture you paid for. You could set up a full surround-sound system--even a wireless one--which can offer superlative audio quality but requires serious money and time. Or you could go the easier route and get a soundbar. Drop a long brick of speakers on your TV stand, plug it in, and revel in the new sound. Even stereo bars that cost around $100--such as Vizio's 29" Sound Bar and the AmazonBasics model with built-in subwoofer--will put your TV speakers to shame.

Smart speakers or virtual assistants, whatever name you decide to call them, they are very useful, handy, and they are winning the world. There is a statistics showing smart speakers are now owned by one in six Americans. Those products are not only used in home automation, but also in business. Initially, maybe the smart speakers have been launched with another purpose in mind. But now everything has entirely changed. Say, Amazon Echo should be made to boost the sales.