New Zealand’s Glenn Sherriff is challenged by Australia’s Jack Archibald during an International Polo Test on December 9, 2017. (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)
In the Middle Ages, knights had young—human—squires as personal assistants. In the modern age, most of us commoners rely on digital assistants such as Siri. And now, fans of polo, aka “The Sport of Kings,” will get the help of artificial intelligence, too.
Oracle announced today that Heineken Urban Polo, a series of polo tournaments played in cities across New Zealand, is using the Oracle Cloud Platform to provide attendees with directions, schedule information, and even explain the rules of polo. AI bots are used to process and understand comments or questions sent via Facebook Messenger, and then respond appropriately. The Urban Polo events already break with tradition, featuring music from artists such as Kilter and Miami Horror alongside the games, so upgrading from a human to robot concierge seems a natural step.
“Oracle Cloud has significantly enhanced the customer experience through more personalized communication,” said Simon Wilson, director of Heineken Urban Polo. “Attendees can get all the information they want, when they want, through the messaging tools they’re already using. The digital concierge has been very well received and we are looking to continue testing as we expand the event series later this year.”
