vcita, the SMB technology platform for small businesses and the organizations that serve them, announced the introduction of an integrated AI-powered intelligent scheduling tool designed to help SMBs fill booking slots and mitigate the financial impact of calendar gaps and last minute cancellations. This new tool, powered by Apptor, leverages AI to proactively identify relevant clients based on their scheduling behavior, and fill last-minute appointment openings and future rebookings, ensuring that small businesses optimize their time and revenue potential.
According to a vcita survey, U.S. small businesses lost over $27 billion in unearned income in the first half of 2023 alone due to calendar gaps and last-minute cancellations. For SMBs, many of which already grapple with cash flow challenges, these missed appointments translate directly into lost revenue. The newly launched AI scheduling tool is designed to combat this issue by helping businesses recapture lost time and revenue through automated client outreach.
When a booking is cancelled by the client, the tool utilizes scheduling and other related client behavior patterns, past appointment history, and service availability to match the most relevant clients with open calendar slots. SMB users can choose whether they would like to review the suggested clients and approve the suggestions manually or enable the platform to automatically reach out to the best-fitting clients on their behalf with a customized message. The tool empowers SMBs to optimize their schedules, reduce downtime, and increase profitability, all while maintaining control over how AI-driven automation is implemented within their business operations.
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Based on data collected throughout the early access phase, the SMB community is quick to realize the potential of using AI to combat calendar gaps and last-minute cancellations. Notably, 50% of users chose to enable automation and allow vcita to reach out to the suggested clients on their behalf, signalling the growing trust in AI as a reliable ally for business owners.
“Small businesses operate in a fast-paced environment where every appointment counts,” said Itzik Levy, CEO and Founder of vcita. “Missed appointments don’t just affect daily operations, they directly impact revenue. This is a great example of how AI can be harnessed to improve the lives of small businesses, the backbone of our economy. AI holds a tremendous promise for the SMB market, and we are proud to lead the way with simple yet effective AI tools.”
vcita’s new AI scheduling tool is powered by Apptor, a promising startup offering AI infrastructure for the scheduling, e-commerce, and direct selling industries, including solutions such as scheduling optimization, next-day gaps, and last-minute cancellations. Yoav Shpringer, Co-Founder and CEO of Apptor said, “We are proud and excited to see our technology come to life through vcita’s solution. Apptor has a proven track record of leveraging AI to increase revenue by 7-12% and uplift customer LTV (Lifetime Value) by 11%.”
This release is part of vcita’s series of AI features launched to the SMB market, which began with the launch of BizAI, the first AI-powered SMB business advisor, and the recent rollout of AI Reply. As a partner-first company, vcita is also committed to making its AI technology available to its partners, providing the infrastructure for SMB-facing organizations to bring their own AI propositions to their SMB clients.
SOURCE: PRNewsWire