Cellfind and Helm unite

Cellfind and Helm team up. (Image: Supplied)

---

As businesses increasingly prioritise customer engagement, Cellfind, South Africa’s largest mobile messaging partner, has joined forces with Helm to bring advanced AI-powered chat solutions that meet customers where they’re at. It is a partnership that enables businesses to move beyond one-way mass messaging towards truly interactive, human-centric experiences.

Helm’s AI-driven technology goes beyond simple automation; it’s about delivering human-first experiences. “You can't just plug in ChatGPT and say you have AI. It's about understanding specific domains – whether it's a bank or a telco – and training models to navigate the intricacies of each sector,” explains Dawood Patel, Helm’s CEO.

For Patel, the journey towards effective AI implementation is far more nuanced than many businesses realise. “The infrastructure needs to be in place, but it also requires a deep understanding of the context in which the AI is applied,” Patel adds. This approach is what has enabled Helm to successfully tailor AI solutions that meet the unique needs of each organisation and its specific products. Helm's AI-powered solution ensures every customer interaction feels more engaging, achieved through a multidisciplinary team skilled at crafting personalised experiences that resonate deeply with users. “Helm provides both team and tool to enable human-first powered experiences,” adds Patel. “We have data scientists, service designers, software engineers and a full suite of specialists who are able to understand the human on the other side of the screen.”

Cellfind's existing infrastructure, known for supporting key channels like SMS, USSD and WhatsApp, plays a pivotal role in delivering AI-powered experiences. This is why the partnership between Cellfind and Helm is so important. "Cellfind has built the communication infrastructure, the highways that enable mass customer interactions. Helm's role is to bring the advanced, personalised capabilities that allow businesses to elevate those interactions into tailored, scalable engagements,” says Patel. This unique combination of strong communication channels and AI-driven personalisation allows businesses to deliver messages at scale while ensuring that they still feel bespoke and relevant to each individual customer. “We’ve taken communication and turned it into engagement, making sure it’s scalable and yet deeply personal,” adds Patel. The ability to create personalised experiences is critical in today’s AI-obsessed business environment. Customers no longer want to feel like they’re just another number – they expect interactions that are tailored to their needs, preferences and even the context of their previous interactions with a brand.

One of the key features that sets Helm apart is multi-channel communications. “We meet users where they are, whether it’s on WhatsApp, a website or an internal tool,” says Patel. “Rather than forcing a user to a channel that a business thinks would work, meet the user where they are.” Because Helm’s AI has multimodal capabilities and can interact through voice, text, images and even video, it creates an experience that feels natural for the user. This ability to seamlessly move between different modes of communication is also a game-changer for customer engagement as it allows businesses to interact with customers in the way that best suits the situation, whether that’s through a quick text exchange or a more in-depth conversation using voice or video.

Additionally, Helm supports multilingual interactions, a crucial element in a country like South Africa, which has 11 official languages. “Most businesses default to English, but the majority of people on the continent do not speak English,” says Patel. “Helm has invested significant time in under-resourced languages like Sotho, Xhosa and Zulu.” This multilingual focus ensures that businesses can truly engage with their customers in a way that feels authentic and inclusive. “Language is key to engagement,” Patel continues. “By providing AI solutions in local languages, we ensure that businesses can communicate effectively with a wider audience, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.”

While AI has grown over the last year, it still has limitations. “Not everyone wants to talk to a machine,” he says. “Helm Chat allows an agent to take over the interaction in a seamless manner, transferring context and content to ensure the conversation continues smoothly.” This is the ability to switch seamlessly between AI and human agents, ensuring that customers can always receive the help they need. “We don’t see AI as replacing humans, but as enabling them to focus on higher-order tasks,” Patel says, explaining that Helm AI can take care of routine interactions like checking account balances or scheduling appointments. And when an issue becomes more complex, a human agent can quickly step in to provide extra support. “We believe that understanding the customer – who they are, how they engage and what they need – is the key to making AI a true enabler of business success,” ends Patel. “We make sure that you leverage data that's available within organisations in a manner that's real, contextually relevant and actually moves human-machine interaction forward.”

By leveraging Helm's AI-driven insights with Cellfind's robust communication infrastructure, businesses are equipped to drive growth through smarter, more personalised customer interactions.

"We’re proud and excited about our partnership with Helm,” says Flavio Mariuzzi, Senior Business and Process Analyst at Cellfind. “By combining Helm’s advanced AI capabilities with our well-established communication solutions, we’re enabling our customers to elevate their engagement strategies across multiple channels. This collaboration represents a significant step forward, and we’re thrilled to journey with our customers into the forefront of AI-driven innovation, leveraging our trusted messaging channels and relationships to unlock new possibilities."

This partnership allows companies to move from generic mass messaging to deeply engaging, context-aware communication that meets customers where they are. With advanced AI capabilities across multiple messaging services and more, Cellfind enables businesses to not only reach their audience, but to resonate with them. This tailored approach is not just about technology – it's about building lasting relationships, enhancing customer satisfaction and ultimately accelerating business success.