Businesses are being given access to a fully-funded suite of AI & automation tools to help them cope with the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Free to access at GoSmarter.ai, the project is funded by the UK Governments Research & Innovation department, Innovate UK, and has been developed by Artificial intelligence (AI) company Nightingale HQ.

The first tool, released this week, supports businesses with their social media listening. It will listen out for mentions on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and using AI, works out if there’s a problem like a complaint. Any problems then get sent via email for immediate handling and the whole workflow is completely customisable to each businesses unique needs without needing IT staff.

Typically, this technology would cost a minimum of £150 per month, putting it outside the reach of small to medium-sized businesses whose resources may already be stretched thin. The GoSmarter Social Listening tool is a free solution at a time when numbers on social media have skyrocketed and monitoring brands online has never been so important.

The GoSmarter team will release a new tool each week for six weeks starting with Social Media Listening and continuing with FAQ Chatbots, Productive meetings, Sales AI, Automating invoice processing and admin tasks with Process Automation.

As well as free access, the GoSmarter.ai team will support businesses by helping them get the software up and running quickly. They are designed to be accessible to SMEs across all industries with participants already registered from retail, hospitality and manufacturing sectors.

Nightingale HQ helps larger enterprises to adopt AI technologies, but their CEO and Data Scientist Steph Locke said she was keen on bringing the benefits to smaller businesses too: “Our mission has always been to help organisations and businesses get AI-ready. So we are delighted to be releasing the first in a series of free, easy-to-integrate AI tools which will really help those struggling to keep costs down whilst also growing their business. Automation isn’t just for big businesses and there’s lots of tools SMEs can use without tech staff or a large budget.

“Our first tool can be a real game-changer, it removes the grunt work of having to manually monitor and react to social media interactions and frees up staff to engage in more productive or high-value work.

“If the rapid changes and uncertainty of the pandemic have taught us anything it’s that businesses need to be able to adapt as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Simply put, this technology will help organisations be more productive on a smaller budget, and thanks to the Innovate UK Grant, we are able to make a real difference.”

Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government. It aims to invest in projects that could support UK businesses focus on the emerging or increasing needs of society and industries during and following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Executive Chair of Innovate UK, which has backed the initiative, Dr Ian Campbell said: “In these challenging times many businesses, organisations and individuals are facing the stark reality that they must try to do more with less. However, it’s equally true that our UK pioneers and entrepreneurs are demonstrating their resilience and proving time and again how they can adapt through enterprise and innovation.

“The AI & automation tools that Nightingale HQ are delivering through GoSmarter.ai have the potential to provide a real boost to SMEs across the UK and beyond, so we’re proud to have supported them through our COVID19 Fast Start fund.”

The tools will be published weekly from the 17th of August. Full details of the initiative and how to sign up are on the GoSmarter website.