BQE Launches Industry’s First Conversational AI Feature

BQE Software, Inc., a global leader in accounting and project management software for professional services firms, launched Core Intelligence, an Artificial Intelligence tool that allows users to have human-like conversations with their business software to gain actionable insights about their company and perform work-related tasks.

Core Intelligence is an extension of BQE Core, a cloud-based accounting and project management platform released to great acclaim in 2017. Since that time, BQE teams developed the AI and supporting technologies needed to bring Core Intelligence to life.   

“We wanted it to be extremely robust and extremely prompt in getting answers,” said Shafat Qazi, founder and CEO of BQE Software. “If you have to wait a long time to receive an answer in a conversation, it doesn’t feel like a conversation. We also wanted this experience to be seamless, so imagine not even having to log into a computer to be in touch with your business, and forget shuffling through excel spreadsheets to make sense of your data.”    

BQE is the first company in the project management and accounting software industry to release an AI that goes beyond being a voice input and functions as an intelligent business analyst. Instead of just providing simple answers to a user’s questions, Core Intelligence looks deeply into a company’s data to make contextual connections that provide additional insights related to the questions that can be commonly overlooked. For example, while asking for your To-Dos for today, it will also remind you of the past-due To-Dos that need your attention.

“Core Intelligence will change the way we manage our business and make our business decisions,” Qazi said. “By simply talking to our software, Core users can be pro-actively informed about their company financials, project status, bottlenecks, and the rainmakers. This intelligence empowers users to make smarter business decisions and allows them to make the right decision.”

Core users can access Core Intelligence through any of their smart devices connected to Google Assistant, such as the Google Home app on their phones, a Google Home smart speaker, or a vehicle with Google Assistant connectivity. This allows them to use only their voices to get work done anywhere, instantly.

BQE will continue to update Core Intelligence every two weeks so that its functionality becomes deeper and wider. Or, as Qazi says, “We’re training it to do everything a human can do.”

Based in Torrance, California with offices in Sydney, Australia, BQE was founded by Qazi, oftentimes referred to as the “Pioneer of Professional Services,” in 1995. A structural engineer by trade, he had his own firm for eight years before founding the company. He understands the pain points associated with the engineering profession, and he and his team have created solutions tailored for AEC firms. In the process, BQE has become a place where people want to work. Earlier this year, the company won Comparably Awards for Best CEO for Women, Top 50 Best CEO for Diversity, and Best Company for Professional Development. BQE also made Inc. Magazine’s 2019 list of Best Places to Work.

With 25 years in the business, Qazi can look back at the evolution of computer technology, from mainframes to PCs, from DOS to Windows, from Desktop to Cloud, and now to mobile-first and AI, where BQE and its clients find themselves. If AEC firms want the competitive advantage from a business management perspective, they’ll have to keep an eye on the future, where they’ll find BQE’s Core Intelligence.

“You want to empower your staff with the right tools,” Qazi said.