Kotae's Journey: From Internal Tool to AI Chatbot Solution for Small Businesses (Q&A with Tokyo Techies’ COO)

Q1: How did the idea for Kotae come about?

Kotae has its roots in Klever Suite, a product we had previously launched. We were aiming to enhance customer support for Klever Suite and decided to leverage ChatGPT's capabilities by training it specifically on our documentation and help files. Our goal was to build a chatbot that could answer inquiries about Klever Suite in both English and Japanese. The chatbot performed so well that we saw the potential for other businesses to benefit from a similar solution.

Many companies were excited about ChatGPT’s capabilities but needed something more tailored to their specific needs. This realization led us to take the proof-of-concept we built for Klever Suite and transform it into a full-fledged product that could serve the broader needs of small businesses. That's when Kotae was born.

Q2: Why did you choose the name "Kotae"?

"Kotae" is the Japanese word for "answer," and since we’re based in Japan, the name felt like a natural fit. Kotae’s primary function is to provide answers to customer inquiries, so the name encapsulates its mission perfectly. It was important to us that the name be straightforward and aligned with the product’s purpose, especially for our Japanese audience and anyone familiar with the language.

Q3: What were some of the challenges you faced during development?

One of the biggest challenges was dealing with AI "hallucinations" – when the AI confidently provides incorrect or unrelated answers. We wanted Kotae to say, “I don’t know,” rather than provide a misleading answer. So, we worked hard on optimizing the underlying AI models to minimize these issues.

Another challenge was keeping Kotae cost-effective for small businesses. Developing an AI product incurs expenses, and we wanted to ensure that these costs wouldn’t be passed on heavily to our users. Through careful optimizations, we’ve managed to make Kotae both reliable and affordable.

Q4: Why focus on small businesses as your target audience?

Kotae started as an internal solution for our own customer support, and as a small business ourselves, we deeply understand the pain points that come with limited resources. Small businesses often don’t have the budget or the in-house expertise to build and maintain a sophisticated AI solution. We wanted to create something that would specifically cater to these businesses, offering them a powerful tool without the need for extensive technical knowledge or financial strain.

We believe that the best products are built by those who also use them, so by being a small business, we could better understand and address the needs of our audience.

Q5: How does Kotae stand out from other AI chatbots in the market?

Kotae’s biggest strength is that it doesn’t try to do everything. While many AI chatbots come with a range of extra features that may not be necessary for every business, Kotae is streamlined for simplicity. It’s easy to set up, customize, and embed into your website without any coding required. Plus, Kotae focuses specifically on customer support, allowing businesses to get the answers they need without the excess.

Another key differentiator is its price point. We’ve kept the product affordable, making it accessible to small businesses that don’t need complex enterprise-level solutions.

Q6: What are your favorite features of Kotae?

While the entire platform has a range of features, one of my favorites is the balance between AI and human intervention. Kotae can provide instant, customized responses 24/7, but if the situation requires human input, it seamlessly hands over the conversation to a person. This combination allows businesses to offer immediate responses while maintaining the human touch when necessary.

Another key feature is how easy it is to embed and customize Kotae on your website, making it accessible for businesses without a dedicated IT team.

Q7: How important was user experience when designing Kotae?

User experience was at the core of Kotae’s design. We knew that small business owners might find AI intimidating, especially if they’re not particularly tech-savvy. We worked hard to ensure that the interface was as simple and approachable as possible, with no complex setup or technical requirements.

We wanted users to feel comfortable and confident using Kotae, regardless of their expertise. The initial setup is straightforward, and the dashboard is designed with simplicity in mind, so businesses can focus on improving customer support without getting bogged down in technical details.

Q8: What is Kotae’s future direction in terms of features and development?

We’ve already moved beyond the foundational stage where Kotae delivers 24/7 personalized responses. Now, we’re focusing on adding more insights and analytics to help businesses better understand their customers. For example, by analyzing the questions users frequently ask, businesses can identify areas for improvement on their website or product offerings.

In the next few months, we’ll be introducing new features like charts and graphs in the dashboard, which will provide actionable insights based on customer interactions. We’re not trying to become a full-fledged CRM, but we see huge potential in using the data gathered by Kotae to help businesses refine their support and offerings.

Q9: How do data and analytics play a role in Kotae?

Data is key to making informed decisions, and Kotae not only provides answers but also gathers valuable insights about user interactions. Businesses can use this data to understand user demographics, top questions, and areas of confusion. This kind of insight helps businesses optimize their customer experience and make adjustments to their content or support strategies.

Q10: Will AI-powered chatbots like Kotae become the norm for customer support?

Absolutely. The barrier to effective AI-powered customer support has been significantly lowered in recent years, and we’re at a point where it makes sense for businesses to adopt these solutions. AI chatbots are becoming more intelligent and capable of delivering near-human interactions, and we’re already seeing more companies embrace them.

In the next 5 years, I believe AI-powered customer assistants will be a standard feature for almost every business with an online presence.

Q11: If you had to sum up Kotae’s mission in one sentence, what would it be?

Kotae’s mission is to empower small businesses by providing an easy-to-use, AI-powered customer support solution that’s reliable, cost-effective and focused on delivering personalized answers for the brand they are offering.

About UJ (our interviewee):

Ujjwal Mishra, the COO of Tokyo Techies —the company behind Kotae—, combines his strong engineering background with business expertise to drive innovation at this IT consulting and product development firm. After starting his career as an engineer, he expanded into global business development at a major Japanese company, gaining valuable insights into bridging technical solutions with market needs.

At Tokyo Techies, Ujjwal oversees management and operations while actively leading product development initiatives, playing a key role in creating the company's flagship products, Klever Suite and Kotae. Having lived and studied in Japan for over 12 years, he blends a global perspective with a deep understanding of Japanese business practices, contributing to the successful launch of innovative IT products in a competitive market.

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