ZEST, a Revenue Improvement Platform for Home Healthcare and Eldercare, Launches "ZEST AI Assistant," the First Phase of its "AI Agent" Concept!

ZEST Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Junsuke Isshiki; hereinafter referred to as ZEST), a provider of schedule optimization and management support cloud services for visiting nursing care, eldercare, medical treatment, and facilities, is pleased to announce the launch of "ZEST AI Assistant." This is the first phase of its "AI Agent" concept, which was recently announced and aims to strongly support the autonomous resolution of business operational challenges by leveraging generative AI.

ZEST AI Assistant will initially start with two roles. The first is "Support AI," which answers questions about ZEST operations 24/7 on the spot. The second is "Availability Search AI," which, when accepting new clients, allows AI to search and propose which staff member is available and when, in place of a human. It will serve as the "right-hand man" for managers and administrators of visiting nursing care and home eldercare services who are struggling with severe staff shortages and complex schedule management, powerfully boosting operational efficiency and revenue improvement. This feature is currently in "trial operation" and will be provided free of charge to all customers during this period.

Background of the Release: Dramatically Reducing the Burden on Busy Managers and Administrators

In the field of visiting nursing care and home eldercare, a significant amount of time is spent on "schedule adjustments" that combine the ever-changing wishes of clients and staff shifts. This leaves managers and administrators with little time to focus on crucial management decisions such as "recruitment" and "improving profitability." ZEST aims to evolve from a traditional "SaaS that users utilize" to an "AI-native SaaS" where AI thinks and proposes on its own, creating an environment that assists in decision-making like an experienced professional. The first step in this evolution is "ZEST AI Assistant," which integrates AI that instantly resolves on-site questions and AI that finds and proposes available slots.

Two Roles of ZEST AI Assistant

1 Support AI: Instantly Resolves System Operation Questions 24/7

By combining a sophisticated system built on Google Cloud with Google's cutting-edge generative AI "Gemini," it answers questions about ZEST operations and features in real-time, 24 hours a day.

Reduces the effort of contacting support: For example, for frequently asked questions from administrators like "how to resend an invitation email whose expiration date has passed," the AI provides easy-to-understand, step-by-step answers.

Secure and reliable environment: Input data is never used for LLM (Large Language Model) learning or training.

2 Availability Search AI: Proposes Optimal Visiting Slot with Just a Few Conditions

This feature allows AI to instantly search and propose "which staff member is available and when" when accepting new clients.

AI complements incomplete conditions: By simply entering the day of the week and service provision time (required), AI will automatically analyze and supplement missing information such as the day of the week or address, treating it as a "weekly visit" or basing it on "the business office's location."

Optimal proposals considering travel time: Candidate slots found by AI are marked with a "robot icon." Clicking on it provides specific reasons for the recommendation, such as "This time slot has a low utilization rate of X% and is the easiest to schedule. It allows ample time even with travel from the previous visit." This enables anyone to make optimal schedule adjustments.

Enabled with One Click from Business Settings, Offered "Free" During the Trial Period

This feature can be activated by simply enabling a checkbox in the "Business Settings" screen within ZEST. The icon in the lower left will change to a robot, and it will be immediately available. There will be no usage restrictions immediately after release, and all functions will be available "free of charge." We have created an environment where users can experience the convenience of generative AI firsthand and feel the reduction in their workload. *While future restrictions or paid services may be introduced depending on usage and cost increases, it will be available for free during this trial operation period.

[Future Outlook] This is Just the Beginning. The "AI Agent" Roadmap is Coming Soon

This release is merely the first step in ZEST's "AI Agent" concept. We plan to research and release a series of innovative features that will exceed the expectations of managers by the end of the year.

[Phase 2] Availability Search for General Appointments: AI will instantly search for and automate the adjustment of available time slots among staff members for meetings involving multiple people, including supervisors, colleagues, and oneself.

[Phase 3] Business Card Reading and Input Assistance via Camera: When registering collaborators in RRM (Sales DX Cloud), AI will automatically recognize and assist with input by simply taking a photo of the business card with a smartphone app camera, drastically reducing the administrative burden of sales activities.

[Phase 4] ZEST BOARD "Executive Summary" Report: AI will autonomously identify and summarize key changes from the previous week (e.g., new staff onboarding status, fluctuations in utilization rates) that are of most interest to managers, based on data across multiple screens of the management dashboard. In the future, we plan to implement a "voice reading function" to listen to reports by voice while on the move.

Further ahead, we are researching and developing features that will autonomously guide businesses towards maximizing revenue, such as suggesting schedule changes to create new openings by altering one person's schedule, and AI recommendations for partner organizations (visiting destinations) based on specific conditions.

ZEST will continue to evolve beyond simply providing tools, acting as a "management partner" for the future, enabling everyone in the eldercare and healthcare fields to safely utilize the latest technology and operate their businesses sustainably and soundly. We look forward to your continued support of ZEST's future developments.

ZEST Inc. Company Overview

With the mission "To create infrastructure that becomes a source of hope in an ultra-aging society," we operate the revenue improvement platform "ZEST" specializing in the home healthcare and eldercare industry.

Services on the "ZEST" platform include the automatic visiting schedule creation cloud "ZEST SCHEDULE," "ZEST HUB" for field staff to work comfortably, the dashboard "ZEST BOARD" to visualize business operational status, the new concept industry-specific sales DX cloud "ZEST RRM," and "ZEST MEET" to support multi-professional collaboration. As these services are systems used in home healthcare and eldercare settings, we have obtained ISMS and 3 Ministries' Guidelines compliance, and Medical ISAC certification as security measures, and strive to ensure they can be used with peace of mind.

Company Name: ZEST Inc. CEO: Junsuke Isshiki Location: 4F, VORT Shinjuku Gyoen, 2-3-11 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0022 Business Activities: Operation of the revenue improvement platform "ZEST" for the home healthcare and eldercare industry, and other related businesses. Product HP: https://zest.jp/ Corporate HP: https://zest.jp/corporate

"ZEST" Revenue Improvement Platform to Maximize Revenue from Visiting Schedules

"ZEST" provides a platform that supports revenue maximization for businesses in the home healthcare and eldercare industry. By utilizing the various data accumulated through the creation of visiting schedules, which are essential for visiting services, it supports activities crucial for business revenue improvement. Simply by "ZEST-ifying" the creation of visiting schedules, it supports "improved utilization rates," "creating a work environment that attracts and retains staff," and "maximizing sales efficiency," ultimately contributing to business management and operations that can continue to provide stable care.