File collaborator Egnyte has added a generative AI chatbot to its platform to summarize docs and create audio/video transcripts.
Generative AI uses large language models (LLMs) to receive human input in ordinary language, query and analyze source content files and answer queries in ordinary language. Examples such as ChatGPT have created a huge wave of interest given their ability to understand normal speech and respond quickly and in an authoritative – but not always accurate – way to a vast range of queries and requests, such as write software code and find objects in photographs.
CEO and co-founder Vineet Jain said: “While very much in vogue right now, Egnyte has been using large language models for close to a decade. The outputs of these models were historically focused on a relatively narrow set of IT security, privacy, and compliance applications.”
These existing embedded Egnyte ML models are used by customers to classify and protect sensitive data, comply with privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA, and detect anomalous usage patterns that may be indicative of a data breach or insider threat.
The latest LLMs used in generative AI are much more open-ended than this and have a wide focus, as Jain reflected: “With recent advances in AI and compute, we’re now able to unleash content intelligence for every user on our platform.”
Everyday Egnyte users, rather than data scientists and SQL-skilled folks, will be able to use a chat-based interface to ask Egnyte’s AI to answer questions and perform tasks related to the files to which they have been granted access. This will be quite different from the usual tick-a-box-and-get-a-report dashboard type interface. The AI can perform tasks such as:
- Generate summaries of large complex documents
- Create text-based transcripts of audio and video files
- Find photos within an image library containing a particular object
Egnyte chief strategy officer David Spitz said: “Generative AI is unlocking the vast troves of data and insights previously buried in people’s documents and media files while freeing up knowledge workers from countless low-value tasks.”
Egnyte’s AI uses private instances of various AI models to ensure the source data and AI-generated responses adhere to each customer’s security and compliance policies. It is being offered in a limited way to select customers and its wider roll-out and general availability will be announced at a later data
Egnyte is a late-stage startup, it was founded in 2008 and has received $137.5 million in funding, with the last round in 2018. It provides file-based collaboration and governance facilities to its enterprise customers, competing with CTERA, Nasuni and Panzura. There are more than 17,000 customers using its software.
