Box, the content management cloud solution, has announced the upcoming availability of Box AI, a new capabilities suite that natively integrates advanced AI models into the Box Content Cloud. The AI integration will extend Box’s enterprise-grade standards for security, compliance and privacy to the latest wave in technology.
Recently, numerous companies have announced the addition of AI capabilities to seamlessly generate content, provide timely responses to vital questions and facilitate discovery and sharing of insights. For examples of this, check out my recent analysis of Google’s generative AI in Workspace and Moor Insights & Strategy’s CEO and chief analyst Patrick Moorhead’s on Microsoft’s AI Copilot. What sets Box’s announcement apart is its AI’s ability to generate responses based on an organization’s or individual’s data that resides in Box. Box has teamed up with OpenAI to integrate the company’s large language model (LLM) services and plans to add additional LLM providers in the future.
In this piece, I’ll look at what Box AI can do, how it changes the way people work within Box Content Cloud and the overall AI outlook for Box.
Not an ordinary out-of-the-box solution
Box will integrate OpenAI’s most advanced AI models with the Box Content Cloud to enable new ways to digest and create content on Box. Within Content Cloud, Box AI will help users quickly find the relevant information they need when they need it. It will do this within the context of an organization’s files, resulting in improved response accuracy with no need to toggle between applications.
Box AI’s capabilities are just the beginning for Box’s planned generative AI platform. The aim is to enhance productivity by allowing users from the company’s 115,000-plus customers to generate content directly from Box Notes using existing data. Box AI will thus make organizational files more valuable and useful.
“We are at the start of a platform shift in enterprise software driven by recent advancements in generative AI, and nowhere is the potential impact greater than in enterprise content,” said Aaron Levie, cofounder and CEO of Box. “We’ve seen a step function improvement in our ability to analyze and synthesize the massive amounts of data contained within an organization’s unique documents, videos, presentations, spreadsheets and more. When combined with AI, we will be able to unlock the value of this content … With Box AI we’re just getting started with how we’ll transform the way work gets done.”
Locked Box for data security and privacy
Box developed its AI capabilities guided by Box’s AI Principles for responsible and ethical use. This includes keeping customers in control of their data and allowing users to access only the files and content they are authorized to access. The technology will be governed by Box’s built-in permissions, ensuring it complies with enterprise-grade security, privacy and compliance standards.
Box AI capabilities help people work smarter, not harder
Box’s AI capabilities promise to revolutionize how users interact with their files. Whether pulling insights from a spreadsheet, summarizing a presentation or querying a document, users can easily extract relevant data from content they have. With Box AI, users can make the most of their content, unlocking new possibilities for productivity and growth.
The new features can help various departments in an organization improve workflows. Before the announcement, I met with Ben Kus, Box CTO, and he highlighted several potential use cases for me. As one example, financial analysts can use Box AI to summarize lengthy financial reports to inform their rating recommendations. Legal teams can speed up review cycles by asking Box AI to identify key contract clauses, terms and obligations. HR can use product strategy documents to summarize skills needed for a new hire and then create a job post. In addition, customer service or employee engagement teams can use Box AI to surface insights from hundreds of feedback surveys to identify critical areas for improvement.
Users from many different functional areas can easily create emails, newsletters, blog posts, agendas, manuals and reports of varying tones, lengths and styles by leveraging existing content in Box.
Kus says that in the future Box plans to embed Box AI across its product suite and power more complex use cases to automate workflows and tasks for faster business outcomes. I think one very compelling use case is the ability to power security at scale by automatically classifying files.
Wrapping it up with a bow
There is no doubt that generative AI will play a key role in helping businesses reach the next stage in the future of work, and Box has created a clear path for its users to extract more value from their content.
As a Box user for investment documents, I especially like that Box is bringing the power of advanced AI models together with its enterprise-grade security, compliance and privacy standards. While Box currently doesn’t use companies’ data to train the LLM, I look forward to seeing how the company isolates models’ training within tenant data securely in the future – based on hubs with a language and structure Box customers already understand.
Box will preview Box AI at its virtual Content Cloud Summit on May 9. I imagine it will generate much interest from Box’s customers and the broader enterprise content management community. During the summit, the company will also discuss its plans to enhance the developer ecosystem with access to custom APIs.
With more AI capabilities to come, Box AI is set to play a vital role in driving the next stage of the future of work and helping businesses stay ahead in an increasingly competitive and fast-paced market.
