We are excited to announce a major update to Cybersmile Assistant, the innovative smart assistant launched last year. The smart AI assistant currently delivers 24/7 advice and instant access to professional support resources and crisis helplines for users in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
Launched in early 2019 with the support of Rimmel London, Cybersmile Assistant is now in its second year of development as part of our three-year partnership with the cosmetics brand. After a first year spent focusing on crucial internal infrastructure, including safeguarding and crisis management features, year two of the partnership has seen a complete overhaul of the user interface and user experience of the assistant, as well as ongoing conversational training and development to ensure the assistant is providing best practice advice and guidance for important topics such as cyberbullying, mental health, body image, and online safety.
The impact of the assistant has completely revolutionized our support services. In addition to completely eradicating wait times for support and providing opportunities to react to emerging trends in groundbreaking time, the smart assistant has also drastically reduced the overall average support cost from approximately $3 to just 0.08¢ per person, enabling us to support over 200,000 people since the launch of the AI assistant in March 2019.
The AI assistant has proved invaluable for us and the wider public during 2020 by identifying trends and emerging problems in real time, enabling us to issue public safety warnings and train the assistant to provide the appropriate advice and support within hours, a task that would have taken weeks with conventional training of volunteers to tackle new and emerging issues.
Rimmel has always championed self-expression in beauty, standing against narrow definitions of beauty and people being judged because of the way they look. At Coty, we stand for everybody's right to live a beautiful life, free from prejudice and discrimination. We want to embrace and celebrate our differences and are committed to creating a more inclusive business and society. Since 2018, we've been working in partnership with The Cybersmile Foundation to raise awareness of cyberbullying. We share their vision of a digital community where everyone can feel free to express themselves without fear of ridicule and abuse. It is incredible to see the impact the Cybersmile Assistant has had so far, helping over 200,000 people since it launched. We're delighted to be working with Cybersmile throughout 2021, enabling them to expand the tool further to tackle key issues including racism, mental health and digital wellbeing.
Sarah Alshohaib, Senior Director, Rimmel London
Although the challenges of 2020 have highlighted the power and efficiency of the assistant, we both agree that there is still much more to do. With Rimmel London's support, the third year of the partnership will see us continue to develop the AI tool to provide deeper conversational understanding, enhanced accessibility, and comprehensive support in key areas identified by the assistant during the last twelve months, which include anxiety, racism, and depression.
In terms of cost-effective and scalable support solutions, our AI support assistant has transformed our capacity to help and support those in need. Reduced costs, minimal wait times, and a reactive, centralized resource all make for more lives changed and saved around the world. We are grateful to Rimmel London for making our vision of a viable AI support tool come to life and are resolute in our joint commitment to continue developing the assistant and providing life-changing support for existing and emerging issues affecting people of all ages.
Dan Raisbeck, Co-founder, The Cybersmile Foundation
We first launched our partnership in 2018 with the #IWillNotBeDeleted campaign, which empowered millions of people around the world to recognize and celebrate their unique beauty and featured a cast that included Cara Delevingne, Rita Ora, and Cybersmile ambassador Chessie King.