Imagine you're leading a quality team in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. Your systems are getting smarter, your operations more data driven. Meanwhile your inbox is flooded with vendors promising more efficiency and exclusive features, all wrapped in shiny AI ribbons. What's real and actually helpful and what's just smoke and mirrors?
That was the central question of our recent webinar AI Beyond the Hype: Real value for Quality Management, hosted by Gerben de Haan, Co-founder and Head of Product at AlisQI. Instead of marketing hype, we focused on substance. What can AI actually do for quality professionals today? What are some promising AI use cases? And how can manufacturers leverage AI to deliver tangible value?
This article summarizes the webinar's key takeaways. To view the session in full and access all the examples shown, sign up here.
Cutting through the noise: why AI isn't the goal
AI is everywhere. There's even a toothbrush out there claiming to be "AI-powered." But does anyone know what that actually means - or why it matters? This is exactly the kind of marketing noise we need to move beyond. As Gerben put it, "End users shouldn't care whether a feature runs on AI or relational databases. What matters is the value the tool delivers."
For AlisQI, that boils down to two things:
- Deepening the value the platform delivers to quality teams
- Shortening the time it takes to get to that value
AI isn't the goal. It's a means to make quality teams faster, smarter, and more effective.
Rethinking software: from features to colleagues
Traditionally, QMS platforms are a set of predefined pathways: forms, fields, and workflows that users must learn to navigate. AI changes that.
By enabling natural language interfaces, AlisQI is building a QMS that doesn't just wait for input. It understands context, interprets intent, and return answers. This shift enables users to focus on the destination, not the roadmap.
Imagine talking to your QMS the same way you'd talk to a colleague:
"How many customer complaints did we receive last month?"
"Which were the top five recurring issues?"
"Generate a COPPA plan based on recent incidents."
You ask. It answers. Fast.
Gerben calls this a shift from "buttons and features" to "roles and teammates." With the help of AI, your QMS can evolve from system into a junior quality engineer, working around the clock and always available.
During his presentation, Gerben focused on several examples and two important roles that AI could perform: the Configuration Co-pilot and the Smart QA Assistant.
AI-Powered Configuration Co-Pilot
Setting up a QMS often requires a steep learning curve. Forms, logic rules, workflows-it's a lot to grasp. Now imagine skipping all that by simply describing what you want:
"Create a registry of customer complaints. Notify the gatekeeper when a new one is entered."
Done.
Using AI, AlisQI can generate the necessary configurations in seconds. It even works off a sketch-snap a photo of a hand-drawn form and watch it become a functioning digital workflow in under a minute.
The Smart QA Assistant
From data crunching to compliance checks, AI agents are stepping in to lighten the workload. A few ways of how a smart assistant can come in handy:
- Interpreting customer complaints and surfacing patterns
- Drafting corrective and preventative action plans
- Parsing certificates of analysis
- Managing audit schedules and more
Listen to the full webinar recording and understand his explanation and examples.
Caution matters: the intern analogy
Of course, no conversation about AI is complete without addressing the risks. Hallucinations happen. Accuracy isn't guaranteed. That's why AlisQI treats its AI tools like interns - they need guidance, oversight, and a chance to earn trust.
Data privacy is equally critical. AlisQI ensures its tools are built with security in mind, and users remain in full control over what gets shared, processed, or stored.
This isn't about hype. It's about being responsible stewards of powerful technology.
Let's build the future of Quality Management together
The AI journey in quality is just beginning. What makes it exciting isn't the technology itself, but the people shaping its direction. Gerben ended the session with a simple call to action:
"We need your experience, your feedback, your data-let's build this together."
The vision? A QMS platform that adapts, learns, and evolves alongside your organization. A system that doesn't just store data, but helps interpret it. A teammate that scales with you, from shop floor to boardroom.
At AlisQI, AI isn't about bells and whistles. It's about creating real, measurable value for manufacturers beyond the hype.
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