Using AI to choose intranet software
The below table of results was recently shared with me, where the following query was used in one of the various AI tools that everyone’s using right now.
“Produce a report for business users summarising the top intranet software. Categorise these under those that are supported by or built on Microsoft SharePoint, and those that operate independently. Use star ratings that assesses the suitability of each product in the following scenarios…”
On the surface, this seems to address the question. However, there are a number of inaccuracies in my opinion, having reviewed this marketplace in depth for a number of years.
The wrong products, obvious products missing
Not all of these are intranet software solutions. ClickUp is an AI tool, Workplace by Facebook (note the old brand name, as some AI services’ knowledge usually stops at 2021) is a “communications platform” (according to their website), Yammer is an enterprise social network (ESN) that’s being retired as a brand, and SAP Jam Collaboration is another ESN.
There are also high-profile products noticeably absent from the list, such as Staffbase, Unily and Interact to name just a few.
Supported by SharePoint / operates independently
Happeo and Simmplr have been incorrectly listed as built for SharePoint, when in fact they are independent. In our analysis, they’re not even particularly focused on integrating with M365. Additionally, Yammer (now Viva Engage) is caught in the tangle of Microsoft applications so while it technically doesn’t need SharePoint, it’s positioning within the Viva suite means it needs Microsoft.
Internal communications and community scoring
I can’t comment on some of the products listed as we haven’t seen them demonstrated, but the AI’s ratings are overly generous considering what we know owing to our robust scenario assessments.
| Product | Internal communication ClearBox scores | Community building ClearBox scores |
|---|---|---|
| SharePoint | 2.5 – Half the AI’s rating. | 2.5 – Close to the AI’s rating, but we explain in our report that community capabilities mostly come from applications outside of (but integrated with) SharePoint. |
| Happeo | 3 – Almost half the AI’s rating. | 3 – Almost half the AI’s rating again. |
| Workplace by Meta | We’ve not scored Workplace recently, but feedback we’ve seen suggests it can be hit-and-miss for internal communicators. | We’ve not scored Workplace, but ‘5’ from the AI makes sense here! |
| Yammer | We’ve not scored Viva Engage individually, but it’s OK for communications | We’ve not scored Viva Engage individually, but ‘5’ seems fair here. |
| Simpplr | 3.5 – Similar to the AI’s rating. | 4.5 – More than double the AI’s rating. |
The differences between the AI generated scores and our expert evaluations are big enough to mislead, and perhaps make people think that all these products and platforms are ‘the same’.
Please download our free report, read our analysis and decide whether you feel our scores are fair, and more useful.
Cost ratings
It’s a little unclear what the cost scores indicate, but I assume higher numbers mean higher cost. SharePoint and Yammer have been underrepresented, as the cost of licensing is very expensive (despite the different licence types). The indicative cost for Happeo is nearly-ish right; we suggest it’s a mid-price product. Whereas the AI has somewhat under-priced Simpplr according to our findings.
Conclusion
Yes, it is technically possible to get guidance from an AI, but the relevance of the presented products and the accuracy of the associated ratings is questionable at best, wrong and misleading at worst.
As my colleague, Wedge, says, ChatGPT aims to sound accurate, not be accurate.
It’s why we will continue to research the industry to uncover the best intranet and employee experience platforms, and assess them against an equitable and well-researched framework.
You can see the output of hundreds of human-hours of research, free, in the form of our downloadable reports.
Elena
Great post! Thanks for experimenting and sharing the results!
ClearBox report with hundreds of human-hours are just priceless!