Documents & Resources

Executive Summary

AI4Better is a social enterprise founded on a simple, powerful premise: that artificial intelligence can and should be used to improve the lives of real people. Established by a team of leading UK academics in AI and computer science, the company develops practical, ethical, and human-centred AI applications focused on solving critical communication challenges in healthcare and housing.

Our initial flagship products, My Doctor's Voice (MDV) and AI4Better Tenant Support, are designed to address systemic inefficiencies that impact patient care and tenant welfare. MDV transforms clinical consultations into accurate, structured documentation for clinicians and clear, actionable summaries for patients. The Tenant Support system provides an intelligent, responsive, and cost-effective alternative to traditional call centres for housing providers.

What distinguishes AI4Better is our foundational structure and development ethos. Over one-third of the company is owned by the educational charity E-TEACH, creating a virtuous cycle where commercial success directly funds our social mission. We operate not in isolation, but in close collaboration with domain experts, ensuring our technology is grounded in real-world needs and guided by the highest ethical standards.

1. Introduction: Technology as a Social Enterprise

The discourse surrounding artificial intelligence often oscillates between utopian promise and dystopian fear. At AI4Better, we navigate a more pragmatic and purposeful path. We see AI not as an end in itself, but as a powerful tool to be meticulously crafted and responsibly deployed to address tangible human needs.

AI4Better was founded in 2024 by Professor Robert Zimmer, Professor James Ohene-Djan, and Professor Mark d'Inverno—academics with decades of experience in artificial intelligence, digital education, systems architecture, and ethics. Our mission is threefold:

• To Create AI with Purpose: We build intelligent tools that support individuals in vital areas of their lives.
• To Teach and Empower: We are committed to broadening the understanding of AI across all walks of life.
• To Give Back: Our unique corporate structure ensures our growth contributes directly to charitable causes. The educational charity E-TEACH owns 35% of AI4Better, making it the largest single shareholder.

This model moves beyond conventional corporate social responsibility, embedding social impact into our very DNA. Our success is measured not only by our technological innovation but by the real-world value we deliver to our partners and the communities they serve.

2. The Challenge: Overcoming Systemic Communication Failures

Despite technological advances, many of our most critical public services are hampered by outdated, inefficient, and frustrating communication systems. These failures create significant burdens for professionals and lead to poor outcomes for the public. AI4Better is focused on two of the most acute areas of need: healthcare and housing.

In Healthcare:

The burden of clinical documentation is a well-documented crisis. NHS clinicians report spending, on average, 13.5 hours per week on paperwork—time that could be spent on patient care. This administrative load contributes to burnout and can lead to incomplete or inaccurate records. Simultaneously, patients struggle to retain the information given to them. Research shows that patients forget 40-80% of what is said in a consultation, and nearly half of what they remember is incorrect.

In Housing:

Communication between tenants and housing providers is frequently managed by traditional call centres, which are expensive to operate and often a source of immense frustration. Long wait times, inconsistent advice, and inefficient logging of requests lead to delays in resolving issues, from minor repairs to urgent welfare concerns. This can erode trust and leave tenants feeling unheard and unsupported, while placing a significant administrative and financial strain on housing associations.

3. Solution I: My Doctor's Voice (MDV)

My Doctor's Voice (MDV) is an AI-powered assistant designed to revolutionise clinical consultations by addressing the dual challenges of clinician documentation and patient comprehension.

How it Works:

Using a simple microphone, MDV securely records conversations between clinician and patient. The AI engine then transcribes and intelligently synthesises the dialogue in real-time, cross-referencing the conversation with the patient's existing medical records. By the end of the consultation, MDV produces multiple synchronised outputs tailored precisely to different audiences and needs:

• Structured Clinical Notes: Comprehensive, accurate, and consistently formatted notes (e.g., history, findings, assessment, plan) ready for clinician review and seamless integration into Electronic Health Records (EHR).
• Patient-Friendly Summaries: Clear, concise, and jargon-free summaries tailored to the patient's age, language, literacy, and comprehension level, enhancing understanding, adherence, and engagement.
• Specialised Reports: Customised outputs designed explicitly for carers, interpreters, multidisciplinary teams, and safeguarding professionals, ensuring every stakeholder receives relevant information in a format suited to their role.

Key Advantages:

• Tailored Communication for Diverse Audiences: Unique ability to automatically generate summaries and reports adapted by content, tone, and language to meet the specific needs of different recipients—patients, carers, specialists, and support teams—optimising clarity and effectiveness across all interactions.
• Reduced Administrative Burden: Frees clinicians from extensive typing and dictation, enhancing productivity.
• Improved Patient Outcomes: Empowers patients through increased understanding and improved compliance with care plans.
• Enhanced Documentation Quality: Produces accurate, context-rich clinical records, reducing the risk of errors or omissions.
• Seamless Workflow Integration: Minimally disruptive design integrates smoothly into existing clinical workflows and systems.

Development Status: MDV has demonstrated the capability to generate coherent draft letters from mock consultations and produce tailored summaries from real-world NHS clinical data. The next phase involves refining structured note templates and specialised reporting formats in collaboration with clinical experts and stakeholders, further enhancing accuracy, relevance, and usability.

4. Solution II: AI4Better Tenant Support

The AI4Better Tenant Support system is an intelligent, voice-based AI that offers a modern, efficient, and empathetic first point of contact for tenants.

How it Works:

The system uses a conversational AI to interact with tenants via telephone. It is designed to understand natural language, handle multiple calls at once without waiting times, and integrate directly with property management systems.

• Intelligent Triage & Logging: The AI understands, categorises, and accurately logs the tenant's request directly into the housing provider's system.
• Contextual Follow-Up: The system remembers previous interactions. If a tenant calls back to add information or ask about an existing issue, the AI can access the relevant ticket and update it accordingly.
• 24/7 Availability: It provides a consistent and always-on service.

Key Advantages:

• Eliminates Wait Times: Provides immediate response to every tenant, every time.
• Drives Efficiency: Automates the logging and categorisation of requests, reducing manual work and the potential for error.
• Reduces Costs: Operates at a fraction of the cost of a traditional human-staffed call centre.
• Scalable Knowledge: Can be trained on building-specific manuals and policies to provide accurate, consistent advice.

Development Status: A live demo of the Tenant Support system is operational. It successfully demonstrates the core functionalities of real-time call handling, request logging, and follow-up management. The immediate next step is to collaborate with housing professionals to expand its capabilities beyond summarisation to include advisory and advanced triage functions.

5. The AI4Better Difference: Human-Centred, Expert-Guided AI

Technology is only as effective as the human wisdom that guides it. Our development philosophy is rooted in three core principles:

• Led by Academic Rigour: Our founding team's background ensures that our work is underpinned by a deep, evidence-based understanding of artificial intelligence, its capabilities, and its limitations.
• Grounded in Expert Collaboration: We recognise that we are not the experts in medicine or housing. Our model is explicitly collaborative. We build our prototypes to a functional stage and then seek out subject matter experts to guide the final, crucial stages of development. This ensures our products are not just technologically clever, but practically useful and contextually appropriate.
• Committed to Ethical Practice: We are deeply engaged with the ethical implications of AI. Issues of data security, algorithmic bias, and human oversight are not afterthoughts; they are central to our design process. Our solutions are built to augment, not replace, human professionals, and to empower, not alienate, the end-user.

6. The Path Forward: A Call for Collaboration

AI4Better has developed functional, promising prototypes that address clear and pressing needs in healthcare and housing. We have proven the viability of our core technology.

To transition these prototypes into fully-fledged, transformative products, we are now actively seeking to build our panel of subject matter experts. We invite clinicians, healthcare administrators, housing managers, and tenant support professionals to partner with us. Your expertise is the critical ingredient needed to refine our AI, validate its performance, and ensure it is perfectly aligned with the real-world workflows and challenges of your sector.

By collaborating with AI4Better, you have an opportunity to shape the future application of AI in your field, contributing to a social enterprise dedicated to genuine, measurable impact.

Contact Us

To learn more, request a demonstration, or explore a partnership, please contact: