Miratap Hires Its First AI Employee to Address Labor Shortage Challenges

Miratap Inc. (Location: Osaka), an internet retailer of housing equipment, is pleased to announce that its AI employee, "Nina Mira," will officially join the company on Wednesday, April 1st, to address labor shortage issues and establish a comfortable customer experience. Moving forward, our company will promote a work style where humans and AI collaborate to provide a richer home-building experience to more customers.

In recent years, the labor shortage in the housing equipment industry has become severe, making it a challenge to secure a stable number of customer service staff. In response to this situation, our company has been a pioneer in developing fully unmanned "Smart Showrooms※." We opened the Yokohama Smart Showroom with remote customer service in 2022, followed by the Sapporo Smart Showroom with avatar-based service in 2023, establishing a service style that can deliver a high-quality customer experience without resident staff. However, while these initiatives increased convenience for visitors, they required a system where staff were always available remotely, failing to provide a fundamental solution to the labor shortage. Based on this background, we have decided to hire our first AI employee, "Nina Mira." The introduction of an AI employee will enable completely unmanned operations, eliminating the need for resident or remote staff. This will allow for customer service at any time without appointments, preventing missed opportunities due to waiting for service or congestion, and aiming to provide a comfortable customer experience. Nina Mira will be assigned to the "Wellbe Minoo HDC BOX" exhibition space within "ABC Housing Wellbe Minoo" on Saturday, April 4th, where she will be responsible for customer service.

Under our management philosophy of "Making life fun and beautiful," our company will continue to contribute to the creation of better living spaces.

※"Smart Showroom" is a registered trademark of Miratap Inc. (formerly Sanwa Company).

**■ Expected Effects of Introducing an AI Employee**

① Smooth Customer Service by Providing Basic Information She has learned the information of our products displayed in the "Wellbe Minoo HDC BOX" and can smoothly provide basic product guidance such as color variations and size options.

② Appointment-Free and Easily Accessible Service System Since no appointment is necessary, this system eliminates previous inconveniences like "unable to get a reservation" or "having to wait for a representative," providing a smooth customer service experience.

③ Optimization of Operational Costs It eliminates the need for remote staff to be on constant standby, which was necessary for operating unmanned showrooms, thus achieving a stable service system while further reducing personnel costs.

**■ Future Development**

Starting with this initiative, we will consider the nationwide expansion of Smart Showrooms equipped with AI employees and their introduction into existing showrooms in the future. By having AI handle basic product guidance, we will reduce the burden of routine tasks on our staff, allowing them to concentrate on "service that only humans can provide," such as making personalized proposals and building relationships of trust with each customer. By expanding this collaborative service style between humans and AI, we will consistently provide a high-quality home-building experience to more customers.