JA Zen-Noh Hiroshima Adopts kintone-AI Integrated Service 'Smart at AI'

M-SOLUTIONS Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Toshima-ku, Tokyo; President: Manabu Uekusa), provider of 'Smart at AI for kintone Powered by GPT' (hereinafter 'Smart at AI'), a service integrating kintone with Generative AI, announced on June 4, 2026, a case study of its adoption by the Hiroshima Headquarters of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (JA Zen-Noh Hiroshima).

In pursuit of process improvement through kintone, JA Zen-Noh Hiroshima adopted Smart at AI to utilize Generative AI not merely as a personal chat tool, but as an integral part of their business workflow. Under JA Zen-Noh's strict guidelines regarding the use of Generative AI tools, this marks the first time that the use of a Generative AI tool has been approved nationwide based on an application initiated by a regional organization.

Background of Smart at AI Adoption

Since October 2025, Microsoft Copilot has been available to all staff across the entire JA Zen-Noh organization, spreading the use of Generative AI for personal tasks such as summarizing meeting minutes and drafting surveys. However, integrating Generative AI naturally into business processes remained a challenge. JA Zen-Noh Hiroshima envisioned an ideal state where 'key personnel in each department integrate AI into tasks, allowing general staff to use it without conscious effort.' Upon being introduced to Smart at AI at 'Cybozu Days,' an event hosted by kintone provider Cybozu, Inc., the ability to incorporate Generative AI as a process within kintone business apps and workflows was highly valued, leading to its adoption. JA Zen-Noh Hiroshima plans to gradually expand the scope of Smart at AI to other internal operations, starting with customer inquiry processing.

Usage and Results

Smart at AI is currently used for responding to consumer inquiries. Inquiries submitted via the JA Zen-Noh Hiroshima website are automatically imported into kintone, where Smart at AI automatically generates response drafts based on past correspondence history and predefined prompts. Staff review and edit these drafts, which are then finalized after supervisor approval via the kintone workflow. Previously, staff had to create drafts from scratch and print them on paper for supervisor review, a process that could take 60–90 minutes per inquiry. With Smart at AI, staff only need to verify and edit the AI-generated draft, and supervisor reviews are completed within kintone during spare moments. Consequently, drafting time per inquiry has been reduced to approximately 10 minutes, saving about 8–13 man-hours per month for this task. This operational efficiency has directly improved the consumer experience. Inquiry response lead time has been cut from an average of 2–3 business days to 1–2 business days, enabling swifter responses. Additionally, it has standardized response quality, eliminating variations caused by differences in individual staff knowledge and experience, and has proven effective in simplifying industry jargon for consumers. The AI-generated responses are never sent directly; human verification is always required to ensure operational safety.

A First for JA Zen-Noh: Nationwide Approval Initiated by a Regional Organization

JA Zen-Noh has strict guidelines set by its Tokyo headquarters regarding the use of Generative AI tools, requiring all checklists to be cleared for a tool to be approved for business use. Smart at AI underwent rigorous review concerning data provision and information security, which took significant time. This was not a standard-setting by the headquarters; it is the first instance in JA Zen-Noh history where the use of a Generative AI tool was approved nationwide following an application from a regional branch. The leadership's understanding of IT utilization and a corporate culture that encourages trying new things supported this breakthrough.