FM BetterForms Friday Live! - All in on AI with special guest Ian Jempson

FM BetterForms Friday Live! - All in on AI with Special Guest Ian Jempson

Introduction

Thank you to everyone who attended today's event. We at FM BetterForms are thrilled to bring you our Friday Live sessions—a meetup that's halfway between a hangout and a FileMaker workshop. Originating during the early days of COVID, we've managed to consistently draw a solid turnout, thanks to our awesome community.

This month, we're honored to have Ian Jempson from the UK. Ian is a seasoned presenter at European FileMaker meetups, and we're eager to gain insights from his vast experience in FileMaker and AI.

Agenda

1. Latest Updates

Before diving into the main event, we discussed our latest updates. Specifically, we talked about our base code update, which, despite being delayed due to a discovered bug, is almost ready to be rolled out. This update focuses on compatibility issues and navigational slug glitches.

2. AI Integration

The core topic this week was our significant advancements with AI integration into FM BetterForms. Over the past month, our primary focus has been on the AI assistant. Previously available in only three sections—HTML model, JavaScript model, and development data model—it now spans over 13 sections of the app, offering increased functionality and efficiency.

3. Features and Demonstrations

• Global AI Assistant: The new AI assistant is positioned globally within the app for seamless interaction. It takes user context and delivers highly relevant responses based on in-app positioning.

• Enhanced Capabilities: From adding OAuth integration to manipulating page schema, the AI assistant simplifies complex processes. For example, embedding shoelace web components, generating language support features, and simplifying navigation between different sections.

• Utility Tools: Our new rollback feature and improved support for named actions and HTML editors were demonstrated to enhance usability significantly.

Keynote: Ian Jempson on AI and FileMaker

Ian Jempson’s discussion on semantic search was both enlightening and eye-opening. Semantic search goes beyond basic keyword search by understanding the underlying meaning of text. This feature has a broad range of applications, from hotel review classifications to customer communication triage.

Notable Points:

• Embeddings: An embedding converts text to a vector of numbers between -1 and 1. This vector is then stored in a container field for better performance and accuracy during searches.

• Performance and Storage: Storing embeddings can be sizable, but the performance gains, especially for search queries, are worth it. Running fine-tuned models locally can also massively benefit from GPU acceleration.

• Real-World Use Cases: Semantic search can dramatically improve CRM functionalities, from normalizing mismatched addresses to streamlining customer feedback evaluation.

Future of AI in FM BetterForms

Discussing the next steps, the focus remains on extending the AI assistant's agency, ensuring it can navigate and perform tasks autonomously within the app. Long-term goals include having it generate entire applications dynamically through conversational interfaces.

Closing Remarks and Draw

After an engaging discussion, we concluded with our regular swag draw. Congratulations to Jason for finally winning this month's prize!

Keywords

• FM BetterForms
• AI Integration
• Semantic Search
• Embeddings
• FileMaker
• Ian Jempson

FAQ

Q: What is the FM BetterForms Friday Live?

A: It's a monthly meetup hosted by FM BetterForms, focusing on FileMaker development, AI integrations, and community engagement.

Q: What new capabilities does the AI assistant have now?

A: The AI assistant has expanded from only three sections to 13, providing far greater functionality and seamless user interaction across the app.

Q: How does semantic search enhance FileMaker's capabilities?

A: Semantic search allows for understanding the underlying meaning of text data, enhancing search accuracy and practical applications like customer communication and review classifications.

Q: Why was the base code update delayed?

A: We recently found a bug related to navigational slug glitches within our client portal template, which caused a delay. Once fixed, the update will be rolled out.

Q: How can I learn more about integrating AI with FileMaker?

A: Follow our monthly sessions and consider exploring resources and discussions from FileMaker community forums and specialized AI sessions led by experts like Ian Jempson.