Otto Group builds ogGPT, an in-house secure ChatGPT-style assistant on Azure OpenAI Service, for 26,000 employees

Overview

Otto Group IT built ogGPT, an in-house solution based on Azure OpenAI Service where users can upload documents and knowledge databases and ask questions. It currently has 26,000 employee users, data is stored in Europe for GDPR compliance, and the next goal is to add a further 10,000 users. One internal communication lead reports summarizing a 20-page presentation in half an hour instead of up to three hours.

The challenge

Otto Group, which employs over 41,000 people worldwide, relied on tools such as FAQ documents and wikis, and the harder it is for employees to access information and use know-how, the slower and less efficient its processes become; bringing legal, cloud compliance and the works council together was needed to make a ChatGPT-style tool work within data protection and information security requirements.

The solution

Otto Group IT built ogGPT on Azure OpenAI Service, which also provides the large language model. Users can upload documents and knowledge databases; when an employee asks a question, the tool relays the query to the OpenAI Service, which can mine those knowledge databases to answer. User administration is managed through Microsoft Entra ID, and the data is stored in Europe.

Reported business value

ogGPT currently has 26,000 employee users and the next goal is to add a further 10,000. One internal communication lead says that summarizing a 20-page PowerPoint presentation, including translation into English, now takes half an hour instead of up to three hours.