--- title: Where can AI save time on the frontline? description: Frontline teams lose hours to tracking down information and keeping records. Zello's Ella and Smart Search put AI to work on both. image: https://blog.zello.com/hubfs/Blog%20feature%20image%20%C2%B7%20Put%20AI%20to%20work.png --- - Why Zello ### Solutions - [Frontline Communication](https://zello.com/product/frontline-communications/) - [Radio Replacement](https://zello.com/solutions/upgrading-to-zello/) - [Dispatch](https://zello.com/product/dispatch-hub/) - [Customer Assistance](https://zello.com/product/kiosk/) - [Management](https://zello.com/product/management/) ### Features - [Channels](https://zello.com/product/features/channels/) - [Message History](https://zello.com/product/features/history/) - [Emergency Alerts](https://zello.com/product/features/alerts/) - [Transcription](https://zello.com/product/features/transcription/) - [Reliability](https://zello.com/product/features/reliability/) - Industries - [Aviation](https://zello.com/industries/aviation-push-to-talk/) - [Retail](https://zello.com/industries/retail-push-to-talk/) - [Transportation](https://zello.com/industries/transportation-push-to-talk/) - [Construction](https://zello.com/industries/construction-push-to-talk/) - [Manufacturing](https://zello.com/industries/manufacturing-push-to-talk/) - [Hospitality](https://zello.com/industries/hospitality-push-to-talk/) - [Emergency Response](https://zello.com/industries/emergency-response/) - Resources - [Customer Stories](https://zello.com/customers/) - [Blog](https://blog.zello.com/) - [Hardware](https://zello.com/hardware/) - [Partner Portal](https://zello.com/partners/) - [Developer Tools](https://zello.com/developers/) - [Support Centers](https://zello.com/support/) - [Trust Center](https://trust.zello.com) - [Downloads](https://zello.com/downloads/) - [Enterprise](https://zello.com/enterprise/) - [Pricing](https://zello.com/pricing/) - - [Contact Sales](https://zello.com/contact/talk-to-sales/) - [Sign In](https://zello.com/work/login/) - [Contact Sales](https://zello.com/contact/talk-to-sales/) - [Sign In](https://zello.com/work/login/) [Try for free](https://zellowork.com/home.htm?user_cohort=master&__hstc=18491174.b7c2db323bb8152d5171aebe5ee59853.1728928254831.1728930098421.1728935329442.3&__hssc=18491174.1.1728935329442&__hsfp=544353888)[Call Sales](tel:+15125804675) - [Try for free](https://zellowork.com/home.htm?user_cohort=master&__hstc=18491174.b7c2db323bb8152d5171aebe5ee59853.1728928254831.1728930098421.1728935329442.3&__hssc=18491174.1.1728935329442&__hsfp=544353888) - [Contact Sales](https://zello.com/contact/talk-to-sales/) - [Sign In](https://zello.com/work/login/) - Solutions - [Frontline Communication](https://zello.com/product/frontline-communications/) - [Radio Replacement](https://zello.com/solutions/upgrading-to-zello/) - [Dispatch](https://zello.com/product/dispatch-hub/) - [Customer Assistance](https://zello.com/product/kiosk/) - [Management](https://zello.com/product/management/) - Features - [Channels](https://zello.com/product/features/channels/) - [Message History](https://zello.com/product/features/history/) - [Emergency Alerts](https://zello.com/product/features/alerts/) - [Transcription](https://zello.com/product/features/transcription/) - [Reliability](https://zello.com/product/features/reliability/) - Industries - [Aviation](https://zello.com/industries/aviation-push-to-talk/) - [Retail](https://zello.com/industries/retail-push-to-talk/) - [Transportation](https://zello.com/industries/transportation-push-to-talk/) - [Construction](https://zello.com/industries/construction-push-to-talk/) - [Manufacturing](https://zello.com/industries/manufacturing-push-to-talk/) - [Hospitality](https://zello.com/industries/hospitality-push-to-talk/) - [Emergency Response](https://zello.com/industries/emergency-response/) - Resources - [Customer Stories](https://zello.com/customers/) - [Blog](https://blog.zello.com/) - [Hardware](https://zello.com/hardware/) - [Partner Portal](https://zello.com/partners/) - [Developer Tools](https://zello.com/developers/) - [Support Centers](https://zello.com/support/) - [Trust Center](https://trust.zello.com) - [Downloads](https://zello.com/downloads/) - [Enterprise](https://zello.com/enterprise/) - [Pricing](https://zello.com/pricing/) ![](https://blog.zello.com/hubfs/Blog%20feature%20image%20%C2%B7%20Put%20AI%20to%20work.png) ### October 7, 2026 #### 4 minute read # Where can AI save time on the frontline? ## Frontline teams lose hours to tracking down information and keeping records. Zello's Ella and Smart Search put AI to work on both. ##### [![Bren Lawrence](https://blog.zello.com/hubfs/Hubspot%20profile%20icon.png) Bren Lawrence Zello Team](https://blog.zello.com/author/bren-lawrence?hsLang=en) Every week, frontline teams lose hours to tracking down information and keeping records. In construction, the time spent just looking for project data like revised drawings and material cut sheets comes to five and a half hours a week, according to a[survey of nearly 600 construction professionals](https://pg.plangrid.com/rs/572-JSV-775/images/Construction_Disconnected.pdf) by FMI and PlanGrid. Five and a half hours is more than half a shift. That's a lot of time for any frontline team to spend away from the main part of the job. Yet, even though tracking down information and keeping records can take up a serious amount of time, cutting either one is a no-go. Operations depend on both to know what's been done and what's still left to do. Ideally, records would get updated the moment the work is done, without anybody stopping to find a screen. And anybody who needs an answer, whether it's a stock count or what went wrong last week, could just ask for it. Zello is giving frontline teams[new ways to communicate](https://blog.zello.com/frontline-video-calling-voice-commands?hsLang=en) and[more ways to coordinate](https://blog.zello.com/frontline-task-management-qr-assist?hsLang=en), and our latest two features put AI to work on the routine tasks that eat into every shift. Ella, Zello's AI sidekick, can check a stock count or log a work order by voice while the work keeps going. Smart Search lets a manager ask a plain-language question about the operation and get an answer in seconds, along with the exact messages behind it. ![Blog image · Ella-1](https://blog.zello.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20image%20%C2%B7%20Ella-1.png?width=442&height=472&name=Blog%20image%20%C2%B7%20Ella-1.png) ## Ella: let an AI sidekick handle routine tasks Frontline workers rely on information that lives in other systems, like stock counts in inventory software or equipment status in an asset tracker. Checking that information or logging something new can mean stopping work to get to a screen, or radioing somebody else and asking them to stop instead. Ella, Zello's AI sidekick now lets workers check and update systems like inventory software and asset trackers by voice, without leaving Zello. Once an operation connects Ella to those systems, workers can ask for live information out loud and hear the answer right away. Ella can also go a step further and do things for them, like logging a maintenance request and notifying the right person, or marking a safety check complete. Handing routine tasks to Ella makes a real difference in where a frontline team's time goes. Every lookup or update Ella handles is time that goes back to the main part of the job. Retail associates can ask Ella how many of an item are in the back and hear the count out loud. Foremen on a construction site can tell Ella to log a work order for a crane, and Ella creates it in the system. Frontline operations in every industry run into requests like these all the time, and each one Ella takes on means one less reason for somebody to stop what they're doing. ![Blog image · Smart Search-1](https://blog.zello.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20image%20%C2%B7%20Smart%20Search-1.png?width=549&height=437&name=Blog%20image%20%C2%B7%20Smart%20Search-1.png) ## Smart Search: see what's been happening across your operation Frontline workers spend every shift working, and they talk to each other to get that work done. Zello, and Ella in particular, are there to help with both. Along the way, those conversations surface what the operation needs to know, like which issues keep coming up. Pulling that picture together by hand can mean waiting on a report or asking around. With Smart Search, managers just type a question in plain English, like "What safety issues came up this week?", and get the answer back without digging through a database or exporting a spreadsheet. Each answer includes the messages it came from, so it's easy to check. If an issue keeps coming back, Smart Search shows whether it's getting worse while there's still time to act. Smart Search is versatile in that it can also handle questions about activity, like what time of day a channel gets busiest or how often a certain issue has been reported. Answering questions like these means counting and comparing across the full message history, and Smart Search works out how to do that on its own. Taken together, questions about what came up and questions about activity show a manager what's going on across the operation and how it changes from hour to hour and week to week. ## **Where talk turns into action** Ella handles lookups and updates by voice while the work is happening, and Smart Search gives the operation a clear view of what came out of that work afterward. With both in place, frontline teams get time back for the main part of the job, and the operation keeps track of what's been done. Ella and Smart Search round out the six new features Zello is rolling out, alongside video calling, voice commands, Task Management, and QR Assist. Each one makes it easier for frontline teams to get from talking about the work to getting it done.[See all six features](https://get.zello.com/where-talk-turns-into-action?hsLang=en) and how they could work for your operation. ## **Frequently asked questions** **What is Ella, Zello's AI sidekick?**Ella is Zello's AI sidekick for frontline teams. Ella can now connect to the systems an operation already uses, so workers can get live information and get routine tasks done by voice without stepping away from the job. **What can Ella do once connected to an operation's systems?**Workers can ask Ella for live information, like how many of an item are in the back or whether a forklift is available, and hear the answer out loud. Ella can also take action, like logging a maintenance request and notifying the right person, or marking a safety check complete. **What is Smart Search in Zello?**Smart Search lets managers type a question about their operation in plain English and get an answer in seconds, without digging through a database or exporting a spreadsheet. Each answer includes the messages it came from, so it's easy to check. **What kinds of questions can Smart Search answer?**Smart Search answers questions about what came up, like which safety issues were reported this week, and questions about activity, like what time of day a channel gets busiest. Activity questions get answered by counting and comparing across the full message history. Trends are covered too, so a manager can see whether an issue is climbing or easing over time. **How do operations stay in control of Ella and Smart Search?**Operations decide which systems Ella can connect to and who on the team gets access. Smart Search also works on anonymized message history, for operations that need to keep their records anonymous. **What else is new in Zello?**Ella and Smart Search are two of six new Zello features. Video calling and voice commands help frontline teams communicate, and Task Management and QR Assist help them coordinate. [Previous Post](https://blog.zello.com/can-a-school-bus-tablet-work-like-a-two-way-radio?hsLang=en) ##### [Can a school bus tablet work like a two-way radio?](https://blog.zello.com/can-a-school-bus-tablet-work-like-a-two-way-radio?hsLang=en) ## Footer Navigation ### Solutions - [Frontline Communication](https://zello.com/product/frontline-communications/) - [Radio Replacement](https://zello.com/solutions/upgrading-to-zello/) - [Dispatch](https://zello.com/product/dispatch-hub/) - [Customer Assistance](https://zello.com/product/kiosk/) - [Management](https://zello.com/product/management/) - [Enterprise](https://zello.com/enterprise/) ### Features - [Pricing](https://zello.com/pricing/) - [Channels](https://zello.com/product/features/channels/) - [Message History](https://zello.com/product/features/history/) - [Emergency Alerts](https://zello.com/product/features/alerts/) - [Transcription](https://zello.com/product/features/transcription/) - [Reliability](https://zello.com/product/features/reliability/) ### Industries - [Aviation](https://zello.com/industries/aviation-push-to-talk/) - [Retail](https://zello.com/industries/retail-push-to-talk/) - [Transportation](https://zello.com/industries/transportation-push-to-talk/) - [Construction](https://zello.com/industries/construction-push-to-talk/) - [Manufacturing](https://zello.com/industries/manufacturing-push-to-talk/) - [Hospitality](https://zello.com/industries/hospitality-push-to-talk/) - [Emergency Response](https://zello.com/industries/emergency-response/) ### Resources - [Customer Stories](https://zello.com/customers/) - [Blog](https://blog.zello.com/) - [Hardware](https://zello.com/hardware/) - [Partner Portal](https://zello.com/partners/) - [Developer Tools](https://zello.com/developers/) - [Support Centers](https://zello.com/support/) - [Trust Center](https://trust.zello.com) - [Zello Advocacy Program](https://zello.com/customers/zap/) - [Downloads](https://zello.com/downloads/) ### Company - [About Us](https://zello.com/about-us/) - [Careers](https://zello.com/careers/) - [Contact Us](https://zello.com/contact/) - [Press](https://zello.com/press/) - [Brand Toolkit](https://zello.com/brand-toolkit/) - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/zello-inc/) ### Get the App - [Desktop](https://zello.com/downloads/desktop/) - [Android](https://zello.com/downloads/android/) - [iOS](https://zello.com/downloads/ios/) English (US) Choose your languageEnglish (US)Español (LA)Español (ES)Italiano (IT)Deutsch (DE)Français (FR)한국어 (KO) - [Privacy Policy](https://zello.com/legal/privacy-policy/) - [Terms of Service](https://zello.com/legal/terms/) - [Legal](https://zello.com/legal/) - [SOC 2](https://trust.zello.com) - [HIPAA](https://zello.com/enterprise/) - © 2024 Zello Inc. ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "about" : [ { "@type" : "Thing", "name" : "Ella" }, { "@type" : "Thing", "name" : "Smart Search" } ], "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Bren Lawrence", "url" : "https://blog.zello.com/author/bren-lawrence" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-07", "datePublished" : "2026-10-07", "description" : "Frontline teams lose hours to tracking down information and keeping records. Zello's Ella and Smart Search put AI to work on both.", "headline" : "Where can AI save time on the frontline?", "image" : "https://info.zellowork.com/hubfs/Blog%20feature%20image%20%C2%B7%20Put%20AI%20to%20work.png", "inLanguage" : "en-US", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.zello.com/frontline-ai-ella-smart-search", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "name" : "Zello", "url" : "https://zello.com" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "FAQPage", "mainEntity" : [ { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Ella is Zello's AI sidekick for frontline teams. Ella can now connect to the systems an operation already uses, so workers can get live information and get routine tasks done by voice without stepping away from the job." }, "name" : "What is Ella, Zello's AI sidekick?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Workers can ask Ella for live information, like how many of an item are in the back or whether a forklift is available, and hear the answer out loud. Ella can also take action, like logging a maintenance request and notifying the right person, or marking a safety check complete." }, "name" : "What can Ella do once connected to an operation's systems?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Smart Search lets managers type a question about their operation in plain English and get an answer in seconds, without digging through a database or exporting a spreadsheet. Each answer includes the messages it came from, so it's easy to check." }, "name" : "What is Smart Search in Zello?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Smart Search answers questions about what came up, like which safety issues were reported this week, and questions about activity, like what time of day a channel gets busiest. Activity questions get answered by counting and comparing across the full message history. Trends are covered too, so a manager can see whether an issue is climbing or easing over time." }, "name" : "What kinds of questions can Smart Search answer?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Operations decide which systems Ella can connect to and who on the team gets access. Smart Search also works on anonymized message history, for operations that need to keep their records anonymous." }, "name" : "How do operations stay in control of Ella and Smart Search?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Ella and Smart Search are two of six new Zello features. Video calling and voice commands help frontline teams communicate, and Task Management and QR Assist help them coordinate." }, "name" : "What else is new in Zello?" } ] } ```