Swedish telco cut customer service queues from months to minutes with conversational AI
Hallon, a subsidiary of the Swedish telecom giant Tre, embarked on a digital transformation journey by implementing Berry, a conversational AI-powered virtual agent developed on the boost.ai platform. Since its inception in 2020, Berry has not only been instrumental in helping to revolutionize Hallon's customer service approach but has also become the primary point of contact for customer inquiries, aligning with the company's digital-first strategy and commitment to efficient, customer-centric service.
Hallon’s results at a glance…
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Up to 90% resolution rate in customer interactions
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Up to 65% of all inquiries fully automated
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40,000 avg. monthly conversations
As Hallon's customer base rapidly expanded, the company encountered significant challenges in managing the surge in customer inquiries. Traditional customer service methods were increasingly strained, marked by growing backlogs in email inquiries and a high frequency of dropped live chats. This escalating situation underscored the critical need for a scalable and efficient solution, prompting Hallon to turn to the advanced capabilities of conversational AI.
Implementation and impact
The introduction of Berry marked a turning point. Designed to handle a significant portion of customer interactions, the AI-powered virtual agent was strategically implemented to manage common inquiries and streamline customer service processes.
“The efficiency difference is night and day. We had a month's backlog in our support emails, and now with Berry, we have less than five-minute queue times.” - Oskar Lindhé, Product Owner, Hallon
Hallon took advantage of boost.ai’s no-code conversation builder and pre-built content tailored for the telecommunications industry to build and deploy Berry in less than 6 months. They then continued to iterate and improve the virtual agent over time, using conversation data to expand its capacity to answer customer inquiries, building out new answers without the need for technical expertise.
Since Berry's deployment, Hallon has observed significant improvements in service efficiency and customer satisfaction, including:
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A significant reduction in email backlog and chat wait times, enhancing overall customer experience.
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Significant handling of customer inquiries by the virtual agent, relieving the burden on human agents and allowing them to focus on more complex cases.
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Improvement in key performance indicators, reflecting heightened customer satisfaction.
Embracing digital transformation
Berry's success is partly due to its integration with key systems like Zendesk and various backend platforms. These integrations have enabled functionalities such as bankID verification, facilitating secure account access and seamless transitions between Berry and human agents. Berry's ability to handle a range of inquiries, from simple FAQs to more complex account-related info such as PIN and PUK codes, showcases its advanced capabilities and adaptability.
Berry has also contributed to improvements in cost minimization and better operational efficiency. While Hallon's customer base has quadrupled over the past five years, the effectiveness of Berry has eliminated the need for a proportional increase in customer service headcount.
“Thanks to Berry, we’ve been able to minimize operational costs. We haven’t needed to expand our customer service teams, even though our customer base has grown exponentially.” - Oskar Lindhé, Product Owner, Hallon
Berry’s future and expansion plans
Looking ahead, Hallon has ambitious plans to expand Berry's scope. Currently, Berry is not only pivotal in customer service but also aids in the checkout process and contributes to Hallon’s anti-churn efforts. Specifically, the virtual agent intervenes during the subscription termination process, engaging customers at a critical juncture to facilitate direct contact with the right personnel, thereby aiding in retention strategies.
In addition to these roles, Hallon is testing Berry in second-line support and in lead generation for new sales, expanding its utility across various customer interactions. These developments are part of Hallon’s larger plan to augment Berry’s capabilities, including the exploration of the boost.ai platform’s integration of advanced AI technologies such as generative AI, which are poised to further enhance the customer service experience.
Hallon's journey with Berry epitomizes the transformative potential of conversational AI in customer service. The virtual agent has not only streamlined operations but also aided in enhancing customer satisfaction, highlighting Berry's role in reshaping customer service dynamics and setting a benchmark for innovation in the telecommunications sector.
