„Until quite recently, a conversation with AI usually meant a few pre-prepared answers. Today, AI can understand freely formulated questions, maintain the context of the conversation, help perform specific actions, or recognize when human assistance is needed. The most important result for the customer is to get an answer faster, without waiting for a consultant to become available,“ says Ugnė Okulevičienė, AI project manager at Bitė Lietuva.
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AI can already be called
AI, with which you can not only chat but also talk on the phone, already serves millions of people. For example, the AI solution of the well-known financial services company Revolut in Lithuania operates in 20 countries worldwide and handles about 25,000 calls per month in different languages, the company reports. It is estimated that a customer’s question can be resolved up to 8 times faster than communicating with a consultant.
„The value of voice AI appears when the conversation is not limited to just answering a question. In the case of Revolut, during one conversation, you can perform actions with cards, block them, manage subscriptions, monitor investments, and plan a budget. If necessary, AI can transfer the conversation to an employee,“ says U. Okulevičienė.
AI is increasingly employed to serve huge customer flows. The AI used by e-commerce giant Amazon answers customer questions by voice, text, email, and other channels. When speaking by voice, the customer can talk naturally, in their own words – AI understands the reason for the call, can ask additional questions, recognize the tone of voice, and does this in more than 50 languages.
„The music and podcast platform Spotify uses AI to reduce language barriers. The company, which has more than 760 million customers worldwide, uses AI translation in customer service conversations in real time – so consultants can help customers speaking different languages,“ says U. Okulevičienė.
Customers have to wait less
AI has also been used for many years by companies providing everyday services. The Billie solution introduced by Ikea in 2021 can check order status and delivery time, notify about missing or damaged goods. This AI tool independently resolves about 47% of all customer inquiries, Ikea reports.
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„The greatest benefit of AI is revealed when solving frequently recurring questions. The customer does not have to wait in line, and employees have more time for more complex situations where human involvement is truly needed. For example, it is reported that the AI used by H&M resolves up to 70% of customer inquiries,“ says the AI project manager of the digital services company Bitė Lietuva.
Germany’s telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom communicates with customers 24/7 both in writing and by voice using AI.
AI also works in customer service in Lithuania. Last year, the digital services company Bitė Lietuva introduced the AI consultant AI-stė, who communicates with customers in writing.
„Since the start, more than 200,000 Lithuanians have already communicated with AI-stė. She independently helped resolve about 70% of all inquiries,“ counts U. Okulevičienė.
AI-stė provides an answer on average within 6 seconds, about 10 times faster than a consultant. At the same time, she can serve practically an unlimited number of people.
