Expectations vs Reality: what could AI really do for utility companies?
83% of top European utility executives consider artificial intelligence as a high to medium priority for their business, and in the next 1-5 years, more than 20% of efficiency gains from AI are expected in this industry. However, there is a telling paradox in the utility market - while most of the utilities think AI will have a big impact on their business, only 1/5 of companies have a clearly defined AI strategy. Do utilities understand the real power of AI?
Let’s jump in and explore this with Inita Janovska - Karlsberga, Customer Relations Manager at Tilde and Aivis Kasparāns, Billing and Customer care systems division Manager at Latvenergo - the largest provider of energy services in Baltics.
Conversational Agent customized for industry needs
Virtual assistants, known as smart chatbots, can perform natural human-like communication with users and include modalities such as text, images, emoticons, video and audio. Bots can perform specific tasks, such as product cancelation, reporting an outage, paying bills, or helping with customer service. The power of AI can be leveraged to fight internal technical challenges with the IT helpdesk bot.
Inita Janovska-Karlsberga, Customer Relations Manager at Tilde concludes: “Today's AI-powered chatbots are great at providing constant customer service 24/7, which is invaluable in today's inconsistent and unpredictable circumstances. Chatbots serve as a bridge between the real customer's needs and the latest technology that works hand-in-hand, providing high-quality and modern customer service.”
Virtual assistants, known as smart chatbots, can perform natural human-like communication with users and include modalities such as text, images, emoticons, video and audio. Bots can perform specific tasks, such as product cancelation, reporting an outage, paying bills, or helping with customer service. The power of AI can be leveraged to fight internal technical challenges with the IT helpdesk bot.
Navigating the crisis – when in-person customer support is simply not an option
The specifics of the industry forces businesses to be able to react to sudden and dramatic changes, for example, seasonal surges, when call centers are overloaded with many similar questions. But COVID-19 has forced many businesses around the globe to rethink their AI strategy.
"For many years, business owners and leaders have known that digital transformation is essential, however, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a defining moment - companies that have invested in technologies were more prepared to respond to the crisis, while others could not adapt to new circumstances so easily; for example, entirely shifting to digital communication with customers, when physical customer care centers were closed. Language technologies are the solution - they provide great support for customer service operators, while keeping people safe in such challenging times,"
explains Inita.
Speech technologies pushing ahead enterprises
The global Voice and Speech Recognition Technology Industry is expected to grow from US$ 6 Billion in the year 2020 to US$ 32.2 Billion by 2027, which means that this technology is here to stay. Companies are ready to acquire and develop new technologies, and one of the examples where the outcome was better than expected, was at the larger provider of energy services in the Baltics- Latvenergo Group.
"In 2018, we introduced an AI solution – it was not talking with customers or texting them, but understood the spoken Latvian language with a high degree of accuracy. The solution transformed voice recordings and customer calls concerning power consumption into text that was later sent to the system. This small automatization step allowed us to save working hours per week on the average 80, and improve business productivity and customer satisfaction,"
explains Latvenergo Billing and Customer Care Systems Division Manager Aivis Kasparāns.
The future is bright for AI in utilities
Next to the increasing preference for intelligent customer engagement, the newest data from industry demonstrates that the Conversational AI industry is booming, and chatbots in the customer service segment, in particular, are expected to be one of the fastest-growing market segments by 2026.
"Conversation AI has huge potential in the future, especially in customer service. Virtual Assistants serve as a new and reliable communication channel for potential and current customers. Also, smart chatbots provide relief for customer support teams – they take over routine issues, allowing specialists to focus on more important issues, make better use of their time, and increase efficiency and satisfaction. It's a win-win solution for all parties, which is why this technology is here to stay.”
concludes AI expert Inita Karlsberga.
“Artificial intelligence and data are two incredible concepts. Valuable data provided by the AI allow to improve customer service processes, and base business decisions on detailed analytics: for example, by taking into consideration the questions that people tend to ask, complaints that customers mostly have and so on,” points out Aivis Kasparāns.
We are in the middle of the fourth industrial revolution, which is evolving faster than ever, and technology is the main driving force. Are you ready for the future? Contact Tilde experts and get your tailored introductions to the benefits of conversational AI for your company!
