Chatbots in Utilities: a Step Forward Towards CX Automation and Transactionality

This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked startups building chatbots for utility companies. Chatbots can respond to thousands of simultaneous inquiries 24×7, providing robust service support when it’s needed. Chatbots answer frequently asked customer questions quickly and easily and provide standard information about the company and products. Together, we optimize your service and support processes by reducing the workload of your front-office staff.

As utilities look to enhance customer service and optimise operations, chatbots have become a critical tool. Alternatively, for utility companies desiring a combination of structured responses and AI capabilities, hybrid chatbots offer a versatile solution. These hybrid chatbots integrate rule-based and AI-driven approaches, allowing for personalised interactions while maintaining control and accuracy. It is widely used in customer service to provide buyers with a more human-like interaction. The communication can happen through a chatbot in a messaging channel or a voice assistant on the phone.

They can assist with a range of tasks, from answering billing questions to helping customers monitor their energy usage. A hybrid chatbot combines rule-based and AI-driven approaches to provide a versatile conversational and personalised experience. It uses predefined rules for specific scenarios and frequently asked questions while incorporating AI capabilities like natural language processing and machine learning. This enables the chatbot to handle a wide range of inquiries and adapt to variations in user language. To keep up with these demands, utility companies are increasingly embracing chatbots – computer programs that employ artificial intelligence and natural language processing to simulate human conversation. Chatbots offer utilities the ability to deliver prompt and convenient support to customers, automate repetitive tasks, and enhance the overall user experience.

Instead of providing lengthy FAQ content, delight your customers with a Q&A Chatbot that converts FAQs to conversions. Boost net new revenue by approaching prospects based on their intent and propensity to apply for new connections, pricing modifications, and more. Increase Chat PG conversions by guiding them with self-service or assisted service during every stage of the acquisition and application process. The human language is so rich, wide, and full of subtleties that being able to understand every single request isn’t that easy for machines.

Automatic Queries

Also, it is inefficient for employees to manually handle customer queries because of their repetitive nature. In contrast, AI-based chatbots build customer loyalty through instant, positive, and frictionless service experiences, as well as reduce customer care costs through automation and self-service options. Hence, startups develop chatbots that instantly reply to billing, complaints, or other service requests. Especially while changing residence, chatbots ensure that utility customers continue the service by being in constant touch with them. Increasing consumer expectations, aging infrastructure, and disruptive technologies are all changing the utility sector as we know it today. Besides, most of the processes including handling utility bills, payment options, and promotional offers involve customer communication and can be automated.

Understanding all kinds of requests, even those containing misspellings and errors, Butagaz’s chatbot leads customers through their journey until they find the exact answer they’re looking for. Appointment-taking can be automated by connecting the chatbot with the scheduling system to automatically offer a suitable appointment to the customer without the intervention of any agents. Whether it is a change of invoice to paper, a change of ownership or a change of payment address. Conversational AI chatbots become your automated sales and service solution. Give visitors an easy way to find out more about your products and services with in-conversation information and links to more detailed pages. Guide them to your higher-converting landing pages and grab the opportunity to acquire more customers on your website.

Two decades ago, online payment through a company website revolutionized the relationship between utilities and their customers. The next step in expanding that relationship is offering accessibility across a plurality of devices and starting points. At the end of the day, public and private utilities are service-oriented businesses. That means treating customers well and being responsive to their needs is just as important as the flow of water, electricity, natural gas, wastewater or internet service.

Messaging is destined to profoundly change the way that businesses and customers interact. Learn how [24]7.ai can help you operationalize messaging by using conversational AI to improve customer satisfaction and strengthen loyalty. Nonetheless, if your objective is to achieve advanced real-time analytics and efficient decision-making based on customer data, investing in AI chatbots would be more advantageous. Rule-based chatbots, also referred to as button-based, menu-based, or basic chatbots, may seem rudimentary although their functionality is anything but basic. They operate on pre-set rules to guide customers towards solutions in a decision-tree workflow, providing the quickest path to resolution.

Elevate customer experience with human-like voice AI agents, proficient in understanding intent, industry-specific phrases and providing personalized responses. Whether your customers are connecting to a conversational chatbot or virtual or a human agent, our single platform allows you to build models once and deploy across messaging channels at scale. Startups such as the examples highlighted in this report focus on chatbots, advanced analytics, digital maintenance as well as predictive analytics.

It not only identifies and prioritizes incidents and complaints, but also quickly refers them to a specialized agent. It guarantees fast and effective attention to solve problems as a matter of priority. Our security and privacy policies are trusted by government bodies, healthcare providers and financial institutions. All chatbot transmissions are encrypted, and we use the best tools to ensure data privacy.

To make you benefit from JennyBot faster we have prepared Energy Sector chatbot templates. These are ready-made conversation scenarios that cover all most common questions Energy companies receive. Combine JennyBot with your Live Chat solution and deflect over 80% of frequent issues automatically, saving time for your human agents. See how Ambit automates customer service at scalewhile reducing costs and generating revenue.

Boost business growth and revenue through seamless payment collections across channels, effortlessly connecting with existing payment platforms. Slash operational costs and boost efficiency with Yellow.ai’s Dynamic Automation Platform to provide 24/7 support. As the AI revolution continues, these tools are helping chatbots for utilities businesses connect to customers more directly and effectively while actually reducing overall operating expenses for the organization. Public and private utilities can be responsible for millions of individual customers. Every single one of those customers expects straightforward access to satisfying service.

What the U.S. Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence means for your business

Empowers agents to quickly resolve customer issues across voice, video, chat, and messaging channels. Create dashboards to access real-time insights and improve customer experience. Another good example of chatbots in the utilities industry is Butagaz’s virtual assistant. Chatbots lead the charge when your customer service team experience heavier demands from customers in periods of power outage or supply issues. The utility industry often receives high call volumes from customers, which can lead to long wait times and frustration.

In the quest of a bot that acts and responds like a human, we see a need of connecting that bot with other systems to add transactionality and intelligence. Scale and automate query resolution and lead generation with a tool that provides an omnichannel and multichannel experience. We have several pricing tiers depending on your needs, you can check them out here. Stand out from competitors with prompt conversational support round the clock. The utility industry has undergone significant changes in recent years, and customer expectations have evolved. Energy-industry clients recognise the need to prioritise customer needs and enhance the overall experience in competitive deregulated markets.

Our technology easily integrates with Customer Service Software, CRMs and digital channels such as WhatsApp and Social Networks. We help you choose the best solution to automate your Customer Service and design a tailored conversational experience. Offer immediate and personalised contact to your customers, boost real-time communication.

The increase in your service quality and the satisfaction of your customers drives us. That’s why Neoenergia, part of Iberdrola, a major utility company operating around the world, decided to implement natural language understanding chatbots through WhatsApp to assist their customers. They can access their account for energy assessments, payments, meter setup and checks, bill download, power usage, and more, and they can be notified about any service disruptions. Leverage conversational AI to improve your customer service for energy services. You can foun additiona information about ai customer service and artificial intelligence and NLP. Offer up-to-date information on energy pricing or promote your energy consumption app.

Give more power to your customers with friction-less communication options. With SEW’s smart customer service chatbot, virtual agents and live chat services, energy and water providers can establish deeper and stronger customer relationships and drive digital self-service. Energize your business and customer relationships with the power of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and AI-powered agents. [24]7.ai solutions let you support your customers whenever they want it and on their device of choice.

They leverage AI to handle complex requests while maintaining accuracy and consistency through rule-based systems. The popularity of hybrid chatbots is on the rise, particularly in customer support engagements, and this upward trend is expected to continue. They expect swift responses to their inquiries, preferably through messaging channels. A study conducted by Salesforce revealed that 68% of users prefer chatbots due to their quick response time. Spanish startup Whenwhyhow develops a behavioral customer data platform (CDP). It provides customer-mindset analytics and actionable AI-based digital empathy to improve loyalty, reducing churn.

It’s important to note that while chatbots fall under the umbrella of conversational AI, not all chatbots are considered as such. Rule-based chatbots, for example, utilize specific keywords and other language cues to trigger predetermined responses that are not developed using conversational AI technology. In order to leverage the power of AI chatbots, utility companies need an IT partner with a clear vision for chatbot value realization and a track record of success. All of the above challenges need to be managed and navigated in a way that’s mindful of the need to manage costs. As utilities improve the quality and accessibility of their customer service frameworks, they must also find ways to stay as lean as possible while still providing the best possible experience for the customer. We support you in the sustainable and cost-efficient digitization of business and service models as well as the systematic mapping of technological innovations to business potential (and vice versa).

Dynamic AI agents for Oil & Gas and Utilities enable automated onboarding, timely reminders and proactive notifications for connected customer experiences. Utility companies have long relied on traditional call centers to meet customer service needs. Now, those centralized, human-intensive operations may no longer be a best practice, and support professionals must be protected without sacrificing quality of service. Customers don’t want to call support hotlines; they do it because they need to. They need to start or cancel services, report an outage, pay their bills, and so on. Making those processes easy is the difference between satisfied, happy customers creating a positive buzz in the community or on social media and frustrated clients looking to change service providers.

• Alternatively, for utility companies desiring a combination of structured responses and AI capabilities, hybrid chatbots offer a versatile solution.
• By providing a more personalized and interactive customer experience, virtual assistants are helping utility companies improve customer satisfaction and reduce support costs.
• We have several pricing tiers depending on your needs, you can check them out here.
• This enables the chatbot to handle a wide range of inquiries and adapt to variations in user language.
• Chatbots can help solve these problems by providing an efficient and accessible customer service channel that can handle a large volume of inquiries simultaneously.

Enable self-service for incoming requests to slash operational costs by up to 60%. In an automated way, electricity outages and restoration of service can be communicated to customers. Let’s take an example with Inbenta’s technology and see what their bots are already capable of doing for a utility company.

Turbocharge Your Services With Energy and Utility Chatbots

GetJenny chatbots help you reach more visitors on your website and close new contracts thanks to RPA integrations with your customer relationship management software. By offering a convenient and reliable customer service solution, chatbots can improve the overall customer experience and satisfaction in the utility industry. Chatbots can help solve these problems by providing an efficient and accessible customer service channel that can handle a large volume of inquiries simultaneously. They can also provide accurate and real-time data analysis, reducing the potential for human error in meter reading and billing.

For smaller utility companies or those with specific goals, rule-based chatbots can be a suitable and practical solution. While AI chatbots are generally more sophisticated, they may not always be necessary in this sector. By leveraging the power of chatbot technology, utility companies can better meet the evolving needs of their customers and deliver the seamless experiences they seek.

This approach reduces service costs while granting customers control over when, how, and where they engage with their utility provider. By incorporating Blicker’s chatbot, many customer interactions can be available 24/7 and handled in automated and efficient ways. Chatbots can assist customers in resolving payment issues by providing detailed billing information and assisting with payment arrangements, reducing the number of disputes. [24]7 Journey Analytics uses advanced path analytics to deliver insights that identify how to improve CX and optimize omnichannel customer journeys. [24]7.ai Engagement Cloud delivers superior omnichannel experiences by blending AI and human intelligence to discover, predict and resolve consumer intents. Seamlessly integrate with existing CRM/ERP platforms for real-time availability and tracking of waste pickup, tank refills, and technician visits.

The software replies to customers regarding billing assistance, relocation setup inquiries, new plans, promotional offers, and other queries popular in the utility sector. It uses AI to handle seasonal call surges and answers customers’ questions accurately and in a personalized manner. Moreover, it shifts the customers from chat to live calls, if needed, for the best customer service experiences.

Another approach to implementing chatbots involves integrating the technology in social channels like Whatsapp. It is now already possible to send your own electric meter reading via chatbot or Whatsapp channels (automated with a bot). Some companies are already implementing chatbots that include instant payment methods to pay bills through this channel. Let’s resume the case where a user wants to download a specific power bill. With a transactional chatbot, if the user is logged in, the chatbot will be able to go search on the user’s account and return the bill directly into the chatbox, or even by email. Advanced chatbots integrate through APIs and webhooks to other systems, such as CRMs, CMSs, ERPs, but also internal systems of banks, insurance companies, telephone companies and even eCommerce stock systems.

In the utility industry, poor customer service often leads to customers switching providers. Chatbots can reduce customer switching by providing immediate and accurate responses to customer inquiries and concerns. This improves the overall customer experience and helps to build trust and loyalty. Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into the utility sector.

It empowers customers with automatic data capture, instant billing, and the option to switch to live chat for personalised support. AI chatbots can provide the analytical capabilities required to extract valuable insights and make data-driven decisions in the utility sector. Natural language processing (NLP) is a key component that facilitates AI chatbots’ ability to comprehend and answer human questions. By utilising machine learning and the capabilities of AI, chatbots are able to become smarter and more effective over time. Chatbots can help customers submit accurate meter readings through conversational prompts and guided forms, reducing the risk of errors. In some cases, chatbots only ask for a meter photo in which information is being automatically extracted.

Improve your customer satisfaction rate by up to 40% with delightful experiences across channels. When evaluating chatbot options for the utility industry, it’s crucial to assess your company’s specific needs and objectives. With the help of deep learning algorithms, conversational AI utilises vast amounts of training data to determine user intent and gain a better understanding of natural language. In the 11 months since the utility deployed a [24]7.ai chatbot to interact with its four million customers, the chatbot answered more than 720,000 questions with 94% accuracy. Provide intelligent, automated, always-on self-service to immediately resolve routine inquiries on topics such as duplicate billing, tariff plans, usage, and terms and conditions. Transition seamlessly to assisted service—the full conversation context transfers as well—for more complex requests and inquiries.

With JennyBot, you can easily build intelligent chatbots to improve customer experience, automating manual work in customer service, lead generation, HR and internal communications. AI-powered chatbots build customer loyalty through instant, positive and frictionless service and support experiences. Escalate high-value requests to agents through live chats to continue the focused support. By combining these technologies, hybrid chatbots offer an improved user experience.

Since utilities are service-oriented businesses, customer communication is an integral part of their services. Although the utility sector receives a large number of queries and complaints on an everyday basis, providing 24/7 support is an uphill task. Chatbots, on the other hand, solve this problem by automating the most common replies using artificial intelligence (AI). Chatbots interpret user questions using natural language processing (NLP) and provide an instant pre-set answer. To support utilities with customer queries, many startups develop website-based chatbot solutions trained specifically for utility queries. Hiring customer service employees puts a financial burden on utility companies.

US-based startup Alba Power provides conversational communication solutions for electric utilities. The startup’s AI-based assistant enables residential customers to participate in peak load, rebates, or other energy-related programs and offers a white-label communication extension to the energy services. Further, it reduces peak load for service providers, increases program enrollments, automates frequently asked questions (FAQs), and keeps customers engaged by simplifying home energy management.

It streamlines the acquisition process, allowing you to perform recruitment onboardings quickly and easily, while easing the workload of your Call Centre. Thanks to the simplicity of JennyBot and with the frequent and fast support from GetJenny, we are able to keep training our digital co-worker more and more every day.”

By playing out addressee-appropriate information via various channels and around the clock, you increase both your service quality and the satisfaction of your customers. However, the most advanced capabilities of current chatbots can go above and beyond. Integrate a chatbot for utilities on the channels your customers prefer to provide an omnichannel experience in conversational https://chat.openai.com/ channels. JennyBot is simple to use, and they can immediately start working on it after a two-hours training with our team. JennyBot answers FAQs at lightspeed so your customer service advisors can focus on complex questions without burning out on simpler and frequent queries. Transform your customer service team with a surge of automated support from AI chatbot technology.

Leverage our unparalleled data advantage to quickly and easily find hidden gems among 4.7M+ startups, scaleups. Access the world’s most comprehensive innovation intelligence and stay ahead with AI-powered precision. Ice storms, frozen pipes, hurricanes, and other calamities create massive, but semi-predictable, increases in service calls. Ensuring every customer is supported in a timely manner during their time of need is essential to good business.

Additionally, customers may complain about inaccurate bills due to human error in meter readings. To thrive in this competitive landscape, companies must prioritise customer satisfaction by investing in customer service bots. While companies in the utility sector often employ AI technology for operational tasks and data collection, they tend to overlook the significance of effective customer communication. Simply delivering electricity is no longer enough; customers seek cost reduction, energy conservation, sustainability, and access to new products. With digital capabilities, personalised services and a wider product range are in demand. Today’s utility customers expect deeper engagement and long-term relationships with suppliers.

While all of these technologies play a major role in advancing utility management, they only represent the tip of the iceberg. To explore more solutions, simply get in touch to let us look into your areas of interest. For a more general overview, you can download one of our free Industry Innovation Reports to save your time and improve strategic decision-making. Additionally, use of a chatbot facilitates the efficient gathering of robust data about the nature of customer service inquiries and their resolution. This provides information the organization can use to continually improve its customer service program and processes. Although many companies are still using this kind of basic chatbots, many others have turned to more advanced artificial intelligence and natural language processing technologies.

At deployment, chatbots can be preloaded with a utility company’s most common FAQs and website navigational questions from customers. Every single one of those tickets is deflected from human support professionals, reducing staffing needs for call centers. AI-powered chatbots for service and utility companies are the ideal solution to enhance the quality of customer service and digitize repetitive processes without compromising the customer experience. GetJenny develops JennyBot, a chatbot builder with a custom natural language processing engine (NLP).

Use data to predict consumer intent and then respond in real time, creating happy customers and advocates for your business. It is troublesome for service providers to manage demand-side electricity which results in electricity overload and complaints from customers. For such cases, startups develop AI-based solutions that allow customers to easily communicate with their providers. This, in turn, enables utility companies to gather actionable insights and manage resources accordingly. As utility companies and sales are going digital, they do interact with the customers face-to-face anymore. Therefore, it is important to understand customer behavior using AI-powered bots and analytics.

Automates the management of answers to frequently asked questions, consultation of consumption, invoicing dates… It provides accurate and quick responses, ensuring a hassle-free experience in resolving queries. Yes, chatbots built with JennyBot have already saved 100s of hours for customer service teams in energy brands around the world, including Göteborg Energi, Caruna, Väre. Blicker can be described as a hybrid chatbot with elements of both rule-based and AI-driven approaches. The conversation flow in Blicker is primarily decision-tree-based, representing the rule-based aspect. However, when it comes to responding to meter images, Blicker employs AI-based techniques, indicating the integration of AI capabilities within the chatbot’s functionality.

UK-based startup We Build Bots develops Intelagent, an energy and water utility chatbot for customer assistance. Intelagent is deployable on multiple platforms including websites and social media channels where utility customers usually ask questions. The solution ensures that energy utility companies do not lose customers even if they shift homes by facilitating efficient communications and support for the transition from one location to the next. Moreover, the solution also generates accurate bills that reflect the final utility consumption at the old address. By providing a more personalized and interactive customer experience, virtual assistants are helping utility companies improve customer satisfaction and reduce support costs. Significant changes in the utilities industry include rising customer expectations for online customer service and support, digital payment, and account management.

The startup’s chatbot maps customer’s online behavior and interacts with them when an opportunity comes up, as well as predicts the customer’s water or electricity demand and offers deals accordingly. It further allows utility services to cross-sell other plans to existing customers based on their interactions. This technology uses artificial intelligence (AI) and other automation technologies to communicate with customers via chat, automating routine tasks and providing quick and convenient support.

Ambit Energy & Utilities handles 70 of the top utilities-related customer queries out of the box. Blicker’s Chatbot revolutionises customer engagement in utilities by enabling effortless self meter readings, streamlined processes, and instant assistance. Like navigating through an automated phone system, customers can select from a series of options, giving them the power to choose their own journey. Yellow.ai’s Conversational Commerce Cloud provides generative AI-powered marketing templates, end-to-end campaign workflows and Customer Data Platform (CDP) that helps in driving 60% increase in engagement.

Therefore, startups develop chatbots to work in parallel with human agents to resolve both simple and complex customer inquiries. Thanks to machine learning, the chatbots are constantly learning new customer phrases and recognizing context faster, resulting in their being able to provide answers more quickly and to more topics. Additionally, the live agent can also route the customer back to the chatbot for more information if appropriate. Virtual assistants powered by AI are becoming increasingly popular in the utility industry, allowing customers to interact with companies more efficiently and engagingly. These AI chatbots use natural language processing and machine learning to understand customer intent and respond in a human-like way.