Marks & Spencer creates an AI-based call center
A British retail giant is automating its call center, a move that is freeing up customer service agents for store-level tasks.
Through a partnership with cloud communications platform provider Twilio, Marks & Spencer transitioned its legacy switchboard to an intelligent system that can more accurately route voice calls. The artificial intelligence-based technology will also allow the retailer to analyze customer intent in real-time. (The retailers handles more than 12 million customer interactions annually.)
Here’s how it works: When a customer calls any Marks & Spencer store, the new intelligent system transcribes the customer’s speech into text. This enables it to immediately detect the reason for the call, and then route it to the appropriate department, store or contact center agents with more than 90% accuracy, according to the Twilio.
The AI platform, which was deployed within six months, automates customer communications across 640 locations and 13 U.K.-based contact center hubs. With the platform handling more than one million inbound telephone calls per month, Marks & Spencer has placed more than 100 switchboard employees into customer-facing roles in its stores.
Looking ahead, Marks & Spencer plans to use the platform to send e-commerce customers order delivery status updates via text messages.
“Twilio’s flexible cloud communications platform has enabled Marks & Spencer to experiment like a startup, while executing like an enterprise,” said Chris McGrath, IT program manager at Marks & Spencer.
“We were able to prototype a solution in just four weeks and put it to the test during our busiest retail days of the year,” McGrath said. “The new solution has given Marks & Spencer an improved ability to have more direct and meaningful conversations with our customers, which also helps us reallocate valuable staff time. We’re excited to see where the platform takes us as we continue the roll out across our contact centers.”
Through a partnership with cloud communications platform provider Twilio, Marks & Spencer transitioned its legacy switchboard to an intelligent system that can more accurately route voice calls. The artificial intelligence-based technology will also allow the retailer to analyze customer intent in real-time. (The retailers handles more than 12 million customer interactions annually.)
Here’s how it works: When a customer calls any Marks & Spencer store, the new intelligent system transcribes the customer’s speech into text. This enables it to immediately detect the reason for the call, and then route it to the appropriate department, store or contact center agents with more than 90% accuracy, according to the Twilio.
The AI platform, which was deployed within six months, automates customer communications across 640 locations and 13 U.K.-based contact center hubs. With the platform handling more than one million inbound telephone calls per month, Marks & Spencer has placed more than 100 switchboard employees into customer-facing roles in its stores.
Looking ahead, Marks & Spencer plans to use the platform to send e-commerce customers order delivery status updates via text messages.
“Twilio’s flexible cloud communications platform has enabled Marks & Spencer to experiment like a startup, while executing like an enterprise,” said Chris McGrath, IT program manager at Marks & Spencer.
“We were able to prototype a solution in just four weeks and put it to the test during our busiest retail days of the year,” McGrath said. “The new solution has given Marks & Spencer an improved ability to have more direct and meaningful conversations with our customers, which also helps us reallocate valuable staff time. We’re excited to see where the platform takes us as we continue the roll out across our contact centers.”