AI strengthens customer service at a Belgian energy supplier

Managing customer demand with AI

Energy suppliers handle a high volume of customer questions every day, from billing and account information to energy consumption and energy-saving advice. Peaks in demand can put significant pressure on customer service teams, especially when energy prices or regulations change.

The goal was to build a scalable customer service approach that could support agents, provide fast and relevant answers, automate simple requests and maintain service quality during periods of high demand.

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Bringing AI into every step of customer support

We introduced several AI capabilities across the customer service journey, combining semantic search, intent recognition and conversational AI.

1. AI-powered FAQ search

‍A semantic search function helps customers find relevant information using natural language instead of relying on exact keywords. The system uses AI and NLP to understand the meaning behind a question and return the most relevant answer.

2. Intent recognition

‍Incoming emails and contact form messages are automatically analyzed to identify the customer's intent. Simple requests can be handled automatically, while more complex cases are routed to customer service agents with the relevant context.

3. WhatsApp chatbot

‍An AI-powered chatbot provides customers with support through WhatsApp and connects to backend systems to retrieve relevant information. This allows customers to get answers and access information about their account, bills and energy consumption without waiting for an agent.

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Improving response times and support capacity

The AI solutions improved both the customer experience and the efficiency of the support organization:

• Faster responses: Customers can find information and get answers without waiting for an agent.
• 24/7 support: The chatbot remains available outside traditional customer service hours.
• Less manual work: Routine requests can be handled automatically, allowing agents to focus on more complex cases.
• Scalable customer service: AI helps absorb peaks in demand without requiring a proportional increase in support capacity.

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Building a privacy-conscious AI foundation for customer service

The solution combines AI, ChatGPT, semantic search and Azure AI Language to understand customer questions and provide relevant responses.

The AI-powered FAQ search is designed with GDPR compliance and data privacy in mind. Integration with backend systems enables the chatbot to provide real-time information, including bills, account balances and energy consumption.

The solution also creates a foundation for further applications of AI in customer service, including personalization, predictive analytics and proactive customer engagement.

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