Vodafone adds TOBi the chatbot to customer services

Vodafone, the UK mobile phone carrier, has announced the launch of a new artificial intelligence chatbot called TOBi.

TOBi will soon be appearing in your My Vodafone app. The little chatbot has been designed to act as a virtual customers service agent. TOBi will also be available online through Voda’s website.

Vodafone UK says that its artificial intelligence (AI) helper is an innovative way of offering customers a quicker web chat service.

TOBi will be able to handle a range of customer queries including device troubleshooting, usage and order tracking amongst many others.

Some Vodafone customers already have access to to the new helper through the company’s online web chat service.

Later this month messaging will also be available through the My Vodafone app.

What about the human touch?

Don’t worry, there’ll still be ‘meatbags’ (as Bender calls us).

While the chatbot provides a handy way to deal with transactional enquiries, Richard Clarke, Vodafone UK’s Head of Contact Transformation, says the tech’s designed to complement, rather than replace, Vodafone’s normal advisors.

In fact, Voda is actually welcoming over 2,000 new customer service reps to the Vodafone UK family. This recruitment drive is part of their investment in customer services.

Richard says:

TOBi plays a really important role within the new messaging service, but it’s only one part of the picture.  The combination of person and chatbot is where the real magic lies.”

Vodafone worked with IBM and LivePerson on this project. It really does appear to be a platform that merges AI chatbot and webchat advisors together seamlessly.