Of Course You Need a Chatbot!

Energy utilities can leverage chatbot technology to modernize their digital experience and leap ahead in customer engagement with a few simple applications and basic integrations. With so many reputable solution and implementation partners and investments in AI, now's the time for utilities to start adding chatbot tech to their digital CX. Chatbots offer a relatively low cost and high-efficiency channel for expanding customer service and support, hours of operation, and digital self-service at exactly the time when utility customers demand these CX enhancements. Best of all, chatbots integrated to CIS and CRM systems dramatically improve utilities ability to personalize the customers' experience and demonstrate that "leap ahead" customers expect from virtually every website where they spend money confidently.

Plugged into the proper systems, chatbots can handle a wide range of customer inquiries, from bill payments and meter readings to outage notifications and energy-saving tips. By automating these routine tasks, utilities can reduce the workload on their customer service teams, allowing them to focus on more complex issues. This leads to faster response times and greater customer satisfaction. Think of a properly configured chatbot as a virtual expansion of your customer service capacity, giving your live agents more time and resource to focus on billing and collections, proactive outreach, and new projects or programs.

Moreover, chatbots immediately expand hours of operation around the clock enabling customers to access assistance whenever they need it. This 24/7 availability ensures that customers receive prompt responses to their queries, regardless of the time of day. It also helps reduce wait times and eliminates the frustration of dealing with limited customer service hours. Imagine a chatbot that can redirect customers to the exact right page on your website to answer their question or enroll in a program. Chatbots connected to your CIS solution can verify a customer in the chat, answer questions about a bill or energy savings program, and even direct customers to online bill payment for outstanding bills. For really sensitive questions after hours, chatbots could even inform customers of the need to speak with a live agent and schedule a call back during regular hours of operation so that they know the utility will close the loop on the support issue.

Connected to a CRM solution, chatbots can also offer personalized recommendations based on customer data and preferences. Imagine a chatbot on your websites Energy Efficiency page or in a marketplace that can analyze actual customer consumption patterns, and suggest energy-saving tips, recommend suitable tariff plans, and provide links to special programs or offers that help customers save money and improve energy efficiency. Customers have come to expect levels of personalization that most utilities struggle to deliver, so chatbots powered properly from customer information systems can demonstrate that modern utility CX customers want and need.

Finally, chatbots can integrate with other systems like smart meters or home automation devices to allow customers to control their energy usage through a conversational interface. This level of convenience and control enhances the customer experience and encourages engagement with energy management. Utilities have experimented with Alexa and Google Home to connect voice controls to connected thermostats, but just imagine the use value to customers of a chatbot in the utility's mobile app that can help customers manage their whole home automation using everyday language. AI supported chatbots make it much easier for utilities to support those capabilities for their customers.

So, utilities could deliver on a modern utility CX with the help of the latest developments in chatbot tech. Chatbots will improve customer service and support efficiency, expand hours of operation, enhance customer self-service options, personalize the CX, and augment smart home enjoyment through simple language controls that any customer could employ. Which features will your utility implement first? If you don't have an answer, please connect to learn more. info@modernutilitycx.com

cover image: Chatbot icons created by Freepik