Verizon said that the AI assistant solution’s use of gen AI delivers instant responses to common customer inquiries.
Verizon this week introduced Verizon Business Assistant, a new text messaging solution that leverages AI to help small businesses automate customer interactions and improve engagement. The telco said that the use of generative AI (gen AI) delivers instant responses to common customer inquiries, learns from interactions over time and seamlessly connects customers to live representatives when needed.
Verizon Business Assistant allows small businesses to automate responses to frequently asked questions, reducing the time spent on routine inquiries. In a press release, the telco used the example of a customer texting a bakery about gluten-free options — the AI assistant, Verizon said, can instantly provide an answer. It added that if the question requires more nuance, the system escalates the conversation to a live employee. The AI continuously improves its responses based on previous interactions, enabling businesses to enhance customer service while freeing up staff for more complex tasks.
“Small business owners are constantly juggling multiple responsibilities and want to use technology to improve operations and better connect with their customers,” said Iris Meijer, chief product & marketing officer at Verizon Business. “Yet access to AI tools tailored for small businesses can be a challenge, which is where we want to help. Verizon Business Assistant is designed to provide small business owners with a simple, effective way to enhance customer engagement while focusing on growing their business.”
Beyond providing instant answers and continuously learning, Verizon said its AI assistant is also easy to set up and includes an insights dashboard to provide business owners with data on customer trends and engagement patterns.
Verizon’s introduction of the Verizon Business Assistant aligns with a broader industry trend among telecommunications companies to integrate AI into customer service operations. This move reflects a growing emphasis on leveraging AI to enhance customer engagement and streamline support processes.
For example, last September, T-Mobile US announced a collaboration with OpenAI to develop an AI platform named IntentCX. This platform utilizes customer interaction data to automate service tasks and proactively address issues, aiming to reduce the necessity for in-person store visits or calls to customer service agents. Outside of the U.S., French-based telco Orange partnered with Meta and OpenAI to refine AI language models for translating regional African languages, while Australian telco Telstra has integrated AI tools like AskTelstra and One Sentence Summary to streamline customer interactions.
Additional Verizon AI efforts include the company’s human-assisted generative AI tools, unveiled in May 2024, and a Contact Center AI Platform.
