EXCLUSIVE: “Changing Chatbots for The Better” – Gaurav Passi, Zingly.ai in ‘The Paytech Magazine’

Chatbots have failed to disrupt customer service effectively but Zingly.ai’s Gaurav Passi says its technology not only makes life easier for the consumer but could revolutionise the entire customer interaction

Experiencing the highs and lows of customer service is something that most people can relate to. Well, mostly lows.

It’s also something of a challenge for businesses, representing a significant cost that never truly satisfies the demand. Chatbots have for some time now, presented a possible solution but with varying degrees of success. At their worst, they are simply content delivery systems, akin to dialling a specific number and receiving an automated message. Personal testimony shows that customers often don’t get the answer they’re after and want to speak to a human anyway.

At best, that’s what ends up happening; something which may suit the socially awkward and reserved, but still doesn’t solve companies’ resource constraints, and keeps everyone stuck in firefighting mode. The latest research doesn’t paint a particularly good picture either. Before the advent of large language model (LLM)-based chatbots, a Gartner study showed that only 25 per cent of those who had used a chatbot, said they would use that chatbot again in the future.

Consumer data from CivicScience revealed that a significant 45 per cent of US adults find using customer service chatbots unfavourable. Forrester Consulting research found that 50 per cent of consumers said they often feel frustrated by their interactions with chatbots. But all hope is not lost for customer service.

There are definitely still those who would rather use chat technology than pick up the phone. A larger proportion of Gen Z consumers were in favour of using them according to CivicScience data and more consumers today (17 per cent) prefer live chat and/ or chatbots compared to 2022 when it was 13 per cent. It’s also possible that with the advance of technology like AI, this customer experience could be improved further.

Gaurav Passi is the founder and CEO of Zingly, a startup using AI technology to do just that. He recognises the source of a lot of customers’ aversion to traditional methods of customer service and uses the term ‘FORO’ or Fear of Reaching Out to describe a feeling that a lot of people can no doubt resonate with. It’s a nice way of summarising a key obstacle in the customer journey but as we discovered when we spoke to Passi, its product goes beyond simply making life easier for the customer. Its holistic solution could have several other enviable benefits for customers and businesses.

Passi points out the source of the problem.

“There are about 17 million customer service agents globally. But there are five and a half billion consumers globally. The ‘math’ doesn’t add up. Customers are waiting on hold, with music playing, being passed around different agents, and getting poor service,” he says.

Passi also decries the limitations of chatbots as they are now and makes that comparison to pressing a different number for a different service.

“What chats have done is very limited. You start asking a question and the bot has a predefined workflow but if you don’t fit in that predefined workflow, there is no help. That technology was never going to go anywhere and that’s why people stopped engaging with it.” But it’s not, he says, just about “reducing some phone calls and saving some costs. We can deliver that, but our purpose is bigger.”

There is an opportunity here for business success. A Statista survey found that 94 per cent of responding customers stated that a positive customer service experience made them more likely to purchase again. Not only that but 82 per cent would recommend a company based solely on excellent customer service. Part of the reason companies worldwide are investing in chatbots is because of the labour costs associated with contact centres, which could represent up to 95 per cent of running costs, according to Gartner.

For Passi, it’s about reordering priorities.

“Contact centres and customer service have always been run with a very cost-driven mindset,” he says. “In the past, the approach was if you want more returns, you throw more money at it, meaning you hire more humans. And human capital is expensive. A big goal of ours was to change these cost centres into revenue generators.”

Zingly’s tools are applicable to a number of verticals, so how could it help banks and financial institutions achieve this goal? Passi says it’s particularly effective in the banking space because it involves a largely dormant user base. Most customers are coming into their account, checking their balance then leaving.

Better engagement has to be a priority.

“Our purpose is to go to banks and increase their deposits,” adds Passi. “Whilst a conversation is happening, can we help you increase wallet share with your existing customers? It’s moving from just customer acquisition to upselling existing customers. Perhaps that’s lending or mortgage products, or other products and services.”

“One purpose is making customer engagement super easy and the second is creating revenue”

Creating room

Another problem they wanted to solve was the temporary nature of chatbots.

“One of the reasons chat did not work is because it’s very ephemeral for lack of a better word,” says Passi. “You start chatting and when you come back [the chat] has evaporated. With Zingly, first and foremost, if you’re putting something in the hands of the consumers, it has to be persistent.

“This is what our new patent technology Zingly Rooms is doing. It’s a persistent space where data never disappears. It’s also a collaborative space that helps you engage at any hour of the day with in-built interaction capability. That could include text and voice chat, video, calendar sharing, payments, file sharing, verification, Docusign.

“Whatever you’re doing, everything comes inside rooms and it will always be there. One purpose of this is making customer engagement super easy for the customer and the second is creating revenue, as I mentioned.”

The product is further enhanced by AI.

Passi adds: “Data is key. We have the capability to get into your core banking systems and give you the answer. We use LLMs to make communication conversational, but really it’s about bringing in data.

“It’s very much based on what we call a rank system. So we’re not hallucinating. We’re taking your customer’s data, whether that’s from checking accounts, healthcare companies, or a retail company, then using the business data from websites, FAQs, knowledge bases, core banking technologies, CRM technologies etc. And serve that data to the technology where you are communicating.”

Once the AI knows what the goal is, “it can also take action, calling APIs into the system, moving money, booking tickets for you, creating calendar invites and much more,” adds Passi. That said, he recognises that AI can only do so much and that a partnership is needed. Within Rooms is the intelligent ability to judge when it’s the right time to bring a human into the loop.

“If a consumer is going to the bot and not towards the goal or the action it should be taking, then the human is looped in,” he says.

Either way, it’s a powerful use of AI and an exciting one.

In terms of what the future holds for this technology, Passi believes that the primary relationship may end up being between platforms like Zingly and the customer. Better customer service, he says, could be achieved by having a partner or a “Buddy“ as they call it, that you can take with you to multiple brand interactions.

“Customers will have a certain set of expectations for what the relationship is and how you want to be treated. We believe by being a representative of the consumers, that’s where the value to brands is added.

This article was published in The Paytech Magazine Issue 15, Page 36-37