AI agents handle 100% of calls: How a global furniture brand sets a new standard in retail customer service

About the customer

• Industry: Retail

• Region: Global

• Company size: >200,000 employees

Results

• 100% of incoming calls handled by AI agents

• From 0% to 11% automation rate in just a few months

• 24/7 availability

Millions of people contact the retail giant’s customer service department every day with routine questions about orders, deliveries, returns, product availability, and to schedule in-person appointments. To ensure consistent service experience amidst increasing contact volumes, the company sought to lay the groundwork for sustainable automation that could efficiently manage customer inquiries.

Challenge

The company’s human service team was answering every customer phone call, and simple inquiries about orders, returns, and product availability took up most of their days, stalling progress on more complicated cases. The model was quickly reaching its limits, but adding more staff only brought added costs. It didn’t solve the persistent problem of leaving customers on hold during campaigns or peak delivery periods.

Solution

The furniture retailer implemented Parloa’s AI agents to serve as the central point of contact for telephone customer service. The agents answer 100% of incoming calls, eliminating hold times for customers and alleviating the burden on human agents. They identify customers’ issues, answer questions autonomously, and determine if the case requires human intervention. If so, they route the customer to the right team, sharing all of the conversation context with the employee to shorten processing times and eliminate unnecessary repetition. 

As the conversations accumulate, Parloa’s AI Agent Management Platform (AMP) provides the retail company with a comprehensive overview of contact reasons, inquiry volume, and recurring customer concerns. This transparency lays the groundwork for further automation, as, for the first time, the company has a clear picture of what customers’ most common needs are. 

“The shift from manual support to scalable customer service powered by AI is true transformation. Companies are laying the groundwork to make support not only more efficient, but also a long-term driver of growth.” 

Svenja Louis, Strategic Engagement Manager, Parloa

Live use cases:

• Intent recognition and intelligent routing: AI agents direct customers to the appropriate experts or self-service processes.

• FAQs: AI agents answer common questions, such as those regarding business hours, return policies, or delivery terms, completely autonomously.

• SMS self-service: AI agents send customers a personalized link to self-service options for common questions.

• End-to-end appointment scheduling: AI agents book appointments for customers fully autonomously. 

Why Parloa

Parloa impressed the company with its powerful AI technology and focus on complex enterprise environments. Equally important was its ability to seamlessly integrate AI agents into existing service and contact center processes while offering the flexibility to quickly implement new use cases.

“With over 150 enterprise customers, Parloa has proven that AI agents can be reliably scaled within large international corporations. This experience and proven track record were key factors in the client’s decision." 

Svenja Louis, Strategic Engagement Manager, Parloa

Results

Parloa’s AI agents have been making a real impact since day one:

• 100% of incoming calls are handled by AI agents

• Within just a few months, the company went from 0% to 11% automation rate of CX via voice channels 

• Significant reduction in workload for human service teams through intelligent pre-qualification and targeted routing

• 24/7 availability 

• Immediate resolution of standard inquiries without the need for a service representative

• Uniform customer experiences with consistent responses and routing processes 

• Greater efficiency through faster resolution of inquiries

What’s next

The furniture retailer is pursuing a long-term AI strategy to continuously improve customer service. Its goal is to increase the automation rate of CX in voice to over 20% by 2027.  The company plans to expand Parloa’s AI agent use cases to handle more customer inquiries end-to-end as well as in more languages and into the B2B sector in pursuit of the goal.