Vodafone AI Virtual Assistant Tackles Complex Customer Issues

Vodafone has unveiled a new customer-focused generative AI-powered virtual assistant designed to handle complex customer queries faster.

SuperTOBi, which is being made available to European customers, can interpret entire sentences, enabling it to answer queries far faster than traditional chatbots.

It’s designed as an improvement on Vodafone’s existing chatbot called TOBi. It’s powered by OpenAI models available through Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service.

The SuperTOBi virtual assistant interacts with customers using natural-sounding language, providing a more personalized experience and can automatically transfer queries to relevant staff.

Vodafone customers in Italy and Portugal were given early access to SuperTOBi. The company plans to expand service to users in Germany and Turkey this month and wider markets later this year.

Vodafone says the generative AI-powered chatbot has already increased first-time resolution rates for its customers in Portugal from 15% to 60%. The chatbot also increased its online net promoter scores, where respondents were asked to rate their experience from 14 points to 64 points.

The virtual assistant is designed to be safe to use, with Vodafone leveraging its AI Framework, developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford, to ensure the chatbot is ethical and unbiased.

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SuperTOBi is part of Vodafone’s broader efforts to enhance and revolutionize its customer experiences. The company is investing $151 million to improve its services.

The chatbot supplements SuperAgent, an AI assistance tool for customer care employees. SuperAgent leverages Microsoft Azure OpenAI’s Agent Copilot solution to help customer teams speedily search and locate answers to queries from Vodafone’s knowledge bases.

There’s also SuperSearch, an AI-powered search feature found on Vodafone’s website.

Vodafone has been utilizing Microsoft’s AI solutions following a $1.5 billion deal in January.

“The impact of generative AI is enormous and has huge potential for Vodafone and our customers,” Beverley Bartlett, Vodafone’s head of digital care said in May. “Expanding its use across our company, our network, and within customer solutions perfectly aligns with our mission of connecting people for a better future.”