The objective of this project was to streamline the workload of Community Operations (Comm Ops) agents by automating repetitive tasks, such as cancellations and voucher inquiries. Automating these tasks would free up time for Comm Ops agents to focus on more complex tasks and ultimately decrease the contact rate.
We created the Pelago virtual assistant to achieve our goal. The chatbot was designed to handle customer requests, such as cancellations and voucher inquiries, and provide automated responses. We built the chatbot using Message Bird, a platform that we evaluated for its ability to handle flows, scalability, ease of deployment, and support for omni channel.
Design Process
Our design process began by analysing the standard requests that Comm Ops agents received and the frequency of these requests.
Cancellations (9.0%)
Voucher Enquiries (12.3%) - I have not received my voucher (8.4%)
Send to alternate email address (3.9%) -
Reasons include: I entered the wrong email address when booking. I want to send to another email address (can’t access booking email ID). I want to send voucher to family/friends
As part of the software selection process, the leadership team advised against investing in a natural language processing (NLP) service during the MVP phase due to potential sunk costs, scalability issues, and concerns regarding the ability to launch and deliver the product.
As a result, we made sure to design the flow and UX writing around a button-centric service experience. We then created a flowchart for the chatbot to handle requests, including automated responses for cancellations and voucher inquiries.
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I worked with the designer to guide and direct the UX writing tone of voice to align with the process flow established by the product and customer service departments.
Next, we built the chatbot using Messagebird. We tested the chatbot with a simple cancellation request flow to evaluate its performance in terms of response time, accuracy, and user experience. We improved the chatbot and refined it again based on the test results.
(Above) This user flow showcases a self-assisted booking cancellation process.
(Above) This user flow showcases a self-assisted booking voucher download process.
The Pelago Chatbot successfully reduced the workload of Comm Ops agents by handling repetitive tasks such as cancellations and voucher inquiries with high accuracy and response time. This resulted in a reduced contact rate. Customers received quick and efficient responses to their requests, which increased overall satisfaction.
The Pelago Chatbot was an effective solution for automating standardised and repetitive tasks for Comm Ops agents. Streamlining these tasks reduced the workload for agents and improved the customer experience. Using Messagebird as a tool to build flows and deploy the chatbot proved scalable, easy to deploy across omnichannel, and efficient regarding response time and accuracy.
