SINGAPORE, Nov. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- New wave telco
virtual assistants, or "Telcobots", are emerging as telcos
increasingly start to adopt artificial intelligence to improve
their customer services. While telcos are currently prioritizing
these virtual assistants primarily to improve customer engagements
and consequently reduce churn rates, they are also positioning
themselves to compete directly with the Siris, Cortanas and Alexas
of the Webscale giants. ABI Research forecasts that
the virtual assistants will enable telcos to save US$1.2 billion on customer care management by
2022 with a CAGR of 17% over the next five years.
This is particularly impressive given that telcos were not the
early adopters of virtual assistants. "The recent introduction of
virtual assistants in customer service signifies the level of
urgency within telcos to start emphasizing the importance of
customer relationships and customer care management, something they
have been taking for granted for decades," says Sarju Vasavada, Industry Analyst at ABI
Research. "Case in point, Vodafone released TOBi, a virtual
assistant to address their customer service woes after being fined
£4.6 million by U.K. regulators Ofcom for falsely charging more
than 10k pay-as-you-go customers for top-up credit. They also had a
record-breaking number of customer complaints until TOBi stepped
in."
Telcobots now assist customers with a variety of issues
ranging from basic account inquiries to SIM purchases, service
troubleshooting, and technical settings. Several telcos are
leveraging AI and NLP heavyweights, including IBM Watson, Nuance,
LivePerson, and IPsoft or are building technology in-house. For
example, Telefónica is developing their digital chatbot, Aura for
2018, and DT's Tinka is already averaging 50k customers in
Austria every month. However, the
most important point is that telcos are realizing the advantages
and benefits of adding virtual assistants to their arsenal for
customer service delivery and are aggressive in introducing them
throughout their footprint.
ABI Research forecasts that AI investments by telcos will reach
US$14 billion by 2022 with a CAGR of
22.4%. The fruits of early AI investments by TIER I telcos are
beginning to grow with Orange and SK Telecom, both announcing the
release of their multi-talented chatbots, Djingo and Nugu,
respectively in early 2018. "Telcos are slowly but steadily getting
ready for prime time. We are bullish on telcos making this "Next -
Gen" leap within next five years," concludes Vasavada.
These findings are from ABI Research's Artificial Intelligence
in Telecom Networks report. This report is part of the
company's Telco Cloud Platforms & Digital Transformation
research service, which includes research, data, and analyst
insights.
About ABI Research
ABI Research stands at the forefront of technology market
intelligence, providing business leaders with comprehensive
research and consulting services to help them implement informed,
transformative technology decisions. Founded more than 25 years
ago, the company's global team of senior and long-tenured analysts
delivers deep market data forecasts, analyses, and teardown
services. ABI Research is an industry pioneer, proactively
uncovering ground-breaking business cycles and publishing research
18 to 36 months in advance of other organizations. For more
information, visit www.abiresearch.com.
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SOURCE ABI Research